FEED - January 2006
Contents
1. Report slams Department of Agriculture on engineered crops
2. Ventria pulls out of Missouri university deal
3. Pharma crop company goes out of business
4. Air pollution from California dairies is significant
5. McDonald's criticizes mad cow rule as too weak
6. What you can do: Comments needed on poultry emissions rule
1. Report slams Department of Agriculture on engineered crops
A report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's own Inspector General charged that the department is failing to properly oversee field trials of genetically engineered crops, especially pharmaceutical crops. The report said that the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the agency responsible for oversight, is unaware of the locations of field trials, fails to conduct frequent enough inspections, and does not track the fate of crops after harvest. The report said that the poor management increased the risk that genetically engineered organisms would escape into the environment. Read about the report in the Des Moines Register, or to read the report itself, visit http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/50601-08-TE.pdf (pdf).
2. Ventria pulls out of Missouri university deal
Ventria Biosciences, a pharmaceutical crop company that was planning to move its headquarters to a new biotechnology center at Northwest Missouri State University, pulled out of the deal after the state slashed the project's funding from $30 million to $12.5 million. When Ventria first decided to move to Missouri, local rice growers feared that Ventria's genetically engineered pharma rice would contaminate their crops, and Anheuser-Busch vowed to boycott all Missouri rice if any biotech rice was grown in the state - later agreeing to buy rice that was grown at least 120 miles away from Ventria's crops. Now the university is looking for other companies to invest in its center. Read an Associated Press article about Ventria's decision.
3. Pharma crop company goes out of business
Large Scale Biology, the first company to produce protein-based drugs and industrial chemicals in plants, has gone out of business. The company produced proteins in tobacco plants that were infected with genetically engineered viruses. Large Scale Biology's founder said that drug manufacturers were reluctant to invest in the new technology due to concerns that drugs produced in crops would not be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. To read an article in The New York Times, reprinted on the Organic Consumers Association website, visit http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/biosource122805.cfm.
4. Air pollution from California dairies is significant
In California's San Joaquin Valley, the biggest cause of pollution isn't cars - it's dairy cows. A review of scientific studies found that each year each cow in the valley produces almost 20 pounds of volatile organic compounds (a form of pollution that contributes to ground-level ozone and causes health problems like asthma). The Los Angeles Times reported that based on this finding nearly 400 dairies in the valley will be required to get Air District permits and to invest in pollution control measures to meet air quality regulations. The San Joaquin Valley has the nation's worst air pollution and the highest number of dairy cows. Read the article reprinted on the Organic Consumers Association website, or read a news release from the valley's Air Pollution Control District (pdf).
5. McDonald's criticizes mad cow rule as too weak
Scientists and other experts, a pharmaceutical supplier, and McDonald's restaurant have all criticized the Food and Drug Administration's proposed rule on animal feed, which was intended to strengthen safeguards against mad cow disease. The critics contended that the proposed rule "falls woefully short" of protecting consumers because it allows cattle to be fed restaurant waste and body tissue from dead cattle to which mad cow infection could have spread. Consumption of infected tissue is the primary way that mad cow disease is transmitted. The scientists wrote, "We do not feel that we can overstate the dangers ... from these diseases and the need to control and arrest them." McDonald's stated that the risk of mad cow should be reduced to as close to zero as possible. Read about the issue in The Washington Post.
6. What you can do: Comments needed on poultry emissions rule
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is asking for public comments on a rule that would allow poultry factory farms to release dangerous levels of ammonia without notifying local, state, or federal officials. The National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association filed a petition requesting that their industries be exempted from federal reporting requirements that kick in when toxic emissions exceed a threshold and pose a risk to nearby communities. Please let the EPA know that large-scale poultry farms should be subject to the same pollution reporting requirements as other industries. Submit your comment by March 27 under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-2005-0013, online at http://www.regulations.gov, by email to superfund.docket@epa.gov, by fax to 202-566-0224, or by mail to Superfund Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 5202T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460. Read more about the rule, or read UCS's comments.
