FEED - August 2007
Contents
- I'll have the Green Plate Special…
- Dead Zone in Gulf of Mexico continues to grow
- Organic beats no-till in building quality soil
- New map locates animal factories
- USDA contemplates pharma crop ban
1. I'll have the Green Plate Special…
The Union of Concerned Scientists is excited to bring you a brand new seasonal web feature—Green Cuisine: Earth-friendly, healthy recipes from top chefs and local farmers. Green Cuisine will profile local chef-farmer partnerships and the creative, healthy, sustainable dishes that result from these collaborations. For summer, the spotlight is on delicious and juicy farm-fresh tomatoes, as prepared by visionary chef Nora Pouillon of the celebrated (and certified organic) Restaurant Nora in Washington, DC. Check out our interactive photo slideshow, and get a FREE summer recipe from Nora.
2. Dead Zone in Gulf of Mexico continues to grow
According to researchers at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (pdf), the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico has expanded this year to cover 7,500 square miles – nearly the size of New Jersey. Located off the coast of Louisiana, the dead zone is an area that becomes so oxygen-depleted that it cannot support fish, shrimp, or other marine life. This summer's dead zone is the third largest since scientists began studying it 22 years ago.
This decrease in oxygen occurs when excess nutrients flow into the Mississippi and other waterways, triggering massive algal growth downstream. When the algae die, they are decomposed by bacteria that consume most of the oxygen in the water. Huge animal factories contribute to the dead zone directly through flow of nutrient-rich manure into waterways, and indirectly through nitrogen fertilizer runoff from the thousands of acres of corn grown to support the animal factories.
3. Organic beats no-till in building quality soil
A new study by the federal Agricultural Research Service has demonstrated that organic farming builds soil organic matter better than conventional no-till farming, challenging the belief that no-till is the best farming option for soil health and carbon sequestration. Organic farming traditionally employs minimal tillage to control weeds and incorporate manure, while conventional no-till farming avoids tillage altogether and often relies upon applications of herbicides to control weeds. Tilling a field, or stirring up the ground to kill weeds and facilitate planting, can destroy soil organic matter important for growing crops. However, the new study demonstrates that the use of manure and cover crops in organic farming more than offsets the soil losses from tillage. In addition, the organic soil in the studied fields contained more carbon and nitrogen than the no-till soil. After nine years of organic production, the organic soil supported an 18 percent increase in corn yield over the no-till soil. Read more from the Agricultural Research Service.
4. New map locates animal factories
Food and Water Watch has developed a new interactive map showing the location of animal factories by county in the United States. Animal factories are now found all over the country. These operations barely resemble traditional farms where healthy animals are allowed to roam on pasture. Instead, they keep thousands of animals closely confined in unsanitary conditions in order to maximize output. These systems pollute the surrounding environment and adversely affect human and animal health, leading to problems like antibiotic resistance. Visit Food and Water Watch to explore the map and learn about factory farm pollution in your state.
5. USDA contemplates pharma crop ban
Released in mid-July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) long-awaited draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on the regulation of genetically engineered (GE) organisms presents a ban on food crops as one option for overseeing pharmaceutical (pharma) and industrial crops. If the option is adopted by the USDA, it will become the basis for pharma/industrial crop regulation in the new GE crop rules expected in 2008. But that outcome is far from assured. The EIS also presents a weaker option that the USDA currently prefers over the ban.
In the works since 2004, the comprehensive rule making including the EIS is the most significant regulatory initiative on GE crops to come out of the USDA in the last two decades. The new rule making will establish the USDA's regulation of GE crops for many years to come.
UCS will be mounting a major effort to generate public comments from individuals and organizations to persuade the USDA to adopt the ban option. Stay tuned for an action alert with directions on how to comment to the USDA on the EIS later this month. Meanwhile, you can sign our pharma crop petition to the USDA today at www.ProtectOurFood.org.
Read the USDA environmental impact statement on the regulation of genetically engineered organisms (pdf).
