FEED - January 2007
Contents
- FDA proposes to release cloned products into food supply
- Pasture-raised pork and chicken better for environment
- Feeding antibiotics to poultry isn't cost-effective
- Livestock generate 18 percent of world's global warming pollutants
- What You Can Do: Sign a UCS petition to ban outdoor pharma/industrial food crops
1. FDA proposes to release cloned products into food supply
In late December, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set the stage to move cloned animals into the food supply by releasing a risk assessment concluding that cloned food animals and their progeny are safe to eat. The voluntary moratorium on selling cloned milk and meat will remain in place until the FDA has reviewed public comments on its risk assessment, probably no earlier than next summer. Under the management plan outlined by the FDA, the sale of milk and meat products from cloned animals will not be restricted or monitored, and the products will not be labeled. The assessment acknowledged, but dismissed, the developmental malformations that occur in cloned animals, which occur at far higher rates with cloning than with other forms of assisted reproduction. The only benefit of cloning cited by the FDA was a possibly faster rate at which new traits could be moved into food animals compared to sexual reproduction. Read more in The Washington Post, and look for UCS's action alert on cloning in coming weeks!
2. Pasture-raised pork and chicken better for environment
A new Union of Concerned Scientists report describes how pasture-raised pork, chicken, and egg production can avoid the pollution and health problems caused by conventional means. The report also explains the definitions, standards, and label claims for pasture-raised foods that consumers encounter at grocery stores. Greener Eggs and Ham: The Benefits of Pasture-Raised Swine, Poultry, and Egg Production complements last spring's report Greener Pastures, which described the nutrition and environmental benefits of grass-fed beef and dairy cattle. Both reports are available free online.
3. Feeding antibiotics to poultry isn't cost-effective
Poultry producers who feed antibiotics to their birds are losing money according to a new study by scientists at Johns Hopkins University and published in Public Health Reports. Although chickens fed antibiotics gain weight slightly faster, the cost of antibiotics means that producers end up paying about an extra penny per bird. The routine, non-therapeutic feeding of antibiotics to livestock to compensate for unsanitary, crowded conditions allows antibiotic-resistant bacteria to thrive and erodes the efficacy of these same antibiotics when used to treat infections in humans. Read the study (pdf), or read a press release (pdf) from the Keep Antibiotics Working coalition about it.
4. Livestock generate 18 percent of world's greenhouse gases
A new report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization found that domestic animals are a major source of greenhouse gases, producing 18% of the world's total - even more than transportation. Unless more sustainable techniques such as controlling soil erosion, providing animals with better diets, and using water more efficiently are adopted, the environmental impact of animal production will worsen, as world production of meat and dairy products is expected to double by 2050. Read the report.
5. What you can do: Sign a UCS petition to ban outdoor pharma/industrial food crops
Genetically engineered pharmaceutical (pharma) and industrial food crops are not intended for human consumption. Given current industry practices and lax government oversight, however, it is virtually inevitable that these crops, when grown outdoors, will contaminate the food supply. UCS supports a ban on the outdoor cultivation of food crops as pharma/industrial crops. To sign our petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture requesting a ban, read more about our position, or find out what pharma/industrial crops are grown in your state, visit www.ProtectOurFood.org.
