News Notes, Summer 2002

Compiled by Jack Kittredge

New members named to NOSB. The United States Department of Agriculture announced the appointment of five new members to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The board was established by the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to assist in the development of standards for substances to be used in organic production and to advise the Secretary of Agriculture on any other aspects of the implementation of the Act. The NOSB includes four organic producers, two handlers, one retailer, three environmentalists, three consumers, one scientist, and one certifying agent. The following appointees will serve terms beginning immediately and ending Jan. 24, 2007:

• Organic Producer, Dennis L. Holbrook; Texas organic citrus grower
• Organic Handler, Kevin R. O'Rell; food scientist at Horizon Dairy
• Consumer/ Public Interest, Ann L. Cooper; ex-chef at the Putney Inn (VT), now at Long Island restaurant, into local foods
• Scientist, Michael P. Lacy; University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, specialist in broiler production and management
• Environmentalist, Nancy M. Ostiguy; Penn State bee scientist, dedicated to organic food and member of her local CSA.

source: USDA press release, April 16, 2002 and personal Emails

Organic herb research funds available. In partnership with Frontier Natural Products Co-op, the Organic Farming Research Foundation is issuing a special call for proposals to do organic herb research in 2002. Herb research proposals will be considered along with other proposals for organic research. Growers and researchers are encouraged to submit applications in time for the July 15, 2002, deadlines. Contact the Organic Farming Research Foundation for application guidelines or for a list of project reports. A free guide to conducting on-farm research is also available. Organic Farming Research Foundation, www.ofrf.org, P.O. Box 440, Santa Cruz, CA 95061, phone 831-426-6606, research@ofrf.org. source: OFRF press release

IPM paradox. The USDA announced that, as of 2000, 70% of American crops are produced using Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Yet chemical pesticide use has increased, not decreased. A GAO investigation found that IPM lacks a requirement to significantly lower chemical pesticide usage. As a result, IPM can be considered "implemented" without farmers adopting biologically based alternatives or greatly reducing their chemical pesticide levels. source: Rachel Carson Council News #92

Surround useful against flea beetle. Rutgers Cooperative Extension researchers have shown that Surround, a kaolin clay product approved for certified organic crop production, may be useful in reducing flea beetle damage on eggplant. Flea beetle damage occurring late in the season was reduced by Surround treatments, but the researchers note that flea beetle pressure was low in both years. They also found, however, that Surround reduced marketable yield when applied throughout the season and so suggest it be used before fruit set. More details are available in the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Plant and Pest Advisory, Organic Edition, Jan. 31, 2002, at www.rce.rutgers.edu. A print copy of the newsletter is available by SASE from Martha Maletta, RCE Hunterdon County: P.O. Box 2900, Flemington, NJ, 08822; 908-788-1339. source: personal Email

Bt corn a money loser? A study by Dr. Charles Benbrook of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy found that, from 1996-2001, farmers paid at least $659 million in price premiums for Bt corn, while gaining only $567 million from increased yields. Whether this $92 million loss is acceptable to farmers because of their reduced need for spraying is an open question. source: Stewardship News, March-April, 2002, and Oregon Tilth, April 15, 2002

Monsanto seeks approval for GE wheat. Monsanto expects to apply to the Canadian and US governments for approval of Roundup Ready wheat this summer, said company spokesperson Trish Jordan. Actual US market introduction of the first wheat, a Roundup Ready spring wheat, would be in 2005. The Canadian Wheat Board says that two thirds of its foreign customers have said they don't want it and would be concerned if it was approved for use in Canada, for fear it would end up in the grain handling system. The Board has asked the Canadian government not to approve the registration of GE wheat or barley unless it is broadly accepted by customers. It also believes the government should hold off on approving GE varieties until a system is developed to segregate those strains throughout the production, handling and transportation supply chain. In another development, despite being under contract with Monsanto, two North Dakota research extension centers — in Carrington and Minot — refused to host transgenic nursery wheat trials. The Minot center's advisory board of farmers voted against the trials because of possible contamination of the center's Foundation Seedstock program. source: Food Chemical News, May 6, 2002, Volume 44, Number 12, The Germinator, April, 2002, and Oregon Tilth, April 15, 2002

