Fortunately, when it comes to meat and poultry, I have the really wonderful situation of having producers and processors that produce and process a very high-quality product.

Fortunately, when it comes to meat and poultry, I have the really wonderful situation of having producers and processors that produce and process a very high-quality product.

In 75 foreign countries, we have a presence in the USDA.

In beef trade issues, we base our decisions upon science.

This president has said this has to be a priority for our nation, protecting our food supply from terrorist acts, so he continues to provide the funding that is necessary.

The big producer is going to figure out how to deal with whatever the rules are, but the little guy who is running a few hundred units or maybe feeding 1,500 cattle a year, how will they ever comply with these requirements?

There is a tremendous amount of support for the approach we have taken, which again is to base our decisions on risk analysis and thoughtful scientific process.

We're going to do everything possible to make sure that food safety is always paramount, and that we work with the industry as aggressively as we can to make sure that we're paying attention to the food-safety issues.

On the professional side, those 18 years on the farm instilled my love for agriculture.

There is a certain amount of momentum that is achieved when one country after another reopens their borders.

Today, we can tell people we have a testing process and facilities in place on a nationwide basis.

When one cow was found with BSE in 2003, many of our trading partners closed their borders to our beef.

I ended up being the governor of a very ag state, Nebraska.

We asked ourselves and the world to base decisions on good science, and I really believe the United States can be the leader in delivering that message to our international trading partners.

My goal with the Canadian border is the same goal I have for Japan and Korea.

One of the things that I always say about bioterrorism, whether it's ourselves at the federal level, folks at the state level, or folks in the private industry, we've done many great things, especially since 9/11.

Our job is to ensure that meat and poultry products are safe, wholesome, accurately labeled for the benefit of the American consumers, and to make sure that they are in compliance with all federal laws.

The meat and poultry industries are outstanding industries, and it's going to be a very natural fit for me.

The goal is to normalize trade relations based on sound science and consumer protection.

The world is really figuring BSE out, and that's positive.

People enjoy our meat and our poultry, as I do as a consumer.

In this day and age when we do so much business in foreign trade, we need the ability to identify trace an animal very quickly, identifying where it came from - where it has been, and where it is at today.

Growing up on a dairy farm, you certainly learn discipline and a commitment to purpose.

Producers are so much better-educated in issues related to terrorism.

Food safety involves everybody in the food chain.

I meet with people in the industry on an ongoing basis.

I never would have believed as a candidate for the U.S. Senate that the U.S. government could buy GM without a hearing, with no vote, yes or no. There are billions and billions of dollars at stake here.

The industry is becoming very ready for animal identification.

The president has been a true friend of the ag industry, because he continues to invest large amounts of money at a time when savings is really the goal of the federal government to deal with the deficit.

We had Taiwan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Oman open their markets to our beef, and we're excited about that.

Science is the international language, so when we are able to convince countries that good decision-making for human health and animal health is based upon science, that's a real success story for us.

We need to always be vigilant on the sanitary issues.

The Beastie Boys are guys I loved before I met them, and when I got to know them, we started a magazine together, and we started making videos together, and a lot of it came out of us just cracking ourselves up, like going to the fake mustache store and buying fake mustaches.

For all the creationists out there, Darwin's just an atheist. But he was actually agnostic.

I don't do detoxes or cleanses - they don't really work for me. I have a really moderate, simple routine. I like to do yoga, Pilates, dance, and things like that.

If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.

Leadership is unlocking people's potential to become better.

I think I've earned a reputation of being fair and that I'll hear all sides from the entire political spectrum.

Onions and bacon cooking up just makes your kitchen smell so good. In fact, one day I'm going to come up with a room deodorizer that smells like bacon and onions. It's a fabulous smell.

Ah, to be a conservative climate change denier. While real scientists must do all the research and engage in heated debates about just how bad things are going to be, the deniers can rest easy in the bliss of willful ignorance.

I think every woman should have the skills and confidence to be able to earn a living. A working woman is happy because she has goals beyond herself and her needs.

I don't take myself too seriously, but I take the job very seriously, and I expect people to do the job that they're given because this is about all our people, young and old, and it's an enormous responsibility.

One of a handful of films made in Detroit, '8 Mile' doesn't feature the Motown renaissance that Mayor Coleman A. Young dreamed of in the 1970s. Instead, it's the beaten-down city: 8 Mile refers to the line of demarcation between Detroit and suburban, mostly white Oakland County.

I don't try to just be a blues singer - I try to be an entertainer. That has kept me going.

There is no question that we must do more to secure our borders - but how we go about securing them is also important.

I went to graduate school in Iowa City, at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where the most passionate thing I did was attend University of Iowa basketball games.

I think swag is very important to rappers. It's the overall appearance and style of an artist - these blue shorts and this blue hat and this $80,000 chain, this jewelry and all these tattoos, that's swag.

Pragmatism is not always a good thing. Experience is not always a good thing.

I never want to quit playing ball. They'll have to cut this uniform off of me to get me out of it.