FEED - November 2008
Contents
1. USDA regulations would allow pharma crops to threaten food supply
2. New organic rules guarantee pasture for grazers
3. MRSA associated with food animals
4. Organic farming in Africa wins over chemical methods
5. California voters pass initiative to modernize food animal production
1. USDA regulations would allow pharma crops to threaten food supply
A sweeping proposal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would place the food supply at risk from contamination by drugs and industrial chemicals produced in genetically engineered food crops. The USDA's proposed regulations would allow "pharma" food crops to be grown outdoors, where they could contaminate crops intended for human consumption. The USDA ignored recommendations for a ban on the outdoor production of pharma food crops from the Grocery Manufacturers Association, major food companies, UCS, and more than 100 environmental, agricultural, health, and consumer organizations. The agency is soliciting comments from the public on its proposal until November 24. Read more from the USDA, and stay tuned for our action alert demanding stronger government oversight of pharma food crops!
| "If these proposals are enacted into law, American consumers must accept the possibility of drugs in their breakfast cereal or other common foods." ~ Jane Rissler, Food & Environment Program Senior Scientist and Deputy Director |
2. New organic rules guarantee pasture for grazers
The USDA has released new regulations on access to pasture for organic animals. If the regulations are enacted, producers will be required to give ruminant animals, such as cows, access to pasture and to meet other requirements in order to sell the products from these animals as organic. In the past, some large dairy operations evaded the pasture requirement by exploiting a loophole in the rule to deny animals access to pasture while they were lactating—which for dairy cows was most of their lives. This rule clarifies that lactating animals must receive access to pasture and that with few exceptions pasture access must be given year-round. It further requires that pasture be incorporated into producers' organic system plan just as other crops are. The detail provided by the new rule will make it easier for certifying agents to ensure that regulations are being followed. The agency is accepting public comments on the rule until December 23. Read the rule.
| "Consumers deserve to know that food with an organic label came from animals that were raised in accordance with their expectations. This rule will shore up that expectation and put some teeth into the certification process." ~ Margaret Mellon, Food & Environment Program Director |
3. MRSA associated with food animals
Pigs were identified as the source of a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacterial infection in a recent study of 21 patients in Denmark. This study confirms growing evidence from France, the Netherlands, and Canada that pigs are a reservoir for a new strain of MRSA that is infecting humans. Another study found the same strain of MRSA in recent samples from poultry in Belgium; this is the first report of this MRSA subtype in healthy poultry. Read the pig study (pdf) in Emerging Infectious Diseases and the abstract of the poultry study in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Then ask your congressional representatives to support a bill that would address antibiotic resistance here in the United States by curtailing overuse of antibiotics in agriculture.
4. Organic farming in Africa wins over chemical methods
A major study from the United Nations Environment Program reported that the use of organic practices in Africa produces higher yields than farming with pesticides and fertilizers. The study of 114 projects in 24 countries found that yields often more than doubled when organic or near-organic practices such as crop rotation and composting were used. Organic agriculture also brought benefits to families and communities: it encouraged the improvement of local infrastructure like roads, built social relations in the community, increased farmers' incomes, improved soil fertility, and increased the land's resistance to drought. Because organic agriculture relies on available resources rather than on expensive inputs like genetically engineered seed or pesticides, poor farmers can more readily implement organic methods than industrial agriculture methods, and they can retain more earnings. The study concluded that organic techniques are a practical way for African farmers to achieve the crop yields they need and generate food security for the growing population. Read the report (pdf), or read an article about it in The Independent (UK).
5. California voters pass initiative to modernize food animal production
A California ballot measure aimed at improving food animal production practices passed by a wide margin on November 4, signaling an important shift away from the worst practices at CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations). Proposition 2 will phase out the use of battery cages for egg-laying chickens, gestation crates for sows, and crates for veal calves by requiring that these animals have sufficient living space to turn around, stand up, lie down, and fully extend their limbs. CAFOs, which often use crates and cages to crowd too many animals into too small an area, create unnatural and unhealthy conditions that lead to costly air and water pollution, reduced property values in neighboring communities, and antibiotic-resistant illnesses in humans. Proposition 2 is an important step in promoting a modern approach to agriculture that is productive, more healthful, and humane, and its passage is likely to have national implications. Read more from the Los Angeles Times, or download the UCS issue briefing The Hidden Costs of CAFOs (pdf).
