Council is Advancing Illinois Food and Agriculture Industry Through Focus on Agricultural and Food Safety and Security

DECATUR – Following through on his continuing efforts to partner with business and educational leaders to accelerate growth in Illinois’ homeland security industry, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich’s administration hosted the first food security tabletop exercise of the Illinois Food Systems Policy Council (IFSPC) at Richland Community College in Decatur today.  Gov. Blagojevich awarded nearly $107,000 in funding to Richland Community College to establish the IFSPC, a public-private partnership that is helping to develop and implement strategies to improve food and agricultural security and safety in Illinois and support the growth of Illinois food producers.  Richland administers the IFSPC with the support of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s (DCEO) Homeland Security Market Development Bureau (HSMD).  IFSPC is conducting exercises and forums on food security like the one held today, implementing a new food and agri-security information clearinghouse on the Internet, and crafting a report to the General Assembly recommending new food security policies that will make Illinois’ agri-industry more resilient, secure and profitable.

“As a leading producer and exporter of food manufacturing and agricultural products across the globe, we need to do everything within our power to assure the safety and security of the food we supply for our families and for families across the world.  The Food Systems Policy Council is providing critical leadership and expertise to increase food access and security in order to protect our health and well-being.  This food defense exercise is instrumental in addressing problems and finding solutions that will make for more profitable, sustainable and resilient food and agricultural production in Illinois,” Gov. Blagojevich said.

Agro-terrorism is the deliberate use of chemical/biological weapons against the agricultural and/or food service industries to generate fear, inflict harm or cause economic losses.  To better prepare for an agro-terrorist attack, this tabletop exercise simulated the challenges faced by the food industry, law enforcement, hospitals and government agencies in the event of an attack.

The goal of this exercise was to focus on the roles of county, state and federal government agencies and the food industry to work together to detect, respond to and recover from an intentional incident involving the food supply.

In June of 2005, Gov. Blagojevich signed into law legislation creating the Illinois Food Systems Policy Council.  Representatives on the council include leading private sector firms ADM, Kraft, John Deere, Growmark and Hill & Knowlton.  Participating state agencies include DCEO, the Departments of Public Health, Human Services, Agriculture, Central Management Services, the State Board of Education and the Food Nutrition and Education Program at the University of Illinois.  Top industry associations represented on the Council include the Illinois Beef Association, the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Institute for Community Resource Development.  The Springfield Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the University of Illinois’s food security initiative are also members.

The first meeting of the Council in March provided a forum for IFSPC members to review and adopt the Council’s mission, goals and organizational structure, as well as to address the roles and duties of Council members.  In order to best ensure that IFSPC initiatives will be put into practice in both the public and private sectors, several task forces were established to oversee and implement the Council’s main functions, including Designing and Implementing a new Food and Agr-Security Information Clearinghouse; Conducting a Food and Agri-Security and Safety Summit Series; Coordinating Public-Private Training efforts related to food security and safety; Discussing Access to Fresh, Healthy, Sustainable Food Sources; and providing suggestions on potential programs that could be adopted to advance Illinois’ leadership in the agricultural industry.

“When we talk about food policy to help keep people in Illinois safe, it is important to have local experts to whom we can turn for advice and answers,” State Rep. Bob Flider (D-Mt. Zion) said.  “I want to thank Gov. Blagojevich and DCEO for taking the initiative to develop this Council and for recognizing the important role that Central Illinois institutions like Richland Community College and ADM will have in the development of food safety and security policies.”

Food production is one of the state’s top manufacturing activities, adding $14.4 billion to the economy each year.  Illinois is a leading exporter of food manufacturing and agricultural products, which totaled more than $2 billion in 2005.  Additionally, Illinois ranks third nationally in the export of agricultural commodities.

“Gov. Blagojevich and I believe that nothing is more important to the lives of people across Illinois and the vitality of our economy than the safety of our food and water supplies,” said DCEO Director Jack Lavin. “Economic development is most effective when it utilizes collaboration and innovation, and that’s exactly the strategy behind the Food Systems Policy Council.  This advisory panel and these food defense exercises allow us to keep our ears to the ground and ensure that we are implementing the most efficient and effective policies to provide for the security of our food supply and the safety of the people of Illinois.”

Richland Community College is a major provider of agricultural and food systems workforce training. Located in Decatur and home to several leading agri-products firms, Richland’s ongoing working relationship with major food production and processing companies in Illinois makes it well positioned to take a leadership role in the development of a food and agro-security program.

To increase the dialogue about proactive steps that can be taken to protect the food supply, HSMD held a food security conference last June to bring together leaders in this important industry.  The formation of the IFSPC builds on that effort by bringing food producers, distributors and companies engaged in protecting our food supply together to discuss additional protections for our nation’s food supply and to learn new ways to compete in today’s security-conscious world.  HSMD also sponsors homeland security forums across Illinois in key industry sectors, including information technology and electronics, manufacturing and transportation security.