Contents
 
1. The virtues of grass-fed beef and milk
2. House passes bill that would gut food safety laws
3. Global poultry industry may be implicated in bird flu
4. A hit list of the most dangerous microbes
5. Corn engineered to enhance ethanol production

1. The virtues of grass-fed beef and milk
Raising cattle on pasture rather than in feedlots is not only better for the environment and for animal welfare, it also produces beef and milk with enhanced nutritional qualities, according to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists. Greener Pastures: How Grass-fed Beef and Milk Contribute to Healthy Eating is the first comprehensive study that confirms that beef and milk from animals raised entirely on pasture have higher levels of beneficial fats than conventionally raised beef and dairy cattle. These fats may prevent heart disease and strengthen the immune system. The study also shows that grass-fed meat is often leaner than most supermarket beef and that raising cattle on grass can reduce water pollution and the risk of antibiotic-resistant diseases. Click here to read the report.

2. House passes bill that would gut food safety laws
A flood of calls and emails to members of Congress generated strong opposition to an industry-backed bill that would strip away state power to regulate food labels and void over 200 food safety laws in 30 states. However, the House of Representatives still passed the National Uniformity for Food Act of 2005 (H.R. 4167) on March 8. The bill would remove states' power to warn consumers about mercury contamination or arsenic in bottled water, void California's Proposition 65 which requires labeling on food products containing carcinogens, and cost taxpayers more than $100 million to implement. It is backed by large food manufacturers and trade organizations that have contributed millions of dollars to members of Congress. The vigorous opposition to the bill made it a much closer fight than it would have been, and set the stage for a battle in the Senate. Please call your senators today and ask them to sign the letter that Senator Feinstein (D-CA) is circulating in opposition to this bill. Click here to find your senators' contact information. Click here to send a letter to your senators urging them to oppose this bill, or to learn more about this issue. Read a Washington Post op-ed about the bill.

3. Global poultry industry may be implicated in bird flu
A study by the international non-governmental organization GRAIN suggests that avian influenza is spread primarily by the global poultry trade, not migratory birds or free-range poultry operations as has been suggested, and that confined factory farm production contributed to its mutation into its current deadly form. The organization tracked the movements of the disease over time and found that they were correlated, not with migratory bird routes or the locations of free-range farms, but with integrated trade networks involving poultry, eggs, meat, feathers, manure and animal feed. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns warned that bird flu will almost certainly come to the United States. Read the GRAIN report, Fowl Play: The Poultry Industry's Central Role in the Bird Flu Crisis. Read about Johanns's announcement.

4. A hit list of the most dangerous microbes
A list of the most dangerous drug-resistant microbes has been released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). The organization warned that, although these life-threatening bacteria and fungi show up daily in hospitals, few or no drugs are being developed to treat them. IDSA called for federal legislation to direct efforts to produce drugs for treatment. The hit list includes methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species, Acinetobacter baumannii, Aspergillus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Read more about the list. Click here for more information on UCS's campaign on antibiotic resistance.

5. Corn engineered to enhance ethanol production
A biotechnology company has genetically engineered corn to produce an enzyme from a deep-sea organism and submitted the new variety to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approval. The enzyme is intended to make corn processing for ethanol more efficient. The company says that the new variety's enhanced ability to withstand the feed-pelleting process also makes it a candidate for use in animal feed. The new hybrid could be on the market by 2007, according to the October 2005 issue of Nature Biotechnology. Another biotechnology company is developing the same enzyme, which works under higher temperatures and at lower pH levels than other enzymes, as an industrial processing aid for ethanol production. Read more in The Progressive Farmer.