Jasmine Dickerson (General Mills and USCIB Food and Agriculture Committee Vice Chair), Dan Christenson (PepsiCo and Vice Chair), Mark Hartman (FDA), Natalie Bidner-Swehla, Sally Parkinson (CropLife America).

USCIB promotes science-based, market-oriented, and innovation-enabling approaches to food and agriculture policy—ensuring that sustainability and environmental initiatives are aligned with agricultural productivity, economic viability, and open trade. Our work advances US business priorities in international food and agriculture policy discussions, while representing members’ interests in multilateral forums where global policy frameworks increasingly shape national regulation, trade conditions, and market access, such as the OECD, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Codex Alimentarius, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and B20.

What’s at Stake for US Business

International food and agriculture policies directly affect US companies’ ability to innovate, invest, and compete globally. Non-science-based regulations, fragmented standards, and trade-restrictive measures can increase costs, disrupt supply chains, and limit market access.

Key issues include:

  • Science‑ and risk‑based food and agriculture policymaking
  • Regulatory protectionism and trade barriers affecting market access
  • Agricultural productivity and economic viability
  • Innovation, technology adoption, and resilient supply chains
  • Voluntary, outcome‑based regenerative agriculture approaches
  • Open, fair, and rules‑based trade in food and agriculture
  • Science‑based nutrition and food regulatory policies
  • Maximum residue levels (MRLs) and international standards affecting US exports
  • Public‑private collaboration and practical Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) frameworks[

Natalie Bidner, Director, International Agriculture Policy; Alison Hoiem, Vice President, Membership; and Alice Slayton Clark, Senior Vice President, Trade, Investment and Digital Policy at the Borlaug Dialogue

USCIB Actions

  • Represent US business views at the OECD Committee for Agriculture, relevant working parties and groups, Business at OECD (BIAC) Food & Agriculture Committee, and related workstreams.
  • Advocate for science-based, risk-based, and technology-neutral policy approaches.
  • Promote alignment between sustainability objectives and agricultural productivity.
  • Engage with US and foreign governments on trade, food safety, and regulatory coherence.
  • Coordinate member input into OECD, FAO, Codex, APEC, and World Trade Organization (WTO) discussions.

Chair

Dr. Alejandra Castro
Vice President, International Affairs and Sustainability Strategy
Bayer

Vice Chairs

Dan Christenson
Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs
PepsiCo, Inc.

Jasmine Dickerson
Senior Manager, Government Affairs
General Mills, Inc.

Staff

Natalie Bidner-Swehla
Director, International Agriculture
nbidner@uscib.org

Maheen Haq
Administrative Assistant, Policy
mhaq@uscib.org

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