Woteki nominated for USDA Research, Education and Economics post
By Agri-Pulse Staff
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President Barack Obama plans to nominate Dr. Catherine Woteki to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education and Economics.
"Dr. Woteki is one of the ablest and most experienced food and agriculture public servants our country has to offer," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "She is a distinguished nutritional epidemiologist who has held senior positions in academia, the United States government, and in business, and we are delighted to have her join the USDA team to enhance our success in improving the lives of farmers, ranchers and those living in rural areas of our country."
From 1997-2001, Woteki served as the first Under Secretary for Food Safety at USDA, overseeing the Food Safety and Inspection Service and the U.S. government’s Office for the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and coordinated U.S. government food safety policy development and USDA’s continuity of operations planning. She worked for two years in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she co-authored the Clinton Administration’s policy statement, "Science in the National Interest," and served as the Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics in the USDA. From 2002-2005, she was Dean of Agriculture and Professor of Human Nutrition at Iowa State University, where she also was the head of the Agriculture Experiment Station.
Since 2005, Woteki has served as Global Director of Scientific Affairs for Mars, Inc., a multinational food, confectionery, and pet care company. In this role she has managed the company’s scientific policy and research on matters of health, nutrition, and food safety.
Woteki’s research interests include nutrition, food safety policy, risk assessment, and health survey design and analysis. She is the author of over 60 refereed scientific articles and 12 books and technical reports. During her tenure as Director of the Food and Nutrition Board at the National Academy of Sciences, she had direct responsibility for 27 studies and co-authored a nutrition book entitled Eat for Life which became a Book of the Month Club selection.
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