Courtesy of Reuters

Thousands of articles have been posted and millions of tears shed over the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001. This isn’t about  my memories of that awful day, though I will say that the images of airplanes flying into buildings and people jumping from the World Trade Center will be forever etched in my heart.  And every airport reminds me of that pain; I’m a mom and I get on a lot of airplanes. Regardless of the number of flights I’ve been on since 9-11, I say a prayer at the beginning of each flight that I can deliver on the promise that mommy will be home in a couple of days.

Emotions aside, the world knows that September 11th forever changed our country. It’s pretty easy to look at it from an American’s perspective; so many innocent people died because of terrorists. It’s perhaps more difficult to look at it from a Muslim’s point of view; thousands more have paid the price because of a few radical terrorists. I had never really considered that perspective until I worked in Egypt, where I found Christians and Muslims living in peace with each other – and equally as confused about the global aftermath of September 11 as we are in the States.

Now that I’ve delved into the non-controversial topics of religion and politics, let’s throw in food and national security.  Consider this; more than 40-percent of our food is imported.  Local food, community supported agriculture and urban gardens may be all the rage, but the reality is that we rely on other countries for our food. Lest I be called a hypocrite; our family enjoys fruits and vegetables from other countries in the six months of the year that we don’t grow food in Indiana. And, I worry while preparing our family’s meals that the food has undergone the same standards as what we’ve raised on farms in the U.S. and Canada.

Courtesy of foodtechconnect.com

At a time that Americans are so sensitive about our national security, do we really want to rely on other countries for the majority of our food?  Consider what’s happened to oil and our gas prices; it makes no sense to have our food ‘held hostage.’ Yet, the increasing regulations, lack of understanding about today’s modern farm and constant scrutiny of American agriculture is pushing more food production out of the U.S. and Canada. Is it a perfect system? No. But if you’re food buyer, rest assured that USDA and FDA have the most stringent standards of anywhere on earth. And also know you can always talk to a farmer or food processor if you’d like to know the steps to keep your food safe – here are a few to help you get started.

Ag folks, let’s be sure we deliver on that promise. There is likely no greater vulnerability to the USA’s national security than food and water. According to this article, FDA has spent $1.3 billion on food defense programs since 2005, the USDA said it has spent $1.64 billion on food defense since 2003. Some of this may be inconvenient to your farm or agribusiness, but enough has not been done. I hope that you will be able to say with assurance each night at the supper table that you did everything possible to protect your family and our food supply. And I also hope you are prepared to explain how your farm to the 98.5% of the population not in your shoes.