Furor over "Nature" article on GE. In November 2001, the prestigious scientific journal Nature published an article by University of California scientists Ignacio Chapela and David Quist indicating that GE corn, despite a supposed government ban on planting, had polluted non-GE corn varieties in over a dozen communities in Southern Mexico. The article, widely publicized in the media, fueled global criticism of the "genetic pollution" or gene flow of GE crops and led to calls for banning the planting of GE crops in areas of genetic origin and high diversity (i.e. corn in Mexico and Meso-America, canola in Canada and Europe, soybeans in Asia). But after intense pressure by the biotech industry and pro-biotech scientists, Nature's editors issued a retraction, or rather a partial retraction, of Chapela's article on April 4, stating that the article "should not have been published." News media all over the world, encouraged by PR firms working for Monsanto and other companies, reported Nature's retraction as a "big public relations victory for the biotechnology industry" (Associated Press 4/18/02) and as, one pro-GE scientist stated, a "testament to the technical incompetence" of biotech critics (New York Times 4/5/02). The fundamental problem with most of these post-April 4 media reports, the biggest story of the year so far on a biotech, was that they were wrong. Most reporters and editors either didn't read the Nature "retraction" closely or else didn't understand what they were reading, since even the critics of Chapela and Quist did not contest their central research conclusions-that indeed widespread genetic pollution of traditional corn varieties has occurred in Mexico. Instead critics were simply contesting whether or not gene-altered DNA constructs, once they had polluted traditional corn varieties, were then "fragmenting and promiscuously scattering throughout genomes." On April 18, Chapela and Quist's findings were vindicated when the Mexican government announced at a biosafety convention in the Netherlands that massive GMO contamination of traditional varieties had indeed occurred, not only in Oaxaca, but also in the neighboring state of Puebla. According to Jorge Soberon, executive secretary of Mexico's biodiversity commission, the level of contamination "was far worse than initially reported." (London Guardian 4/19/02) Up to 95% of corn plots were contaminated by gene-altered DNA. In one field 35% of all plants were contaminated, and overall 8% of all kernels examined were contaminated, showing that genetic pollution or cross-pollination had occurred, according to Soberon, "at a speed never before predicted. This is the world's worst case of contamination by genetically modified material because it happened in the place of origin of a major crop. It is confirmed. There is no doubt about it." (Daily Telegraph, UK 4/19/02). source: Emails and above journals

Toxics: Australian for fertilizer? Businesses across Australia are legally disposing of their industrial waste by selling it as fertilizers for farms and home gardens. The fertilizers often contain such toxic metals as arsenic, mercury, chromium, and lead. In western Australia, radioactive material from aluminum refineries is being used at cattle ranches; in other parts of the country, waste from zinc smelters, power stations, and cement kilns is spread on farms and gardens. The country doesn't regulate the content of fertilizers, and environmental and agricultural officials contend that the levels of the metals in the fertilizers are harmless. (Most states in the U.S. also do not regulate the levels of toxic metals in regular fertilizers.) source: Sydney Morning Herald, Gerard Ryle, 06 May 2002

Glasses enable you to "see" plant stress. "Hawkeye" glasses, based on the work of NASA scientist Len Haslim, are being marketed by Optical Sales Corporation. The glasses are said to block the green color reflected by normal chlorophyll, making it appear gray or black. The human eye, however, is highly sensitive to light in this range and can differentiate among many shades of green. Off-green colors, caused by disease, poor nutrition, or insects, will stand out to the viewer as red, coral, pink or other hues. By identifying unhealthy plants or parts of fields, the manufacturer reasons, a farmer can restrict his remedial energy to only those plants which need it. The glasses are marketed by Gemplers (800) 382-8473 or www.gemplers.com, and Spectrum Technologies, (800) 248-8873 or www.specmeters.com. source: Acres, USA, March, 2002

NOP staffer bounced for communicating to NOSB. In an ominous move, on April 11 Barbara Robinson, deputy administrator of the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, removed Mark Keating from his job with the National Organic Program (NOP) because he was "not willing to participate constructively as a team member". Keating, the only staffer who had any background in organics, had sent a routine clarification to the NOSB concerning a question on the NOP website. Organic advocates say the NOP has consistently left the NOSB out of the loop when answering inquiries from private manufacturers and that Keating had only been trying to keep communication between the program and the NOSB open. "I was really shocked by this," said Owusu Bandele, chair of the NOSB Crops Committee, speaking of Keating's removal. "Mark has always been straightforward and always been helpful on issues." source: Organic Business News, April, 2002

Europe tops global organic sales. With 46% of the world's organic food sales, or $12 billion in 2001, Europe is the single largest organic market. The United States, at 37% and $10 billion, is second. The Asian group, at 16%, is third — with Japan taking the lion's share of it. source: Organic Business News, April, 2002

Alabama jury: Monsanto "beyond decency". An Alabama jury has found Monsanto guilty of releasing tons of PCBs into the city of Anniston and covering it up for decades. The company was convicted on all 6 counts as charged, negligence, wantonness, suppression of the truth, nuisance, trespass and outrage. The last is defined as conduct "so outrageous in character and extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency so as to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in civilized society." source: Acres, USA, May, 2002

Terminator still alive. Terminator is a biotechnology that renders a plant's seed sterile unless treated with a certain proprietary chemical. After considerable public opposition, it's sponsor, biotech firm Syngenta (then called AstraZeneca), stated that Terminator was "one piece of technology we did not want to take forward". It appears now from a Syngenta patent application that the technology is being revived as a solution to the rampant problem of contamination from genetically engineered crops. According to the patent, the technology "would limit the risk of transgene escape to non-crop species, thus avoiding the spreading of plants with [genetically engineered] invasiveness or weediness." source: Acres, USA, May, 2002

