Sheltering farmers from reliable information that will help them make wise decisions, as some nations have sought to do, is as counter to progress in food production as any manmade intervention could be.

Crop reporting ranks as one of the soundest, most objective and most scientifically based of all the data gathering in which the federal government is engaged.

Food safety consumer education has been sorely lacking, and this high profile undertaking is needed to ensure the billions of dollars food and beverage manufacturers have spent on food safety interventions and good manufacturing practices do not become undone by consumer ignorance.

It makes no sense, except in moments of Godzilla-type public hysteria, to tie food that excites a radiation monitor to food that is genetically modified by scientists wishing to make them better for the environment and for the well-being of humankind.

While any food safety issue is a matter of concern for industry executives, it is the lesser known, emerging threates that are the most problematic.