Washington, DC is not only the center of the most powerful government in the world, but also home to the largest collection of interest groups in the world. Some think this is a bad thing, but it is, in fact, a very good thing.

Government institutions provide access for citizens, and interest groups play a major role in policy development by informing government and others of members' interests.This input allows representative democracy to work well. There's no way the policy makers can know the detail about animal agricultural science to make fair and effective policy without a constant presence and input from FASS and allied agricultural and scientific groups. Of course, this does not excuse each citizen from their duty to be involved, and direct contact from constituents to their Representatives and Senators are always the most effective.

Each group has its own perspective, and there is often conflict between groups’ interests. The impressive thing about the agriculture complex is that it has many diverse constituents with many competing interests, but the mainstream groups almost always settle on shared positions that are driven by science, truth, and fairness. These compromises are critical because coalitions are the most effective way to get the attention of policy makers. As Ben Franklin said at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” Franklin believed in the coalition concept beyond the historic founding works of genius and personally began a number of associations as this country was getting on its feet. The scientists that started the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Poultry Science Association continued that legacy and gave us the foundation for FASS to be effective today.

But coalitions are not always easy. We learned from the animal care issue, where closely aligned organizations had similar goals to ensure good animal care and to reassure customers, that differences on the politics of auditing became somewhat contentious until we sorted out what each group could legitimately say in line with their core mission. Each association had to be tenacious and dedicated advocates on behalf of their members, but had to see the bigger picture and the fact that the various agricultural interests will need each other long after the controversy of animal care audits is forgotten. (The disagreement was about promotion of voluntary programs that could lead to mandatory farm audits. FASS’ position is to participate to ensure, whether voluntary or otherwise, that science is the basis for any program implemented.)

On science issues, FASS is active in a number of coalitions, including the Coalition on Funding Agricultural Research Missions (CoFARM), the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research (National C-FAR), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), to urge increased funding for research and education. Even in the current bleak Federal budget situation, there are opportunities to make the important points that research and education investments are the foundation for innovation and competitiveness. We have taken the position that the 302(b) allocation for the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee (which supports critical research and scientific training being funded by USDA including the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program) be maintained at last year’s level or higher and have urged members to contact their Senators and Representatives about this.

On agricultural production issues, participation in the Animal Agriculture Coalition (AAC) allows FASS to build strong industry relationships essential for us to realize our mission. This is a very effective coalition of animal agricultural commodities and veterinarians including beef, dairy, pork, sheep, horses, broilers, layers, turkeys, and others. We have found that unified AAC positions are very effective in both legislative and regulatory efforts. Agencies have requested positions from the AAC on issues such as regulation of transgenic animals, and Congressmen have asked for scientific evaluations of legislation in development. The AAC seeks science-based positions and often rely on FASS for input and assistance.

Recent issues requiring attention include the fallout from BSE, animal identification, and regulation of biotechnology. In the rush to reassure the public and prevent additional BSE cases, there is much pressure on government agencies to abandon science to appear more protective. Many commercial interests push for prescriptive animal identification systems that would favor a particular method. Some groups use their political clout to advocate overly restrictive regulation on biotechnology research and commercialization. FASS’ participation in the AAC and science groups enhances our ability to ensure science is used in policy decisions. This participation enhances our relevance to animal industries and to policy makers, which can lead to strong support for agricultural research and education investments.

It is critical that FASS maintain a presence in Washington, participate in the process of bringing science to policy development, represent FASS members in the discussions, and inform people about the importance of what we do.

David L. Meeker, Interim Scientific Liaison