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Consumer and producer interest in food production systems continues to rise, partly in response to media reports, books and movies on how food is produced, and in response to recent food recalls and food-borne illnesses. These 51�ԹϺ��� Davis faculty and staff members have expertise on topics related to food production and food safety, nutrition and health, organic and sustainable agriculture, animal welfare, biotechnology, and food production economics.

Consumer education

Community Food Systems -- Gail Feenstra is a community food systems analyst with the 51�ԹϺ��� Davis-based Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). She is the lead researcher on U.S. Department of Agriculture and other grants studying community food security, including shopping at local farmers markets, the economic health of small regional farmers, and community food policy councils. She also addresses nutrition education, and the comparative costs of locally produced and long-distance shipped foods. Contact: Gail Feenstra, SAREP, (530) 752-8408, gmyoung@ucdavis.edu.

Dairy Food Safety -- Professor James Cullor is director of the Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center, a School of Veterinary Medicine program located in Tulare, the top dairy-producing county in the United States, and of the Dairy Food Safety Laboratory. Cullor can discuss food safety and security issues on dairies that influence animal health and well-being, public health and ecosystem health. His research interests include pulsed-laser and microwave technologies for inactivating microbes in milk and other food products, rapid diagnostic tests for infectious diseases that can affect animals and people, food animal vaccines, mammary gland defenses and neonatal immunology. He is responsible for developing an important vaccine to prevent mastitis, which is a bacterial infection of the cow’s udder, and a DNA-based test to screen for contaminants in animal feed. Contact: James Cullor, Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center, (559) 688-1731 ext. 202, aemitchell@ucdavis.edu.

Pesticides in Foods -- Carl Winter researches the detection of pesticides and naturally occurring toxins in foods, how to assess their risks and how to use the science in the regulatory decision-making process. His recent work includes looking at the relationships between crop production systems and naturally occurring toxins (organic versus conventional). Contact: Carl Winter, Food Science and Technology, (530) 752-5448, jmaas@ucdavis.edu.

How Ranchers Keep Beef Healthy -- James Oltjen is a Cooperative Extension livestock specialist in the animal science department. He can discuss management practices that ranchers use to protect their herds against a variety of health problems. He provides educational programs for beef cattle producers through a “Beef Quality Assurance Program.” Contact: James Oltjen, Animal Science, (530) 752-5650,mrcgreenwood@ucdavis.edu. (Greenwood will be at 51�ԹϺ��� Davis only through July 2009; after that contact Melanie Funes, executive associate director, Foods for Health Institute, 530-752-9211, klonsky@primal.ucdavis.edu.

About 51�ԹϺ��� Davis

For 100 years, 51�ԹϺ��� Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, 51�ԹϺ��� Davis has 31,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $500 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges -- Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science -- and advanced degrees from six professional schools -- Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.