Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Michael Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will keynote the National Food Policy Conference that kicks off today in Washington, DC. The conference, which goes until tomorrow, and is organized by Consumer Federation of America, brings together experts in food, agriculture and nutrition policy to explore a broad range of issues facing consumers, industry and government. Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies and Lester Brown, President of Earth Policy Institute and author of “Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity,” are also keynote speakers for the conference. “Speakers and panelists will discuss timely food policy issues including the impact of immigration reform on our food supply, the future of food shopping, the debate on sugar sweetened beverages, the impact of changing animal welfare standards, food waste, implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act, the opportunities and challenges around sodium reduction, and priority setting in a time of reduced resources,” according to the organizers. Food Safety News‘ reporter Helena Bottemiller will moderate a Q&A with Taylor this morning. Those who cannot attend the conference are encouraged to follow the conversation on twitter. The hashtag is #FPC2013.