DHS, Husker officials discuss security of nation’s food system

December 21st, 2020

David Richardson, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, visited the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on Dec. 18 to discuss the security and safety of the U.S. food system.

Richardson, along with Deputy Assistant Secretary John Waters, toured the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center, Animal Science Complex, Nebraska Center for Virology, Greenhouse Innovation Center, Food Processing Center and Spidercam Plant Imaging Facility. During the tour, he met with IANR faculty and administrators to discuss the role of the university and its researchers in the security of the food supply.

Andy Benson, director of the Nebraska Food for Health Center, was among a dozen or so IANR researchers who discussed their research with Richardson. Benson explained the center’s mission to improve human health by linking agriculture and food production to wellness and disease prevention through microbiome research, as well as how the center’s work relates to national security. Center researchers are looking at the development of antimicrobial resistance and how and where it tends to develop, Benson said. They are engaged in whole genome sequencing of pathogens, which can help researchers understand how those pathogens cause disease. They’re also looking at the development of crops designed to promote health of the microbiome, which would add value to American agriculture.

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Story by Cara Pesek | IANR Media