Food & Agriculture Update | Spring 2009
Contents
Program Updates
Clean Energy
Clean Vehicles
Food and Agriculture
Global Warming
Invasive Species
Nuclear Weapons and Global Security
Scientific Integrity
Summary
In April, UCS released a groundbreaking report, Failure to Yield, that dispels years of biotech industry propaganda by showing that genetically engineered (GE) crops do not allow farmers to grow significantly more crops per acre of land. At the same time, your letters helped stall a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposal to weaken oversight of GE crops. Your letters to Congress also helped support legislation to curb the overuse of antibiotics in the feed of animals that are not sick. Our most recent issue of Green Cuisine—featuring a photo slideshow and a free recipe—highlighted the story of a Missouri hog producer successfully raising his animals without unnecessary antibiotics and working with local chefs to serve up fresh, local food. And we provided consumers with information on how to participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program for meat purchases.
Genetic Engineering
For years the biotechnology industry has trumpeted that it will feed the world, promising that its GE crops will produce higher yields. That promise has proven to be empty, according to Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops, a report by UCS expert Doug Gurian-Sherman released last month. Despite 20 years of research and 13 years of commercialization, genetic engineering has failed to significantly increase U.S. crop yields. The increase in yields for both crops over the last 13 years, the report found, was largely due to traditional breeding or improvements in agricultural practices.
At the same time, thousands of letters from UCS activists helped force the USDA to defer a final decision on a proposal weakening of its oversight of GE crops (including those designed to produce pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals) by the end of the Bush administration. After first reopening the comment period on the proposal for an additional 60 days, the USDA, under the new administration’s leadership, ultimately extended its review period an additional six months. Help us continue to put pressure on the USDA to improve its oversight of GE crops, particularly pharmaceutical and industrial crops, by taking action here!
Antibiotics
Resistance to antibiotics is a growing public health crisis, afflicting hospital patients and seemingly healthy individuals alike. Doctors caution that these vital drugs should only be used when absolutely necessary, because resistance emerges when bacteria are constantly exposed to antibiotics. Yet roughly 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States are added to the feed of livestock and poultry that are not sick. This reckless practice encourages the development of antibiotic-resistant diseases—such as food poisoning and post-operative blood infections—that affect humans.
To address this problem, Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) reintroduced the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009 (PAMTA) in Congress. Within two years of enactment, PAMTA would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to re-review the seven classes of antibiotics that are important to human medicine it previously approved for use in animal feed. Any found to be unsafe from a resistance point of view will have their approvals rescinded. UCS is working to educate congressional staff on this issue, holding briefings for staff and meeting with members of Congress, but we need your help! Send a letter to your member of Congress today and ask them to help us keep antibiotics working!
Green Cuisine: Earth-friendly, Healthy Recipes from Top Chefs and Local Farmers
UCS launched the latest edition of our seasonal online photo slideshow feature, “Green Cuisine.” In the new installment of Green Cuisine, Missouri hog farmer and Ozark Mountain Pork Cooperative president Russ Kremer tells UCS how he keeps his pigs healthy without using expensive medications that can create antibiotic-resistant bacteria. UCS also talks with Andy Ayers and his daughter KT, whose family-run restaurant has been serving up fresh, locally grown foods to St. Louis residents for decades. KT, head chef of Riddles Penultimate Café, shares a recipe that features juicy, flavorful pork, raised without antibiotics. Click here to view Green Cuisine and get a free recipe!
Buying Local Meats through Community Supported Agriculture Programs
The first generation of community supported agriculture (CSA) programs invited consumers to buy shares of local farm harvests in advance and then reap the benefits in the form of fresh produce every week. These programs have grown significantly in recent years as thousands of independent small and midsize farms across the United States realized the potential opportunity in marketing their fresh fruits and vegetables directly to consumers at a fair price. And now a new trend within the CSA movement—meat CSAs or buying clubs—offers consumers one more way of providing their families with fresh, local foods produced in a sustainable manner. Click here to read the meat CSA fact sheet!
