01/05/05 Tsunami and food; El Nino or not

As the world's headlines have focused this past week on the devastating tsunami that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Southeast Asia, most of the focus for relief has centered on fund raising and military coordination in clean up and search and rescue. But one area that has not received much, if any, focus, media wise, has been food aid. One reason could be that in all the devastation, there was little damage done to the crops in the most effected nations. That's according to U.S.D.A. meteorologist Mark Brusberg. BRUSBERG: We've really only seen antidotal so far depicting damage to maybe rice paddies within a few kilometers over the coast. That appears to be the most significant damage. It depends on which agency you ask. Some like the federal Climate Projection Center say the weather pattern known as El Nino will have a strong presence in the Northwest this winter. And that means balmy temperatures and little in the way of precipitation if those forecasts hold true. That would not bode well for areas of our region already under dry, even drought like, conditions over the last few years. Then again, an equal number of weather and meteorology agencies like the Oregon Climate Service say this should be an average winter, with just maybe a bit more precipitation than usual. Either way, the Northwest River Forecast Center out of Portland says there needs to be a lot of mountain snow fall between now and March to build snow pack and prevent below average run off. Now with today's "Food Forethought", here's Susan Allen. ALLEN: In China, 2005 will be known as the year of the rooster, a farm animal is apropos for a country that looms as the new agricultural superpower. While the Chinese New Year resounds with a bang, agriculture in the US could be fizzling. 2005 marks the first time in 50 years that our nation will fail to record a surplus in agriculture. This shouldn't come as a surprise given our growing reliance on imported foods. Yet I believe our freedom is in jeopardy if we lose the ability to feed our nation. It is sobering that when Tommy Thompson Secretary of Health and Human Services announced his resignation he admitted to worrying every night about a possible terror attack on our imported foods. The future of America's farmers now lies in the ability of great marketing minds to create value-added products and premium US brands able to command the world's respect. We would do well to pay head to words written over 2000 years ago, in Art of War. "When your weapons are dulled, your ardor dampened, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent" other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. I'm Susan Allen with Food Forethought.