[UCI-Calit2] Distinguished Energy Lecturer Series: A.G. Kawamura, Secretary, Calif. Dept. of Food and Agriculture - This Wed., March 3, Please RSVP

Anna Lynn Spitzer aspitzer at calit2.uci.edu
Mon Mar 1 14:57:26 PST 2010


REMINDER 

 




5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 3
Engineering Hall Auditorium (Building 308, UC Irvine Campus)
<http://www.uci.edu/campusmap/> 

There is no cost to attend the lecture, but we do ask that you R.S.V.P.
to Jana Santiago at js at apep.uci.edu <mailto:js at apep.uci.edu>  no later
than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2.

 

A.G. Kawamura
Secretary
California Department of Food and Agriculture

"The Nexus Between Energy, Water, and Agriculture in the State of
California"

California is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the
world, ranking as the nation's leading dairy producer; yielding almost
half of U.S.-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables; and exporting food to
more than 150 countries. This bounty would not be possible without water
and the electrical energy required for irrigation and post-harvest
processing. Electrical costs and power reliability are critical to the
success and sustainability of the state's agricultural concerns. In
fact, almost every facet of the state's economy relies on the transport
and treatment of large volumes of water, two activities that require a
continuous supply of electricity.

Water. food and electricity: The former are required to sustain life;
the latter to sustain our way of life. Independently and collectively,
they define California's economy. Their increasing interdependence has
national, indeed global, implications.

Join A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and
Agriculture, to learn how California is playing a leading role in
national and international efforts to put agriculture at the forefront
of meeting increasing energy demands while "continuing to produce safe,
abundant and affordable food, feed and fiber." 

 

********************************************** 


Governor Schwarzenegger appointed A.G. Kawamura as secretary of the
California Department of Food and Agriculture in November 2003. Since
then, Secretary Kawamura has represented California's agricultural
interests on numerous national committees. He chairs the Specialty Crop
Task Force of the National Association of State Departments of
Agriculture (NASDA) and is a member of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable
Industry Advisory Committee. Secretary Kawamura serves on the steering
committees of the national 25x'25 renewable energy initiative, which
calls for America's farms, forests and ranches to provide 25 percent of
the total energy consumed in the United States by 2025, and the Native
Pollinator Initiative. He is the immediate past president of the Western
Association of State Departments of Agriculture and was, in that
capacity, a member of the NASDA board.

On other issues of domestic and international importance, he was an
early supporter of renewable energy as well as being a vocal proponent
of invasive species prevention, trade promotion and farm bill
reauthorization.

Prior to his appointment, Secretary Kawamura was active as a produce
grower and shipper from Orange County, where his third-generation
farming family still grows strawberries, green beans and other specialty
crops. As an urban agriculturist, he has a lifetime of experience
working along and within the expanding urban boundaries of Southern
California.

Secretary Kawamura has a long history of public service to his community
and to agriculture. At the time of his appointment, he was a member of
the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where he had served
since 1998. In addition, he served as chairman of the Agricultural
Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Fruits and Vegetables, a USDA
advisory position for international trade; president of the Orange
County Farm Bureau; and chairman of Western Growers Association. He has
also served as a director on the board of the California Strawberry
Commission and the California Celery Research Advisory Board. He was a
founding trustee of Sage Hill High School in Orange County.

Secretary Kawamura is widely known for his passion for education and his
commitment to the issues of hunger and nutrition. As president of Orange
County Harvest, a nonprofit promoting agricultural partnerships with
organizations combating hunger, he arranged for thousands of volunteers
to harvest and glean over a million pounds of produce for area food
banks. His urban community garden projects are nationally recognized. 
Secretary Kawamura has received numerous awards and recognition for his
work in and outside the agricultural community. Highlights include:
Pacific Pioneer Award: Japanese American Cultural and Community Center,
2004; Orange County Second Harvest Food Bank: Humanitarians Against
Hunger Award, 2000; and the California Hunger Action Coalition: Hunger
Fighter Award, 2000.

Secretary Kawamura has a bachelor's degree in comparative literature
from UC Berkeley.

**********************************************

RECEPTION
Please join us at the National Fuel Cell Research Center (Building 323,
UC Irvine Campus) for a light reception immediately following the
lecture.

PARKING
Available in the Anteater Parking Structure at Anteater Drive and East
Peltason

________________________________

________________________________



 

 

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