Celebrating Food and the Future of Agriculture

"To be interested in food but not food production is clearly absurd."
- Wendell Berry

Whether it means a day off work or just an excuse to celebrate, Americans love their holidays. While everyone is familiar with Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving--to name a few--there are numerous less than famous holidays celebrated every single day. Three celebrations during the month of March that the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) finds important are National Nutrition Month, National Ag Week, and National Ag Day. This blog highlights the importance of these celebrations, along with ways that you can join in on the fun.

National Nutrition Month 

This nutrition education and information campaign was created in 1973 as a weeklong event, but it became a monthlong observance in 1980 in response to the growing public interest in nutrition. Created by the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics, this campaign focuses on making informed food choices and aims at developing sound eating and physical activity habits. This month's theme, Go Further with Food, includes a focus on starting your day with a hearty breakfast, fueling before athletic events, preparing foods to go further at home, and reducing food waste.

National Ag Week

Centered around the celebration of National Ag Day on March 20, this weeklong event recognizes and celebrates production agriculture and all that it provides. The Agriculture Council of America hosts the campaign on a national level, but the contributions of agriculture are shared throughout communities and organizations on a much broader scale. Agriculture provides almost everything that we eat, use, and wear on a daily basis. The goal for this year's event, Agriculture: Food for Life, is aimed at telling the story of American agriculture and bringing awareness to its presence in our daily lives. 

This year, CAST will be doing our part in honoring the event with the rollout of our latest issue paper--Regulatory Barriers to the Development of Innovative Agricultural Biotechnology by Small Businesses and Universities--in Washington, D.C., on March 22-23. This event is free and open to the public. Click here for more information. We would love to see you in attendance.

What can you do to help advocate for agriculture throughout the week? Put simply, get involved! Your participation is critical in helping spread a positive message about agriculture. Visit this website for Ag Day tools and resources. 

By: Kylie Peterson