Jack

I think we should get a bunch of those cans from Russia and put wheat and rice in them [smiling].

Bill G

Well, it also requires some discernment about which battles to pick. I mean, there was a huge controversy when people tried to take chocolate milk out of the school lunch menu, which is one of those subsidized items. I liked my chocolate milk when I had my school lunches! That’s the kind of battle to definitely stay away from. Wasting energy on that isn’t going to do us any good in terms of reform. So, we really must be sure we’re focusing on issues that will make a substantive difference and not get involved in the culture wars over chocolate milk.

Jeremy

And, as we all know, in a crisis the price you pay for mistakes is less. Furthermore, people involved in organizations like AFP, AFMRD, CAFP, and CMA, are more willing to jump in when the issue has first been articulated by some other person or group. This is what it’s like when we move into a high crisis period. An opportunity is present right now. And I hope we can stay very engaged with the issues we have just been considering. It’s going to be quite an interesting couple of years.

Bill B

Something came to mind, Jack, when I used to be on the faculty at the University of Idaho. I remember that the man who ostensibly ran the state of Idaho was Jack Simplot. Simplot owned all of the potato business in Idaho. His company produced the French fries for Ray Kroc and the McDonalds Hamburger chain. His company also produced many other farm products including fertilizer. Simplot also provided the sand needed to make cement. I always thought it was interesting. Is there any difference between producing potatoes, fertilizer, and concrete? (59:18) Apparently, they’re the same thing. It’s such a poignant analogy to what’s going on today in the mass production of food and profit in agriculture.

Mark

If you drive on Interstate 5, you see the name Simplot. His company still owns most of the fertilizer concerns in central California.

Bill B

Maybe we should get Jack Simplot to sponsor our forums. Anyway, thank you all. And we’ll see you all next month.