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United States agriculture turns to science
As the Great Depression wore on into the 1930s the economic plight of
the American farmer deteriorated because of a surplus of products such
as wheat, cotton, milk, and potatoes. The Farm Chemurgic Council, begun
in 1935 by a group of scientists and industrialists and supported by Henry
Ford and Irénée Du Pont, was convinced that "through
research, practically unlimited opportunities existed for the creation
of new products from farm commodities." (3)
When Congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 "as
a new charter of freedom for farmers," one of its provisions was
the establishment of regional research laboratories that would look for
new uses of specific crops in different regions of the country.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was directed to determine
what research in what areas had the most potential to benefit the American
farmer. Within a year, a massive report was prepared, reviewing 10,000
research topics and covering 1300 institutions involved with chemurgic
research. The USDA settled on four locations: Philadelphia, Peoria, New
Orleans, and San Francisco. Acting quickly, Congress appropriated $4 million
for the four almost identical research buildings at the four sites, and
by the end of 1940 the buildings were completed, equipped, and staffed.
The first research centers for farm commodities had begun operation less
than three years after their concept had been proposed.
According to the 1940 Yearbook of Agriculture, their mission was
straightforward enough. "The market for farm products is to be held
– and expanded wherever possible – by aggressive use of …
science and technology…. The desired result may not be attainable,
but the game is not to be lost by default, at any rate." As the regional
center for the western United States, the Western Regional Research Laboratory
[now the Western Regional Research Center (WRRC)] was to focus on fruits
and vegetables, wheat, potatoes, and alfalfa. It was built in Albany,
California, adjacent to Berkeley; part of its land was a donation from
the University of California. The planners of the original research centers
expected that the initial list of commodities assigned to each center
would expand and change with time, and they were not disappointed.
Early methods of food preservation | A chance discovery | Frozen food chemistry | U.S. Agriculture turns to science | Frozen food research begins at WRRC | Defining "Quality" | Chemical reactions at low temperatures | Chlorophyll as a benchmark | Major scientific results from the T-TT program | Societal impact of the T-TT program | Landmark designation | Further reading and acknowledgments
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