ASA’s WISHH introduced University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and Delaware State University agricultural research and business students to the important role of U.S. soy protein for global food security when the students traveled to Edesia Nutrition in Rhode Island last week. The tour allowed college students to see and hear from Edesia, including how WISHH’s United Soybean Board project is supporting the enterprise’s product development with soy protein.
“I have many thanks for WISHH and others for organizing this tour,” said Stephan Tubene, Ph.D., the associate director of UM-ED’s Center for Global Security and Defense. CEGFSD is housed in UM-ED’s School of Agriculture and Natural Sciences. Many of its students attended the program at Edesia.
On the tour, students learned how Edesia purchases soy flour and other agricultural commodities to create its ready-to-use supplemental food packets that Edesia ships around the world. Students also received a tour of Edesia’s facilities and its warehouses that store raw materials, such as U.S. soy flour. Additionally, they received a sneak peak at a version of Edesia’s new nutrition packets, which contain 25% more U.S. soy thanks to WISHH’s USB-supported project.
The visit concluded with students watching the WISHH-produced video The Power of Protein: Farmers Take Action for Global Food Security. The video details the important leadership taken by soybean farmers and WISHH.
“Students and faculty were amazed to learn various aspects of supply value chains and global food security,” concluded Tubene.