FEED - September 2007 | Union of Concerned Scientists

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FEED - September 2007

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1. USDA seeks public feedback on pharma/industrial crop regulations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is revising the regulations governing the release of genetically engineered (GE) crops into the environment, including GE crops that produce pharmaceutical (pharma) and industrial substances. The USDA is proposing to maintain essentially the same oversight system currently used, despite the department's demonstrated inability to adequately protect the food supply from pharma/industrial crop contamination. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) believes that the combination of past oversight failures, recent steep increases in the acreage of pharma/industrial food crops, and virtual impossibility of keeping these crops separate from crops destined for the food supply calls for a new, stronger approach. Help UCS persuade the USDA to protect our food by banning outdoor use of food and feed crops to produce drugs and industrial chemicals.

2. New sunflower lines demonstrate the power of traditional breeding

New federal research shows that traditional breeding can produce valuable new crop varieties without the uncertainties and controversies associated with genetic engineering. USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, working with the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, have developed three new sunflower lines featuring two highly beneficial traits—resistance to downy mildew and a high percentage of oleic fatty acid. In order to create these new varieties, researchers bred existing lines with wild sunflower lines collected from Texas and Idaho. The new lines are now available to breeders who wish to incorporate the desirable traits into their commercial sunflower crops. The disease-resistant trait will help sunflowers respond to new virulent strains of the downy mildew fungus. The high oleic acid content will improve the flavor, shelf-life, and frying stability of sunflower oil. In addition, according study at the University of Sydney, high-oleic-acid sunflower oil reduces cholesterol and triglycerides when substituted for foods rich in saturated fat.

The ARS in 2004 estimated the value of traits traditionally bred into sunflower crops from wild relatives to be between $267 million and $384 million per year.

3. Researchers link antibiotic use on hog farms to antibiotic-resistant genes in groundwater

A recent study by researchers at the University of Illinois found that bacteria in groundwater harbored antibiotic-resistant genes that could be linked directly to area hog farms and to underground seepage of excess manure stored in large pits known as lagoons.

Scientists have warned for many years that the overuse of antibiotics in food animal production leads to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that makes it harder for doctors to treat sick people. Consumers are advised to cook meat well to kill off bacteria, but this measure does not eliminate the threat of antibiotic resistance. The study illustrates that antibiotic-resistant bacteria originating in animals can make their way to humans through the environment as well as on food. Read more about this study at Science Daily.

4. Pesticides block nitrogen fixation, decrease crop yields

A new report by scientists from four universities indicates that some chemical pesticides interfere with nitrogen fixation, a natural process that many farmers depend upon to boost crop yields. In that process, certain plants called legumes have nitrogen-fixing bacteria living within their roots. The bacteria remove nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into a natural fertilizer. The plants then release the usable nitrogen into the soil. Taking advantage of this process, farmers often plant legumes such as alfalfa and soybeans to provide nitrogen to subsequent crops like corn that require large amounts of fertilizer.

The new research shows that certain commonly used pesticides reduce nitrogen fixation and yield in alfalfa plants. According to the authors, these impacts may lessen the nitrogen available in the soil for subsequent crops, decreasing the value of crop rotations and leading to increases in synthetic fertilizer use.

By contrast, organic agriculture, which avoids the use of chemical pesticides, allows nitrogen fixation to flourish and enhance long-term crop yields.

5. Food and farm bill moves forward

In July, the House of Representatives passed its version of the food and farm bill (the Farm, Nutrition and Energy Act of 2007), legislation reauthorized every five years that includes provisions on agricultural subsidies, trade, conservation, research, marketing, food stamps, and much more. The House bill included some improvements over previous food and farm policy including increased funding to support organic farmers, beginning farmers and ranchers, and farmers markets. But the bill also weakens the landmark Conservation Security Program, which was established in 2002 to provide payments and technical assistance to farmers who adopt conservation practices on their working lands. The bill also failed to make reforms limiting payments for commodity crops like corn and soybeans. The Senate is due to draft its own version of the food and farm bill this month. UCS will be actively working to promote stronger reform as well as programs to support food production that protects the environment and our health. Read more on the 2007 food and farm bill from the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.