Mike Johanns

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

“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.”

“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.”

“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?”

“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.”

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

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

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

“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.”

“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.”

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