Foreword
by Dan Glickman, Secretary
More than 130 years ago--in 1862--President
Abraham Lincoln founded the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He called it the
"people's department."
In Lincoln's day, 58 percent of the "people" were farmers who needed
good seed and good information to grow their crops.
Today, USDA continues Lincoln's legacy by serving all Americans--the 2
percent of our Nation who farm as well as everyone who eats food, wears
clothes, lives in a house, or visits a rural area or a national forest.
From major city to suburb to small town to farm, we are all touched by
USDA:
- Twenty-two million American workers process, sell, and trade the
Nation's food and fiber,
- Farmers and ranchers work with USDA to produce healthy crops while
caring for soil and water,
- Consumers benefit from USDA research--which helps ensure the United
States has the most available, highest quality, and least expensive food supply
of any country in the world,
- Twenty-five million schoolchildren eat school lunch each day,
- Millions of Americans receive food stamps to help feed their families
in time of need,
- Consumers are assured that all meat and poultry products have been
inspected for safety,
- Citizens of rural American communities benefit from USDA loans and
grants for housing, utilities, and economic development,
- Our children and grandchildren will inherit a national forest system
where they will be able to hike, camp, and enjoy the natural splendor of
America's outdoors,
- And people throughout the world look to the United States as the
world's largest agricultural exporter and as the world's largest donor of
foreign food aid.
Through a productive agriculture, a safe and abundant food supply, and
stewardship of natural resources, USDA continues to serve the American people.
In the 1990's, the "people's department" is leading the way to create a Federal
Government that works better and costs less for the American people.
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