Cuban trade embargo cracking under business pressure? Authorized by a little-known act of Congress, a joint venture between Archer Daniels Midland and Farmland Industries sold 66.1 million pounds of wheat, plus tons of corn, soybeans, soy meal, and rice to Cuba earlier this year. Slowing grain sales (due in part to resistance to GE food) has turned the eye of agribusiness to the 15% of the world's wheat market that is off limits to US producers because of sanctions. Tim Daugherty, regional vice president of Farmland, said "Our hope is that this small transaction will cause a reassessment of the sanctions that limit our producers' ability to market". source: Farmland System News, March-April, 2002

Viable market exists for Bt sweet corn. A Penn State marketing study found that many consumers, given a choice between clearly labeled Bt sweet corn and non-Bt IPM sweet corn, expressed no preference. A brochure was available with the two kinds of (visually identical) corn explaining that Bt corn "is resistant to the worms that attack ears of corn…[so] usually no sprays are applied to Bt corn". IPM, it said, "is designed to reduce pesticide use by using a variety of methods to control pests." The 5 markets where the corn was sold applied their own prices, usually selling the Bt corn at a premium. Overall the Bt corn achieved 41% of market share, the IPM 59%. The Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association helped fund the study. source: Vegetable Growers News, March, 2002

Irradiation disguised as "Pasteurization"? The new farm bill contains a little-known provision that seems to allow irradiated food to be labeled "Pasteurized". Until now, such foods had to be labeled as "irradiated", and companies promoting this technology as a way to kill microbes in food have been frustrated by consumer reluctance to purchase them. The new provision in Public Law 107-171 (the 2002 Farm Bill) under the heading "Pasteurization", allows "for products that are irradiated in order to improve the food safety and food quality, the Act authorizes individuals to seek FDA approval of an alternative-labeling claim." source: Acres, USA April, 2002

Study finds gene escape from GM crops "inevitable". A report by the European Environmental Agency evaluating corn, sugar beets, rape, potatoes, wheat and barley found the first three pose "medium to high risk" of gene movement via pollen from crop to crop, while the latter three present a lower risk. But none, it concluded, "has pollen which can be completely contained". Environmentalists say the study justifies use of the EU Treaty's Precautionary Principle "in order to prevent irreversible damage to European agriculture and biodiversity." source: Alternative Agriculture News, May, 2002

Number of US farms and ranches still declining. In 2000 there were 2.17 million such establishments in the US, but in 2001 there were only 2.16 million, a 0.7% drop. This is the second largest decline since 1991. Overall, land in farming declined by 1.9 million acres to 941.2 million, but the average size of a farm increased from 434 to 436 acres. The North Central region lost the largest number of farms and ranches, 9500; while the West lost 2600; the South, 1600; and the Northeast, 800. In the 5 states of California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas the number of farms and ranches actually increased. source: Alternative Agriculture News, April, 2002

Poultry Industry Reduces Antibiotic Use. According to the New York Times (February 10, 2002 ) the US poultry industry has "begun to bow to the demands of public health and consumer groups by greatly reducing the antibiotics that are fed to healthy chickens." Antibiotics like fluoroquinolone have been fed routinely to increase animal growth, but opponents argue that the practice has led to growing resistance by disease-causing bacteria to antibiotics administered for human health. Four of the five largest chicken producers in the US, Tyson, Perdue, Gold Kist, and Foster Farms, have announced that they are reducing or eliminating the amount of antibiotics fed to healthy birds. In addition, McDonald's, Wendy's, and Popeye's have stopped buying chickens treated with Cipro, usually administered to sick birds, because of its importance in treating anthrax. source: Alternative Agriculture News, March, 2002 and Acres, USA, April, 2002.

Water woes. A survey of 139 streams in 30 states found that 80 percent had traces - mostly just a part per billion or less - of dozens of drugs, disinfectants, detergents, insect repellents and other compounds flushed down sewers and not completely captured by treatment plants. Water experts said that the two dozen antibiotics found, along with triclosan, the active ingredient in antimicrobial soaps, could lead to sturdier bacterial strains. The survey - performed by a unit slated to be closed by the Bush administration -also found that many streams held traces of hormones from birth control pills and other sources that could harm fish. source: the New York Times, Sunday 17 March 2002

Anti-Corporate Farming Laws and Rural Communities. Walter Goldschmidt was an anthropologist who in the 1940s found that rural communities fared poorly on a number of social indicators when surrounded by large scale farms, compared to those surrounded by small to moderate sized farms. A number of follow-up studies have examined this phenomenon in detail, usually supporting Goldschmidt's hypothesis. Since 1974 nine states – Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin – have passed laws restricting corporate ownership of farms. Now a new study by New York researchers finds that ag counties in anti-corporate law states fare better looking at families in poverty, unemployment rates, farm profitability) than ag counties in states without anti-corporate laws. source: Farming Alternatives, Winter, 2002

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