Last January 18th the Agricultural and Food Business Outlook Conference was held at the PepsiCo Auditorium, Stocking Hall of Cornell University. During this meeting, New York agricultural leaders got together to find out more about the short-and long-term outlook for agriculture and agricultural products.
The breakout sessions concentrated on dairy, grains and feed, and horticultural products. I enjoyed to partcipate for the second year on the row to this event. I gained a better understand of critical issues facing agriculture in the US and thereby the main differences with Europe and especially I had the opportunity to interact with fellow colleagues about agricultural industry.
In the morning session, Ed McLaughlin, Professor, Director, Food Industry Management Program, Dyson School illustrated new trends of the Food Retailing system in the 21st Century.
In the afternoon sessions, I also co-presented, with Michele Lefebvre, Director, Nutritional Mgt, Cornell Dining, a study on consumer perception and mushroom burgers. This new blend burger was introduced last Fall semester across several dining halls at campus. We have been investigating the students behavior behind this new product with an attitudinal questionnaire and direct observations. The final results will be presented this Summer to two main food conferences (AAEA in Atlanta and IFT in NewOrleans).+
Other presentations given in the same session were:
- Situation and Outlook Report for Fruits, and Vegetables - Brad Rickard, Associate Professor
- Terrorism and wine tourism: the recent case of France - Florine Livat, Associate Professor, KEDGE, France
- Situation and Outlook Report of Wine, Grapes & Ornamentals - Miguel Gomez, Associate Professor & Jie Li, Research Associate, Dyson School