Ag Solves When Aggies Solve
This October, we were able to attend Texas A&M’s unveiling meeting of the recently founded Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA). The IHA is the world’s first academic institute to bring together precision nutrition, responsive agriculture, and social and behavioral research to reduce diet-related chronic disease and lower health care costs in a way that supports producers and the environment. The Institute combines top experts across multiple scientific disciplines in collaboration to tackle the challenge of food security, chronic disease, and agricultural sustainability in an uncertain future. The three main focus areas of the IHA are: Healthy Living, Precision Nutrition, and Responsive Agriculture. The IHA has selected Dr. Lewis, along with 14 other top scientists, as Associate Members to pioneer and lead research in one of its three focus areas. Dr. Lewis will participate in reaching IHA’s goal of investing in Responsive Agriculture through our newly established project, “Enhancing health on the Texas High Plains with sustainable and resilient cropping systems that mitigate wind erosion and dust control.”
The kick off meeting, appropriately titled “Ag Solves When Aggies Solve”, featured Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young (Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics and USDA’s Chief Scientist") and Dr. Howarth “Howdy” Bouis (2016 World Food Prize Laureate) as guest speakers for the event. Guest speakers were welcomed by the IHA’s Director, Dr. Patrick Stover, and the Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, John Sharp. For more information on the event, visit their press release here or check out the video!
