FEED - May 2008 | Union of Concerned Scientists

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FEED - May 2008

Contents

1. New UCS report: CAFOs cost taxpayers billions

The news has been full of stories recently about the rising cost of food. But when it comes to most meat, milk, and eggs sold in the United States, consumers have paid more for years—they just didn’t know it. CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) are massive facilities that create costly pollution and public health problems as they produce most of the nation's food animals. Our new report documents the billions of dollars of hidden costs that CAFOs foist onto taxpayers and communities, and the misguided government policies that enable and even encourage it. From taxpayer subsidies for cheap animal feed to federal programs that help CAFOs manage their pollution problems, our report reveals how expensive our current CAFO system really is. Meanwhile, we found that modern, environmentally sound alternatives can be cost-effective if given a chance. The report, CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations, recommends that the government provide incentives for more sustainable and efficient ways to raise animals, including pasture systems. Read the report.

2. Organic yields rival conventional yields for some crops
Farms that avoid synthetic fertilizers or pesticides can be just as productive as conventional farms, according to a multi-year comparison of cropping systems in Wisconsin. The study found that crop yields were just as high, both in volume and in quality, for organic alfalfa as for conventional alfalfa. Yields for organic corn, soybeans, and winter wheat were about 90 percent as high as conventional yields. The major limitation on organic yields was weeds. The study concluded that diverse, low-input farming systems (farms that grow a variety of crops and avoid using synthetic pesticides or fertilizers) can match the production of the conventional farming systems that dominate the Midwest today. Read the study in Agronomy Journal.

3. Engineered seeds can survive in soil for 10 years
Scientists in Sweden found genetically engineered canola plants springing up in a test field 10 years after engineered seeds were originally planted—despite efforts over time to clear the field of transgenic plants. The canola plants were engineered to tolerate the herbicide glufosinate. In the years following the canola planting, the field was plowed and used to grow wheat, barley, and sugar beets, and farm staff routinely searched for and removed canola plants. Yet after a decade canola plants were still sprouting in the field. The persistence and dispersal of genetically engineered plants into the environment is one of the serious problems with this technology, and may contribute to contamination of conventional crops. Read more about engineered crops, or read the study abstract in Biology Letters.

4. "Superresistant" bacteria eat antibiotics for lunch
Harvard scientists found bacteria in soil from sites across the United States that not only tolerate antibiotics, they subsist on them as their sole source of carbon. The bacteria can survive concentrations of antibiotics 50 times the level that defines antibiotic resistance. None of these soil bacteria causes disease in humans, and no human pathogens eat antibiotics so far, but it is possible that superresistant bacteria might share their resistance genes with bacteria that cause disease in humans. Read the abstract in Science, or read more in the New York Times (reg. req'd).

5. Maine law will protect farmers from lawsuits
A new law in Maine will protect farmers from being sued for patent infringement if genetically engineered seeds accidentally wind up in their fields. Prior to this law, farmers were vulnerable to lawsuits if they saved seed for the next year's planting that turned out to be contaminated with genetically engineered material that blew in from their neighbors' fields. The legislation also instructs the Maine Department of Agriculture to develop Best Management Practices for cultivating engineered crops. Opponents of the law claim that it is unconstitutional and plan to appeal. Read more in the Bangor News. In a related story, the Maine town of Montville made headlines for banning the cultivation of engineered crops—the only community outside California to do so.

We’re hiring! The Food & Environment program at UCS is looking for a senior scientist/agroecologist (Ph.D. required) to join our team. Please see the complete job description. To apply, send a cover letter referencing where you learned of this position and a resume to food@ucsusa.org by June 2.