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Alternative Agriculture News
For September '99, from the Henry A. Wallace Institute for
Alternative Agriculture.
Gene-Altered Food is 'New Trade Threat for U.S. Farmers'
EPA Eliminates and Reduces Uses of Two Pesticides
Berkeley Schools to Offer Organic Food to Students
Comment Period Opens for Factory Farm Proposal
Positions
Bugs May Become Resistant to BT Cotton Faster Than Expected
U.S. Policy Has Led to "Dearth of Studies" on Engineered
Foods
British Farmers Feel the Heat for Planting "GM" Crops
Resources
Upcoming Events
Back Issues
©1999, Henry A. Wallace Institute
for Alternative Agriculture, 9200 Edmonston Road, #117, Greenbelt, MD 20770.
Phone: (301) 441-8777. E-mail: hawiaa@access.digex.net.
This newsletter is also available to subscribers to the
sanet-mg discussion
group. To subscribe, send a message to: almanac@ces.ncsu.edu.
Leave the subject line blank and in the body of the message type only: subscribe
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Subscription information for the
hard-copy version is available at the Wallace
Institute website.
In addition to this monthly newsletter, the Henry A. Wallace Institute for
Alternative Agriculture publishes the American Journal of Alternative
Agriculture, a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal of research on
alternative agriculture. It is a scientific forum for disseminating technical,
economic, and social research findings about the character and requirements of
alternative agriculture systems.
The current issue (Volume 14, No. 1) features articles on:
- Factors, challenges, and obstacles in organic farmers' decision-making.
- Farmers' perceptions of soil quality indicators, farmers' attitudes towards
sustainable agriculture issues and environmental quality in a selected area of
Bangladesh.
- Rice and wheat production in Pakistan with effective microorganisms.
- A profile of an organic farm in Sweden.
- Commentary on whether precision agriculture is sustainable.
Subscriptions to AJAA are $44 for libraries; $24 for individuals; and $12
for students. Find more information
about AJAA at he Wallace Institute
website.
Gene-Altered Food is 'New Trade Threat for U.S. Farmers'
As the fall harvest nears, more of the international buyers American farmers
depend on are saying they don't want genetically engineered corn and soybeans,
according to a front-page article in The New York Times (August 29,
1999). "Consumers and food companies in a growing number of countries are
shunning the new crops created by genetic engineers," the story said.
"Trade
officials in the United States have been battling the European Union, which has
stopped buying all American corn. But this summer, the Clinton Administration's
efforts have grown increasingly urgent, in an attempt to contain the aversion to
these crops that is leaping from continent to continent." According to
Peter Scher, who directs the agricultural negotiations for the U.S. Trade
Representatives Office, "This is a very significant trade threat."
Farmers
have been told that seven varieties of gene-altered corn, representing about 5
percent of the expected harvest, will be rejected by corn exporters, the article
said. Local grain elevator operators have begun asking farmers to separate some
types of gene-altered corn from ordinary corn to appease international buyers. "Next
year's harvest looms as more troublesome, with public sentiment changing,
foreign markets shrinking and the agriculture industry struggling to adjust,"
according to the article.
"The American Corn Growers Association,
which represents mostly family farms, told its members last week that they
should consider planting only conventional seeds next spring, unless a host of
questions can be answered, including whether the United States will be able to
export the genetically altered corn."
EPA Eliminates and Reduces Uses of Two Pesticides
The EPA last month announced plans to eliminate specific uses of methyl
parathion, and eliminate some uses of and significantly lower allowable residues
for azinphos methyl, two organophosphate pesticides. It also announced an
18-month schedule for completing its review of all 39 organophosphates.
Under
the Food Quality Protection Act, the EPA said it would next year eliminate the
continued use of methyl parathion on apples, peaches, pears, grapes, nectarines,
cherries, plums, carrots, certain peas, certain beans, turnips, and tomatoes.
Approximately 4.2 million pounds of the pesticide were applied last year, but 75
percent of that was applied to cotton, corn, and wheat, which are not affected
by the new regulations.
The EPA will reduce application rates and
required practices for azinphos methyl that will result in the significant
reduction of allowable residues on apples, pears, and peaches. It will be banned
on sugar cane and on cotton east of the Mississippi River.
USDA Deputy
Secretary Richard Rominger participated in the EPA briefing about the regulatory
actions. "It's clear that agriculture must do more than react
chemical-by-chemical, waiting until cumulative pesticide risks are calculated,"
he said. "To respond to this challenge, the Department is working
commodity-by-commodity and region-by-region to develop the best strategies for
moving toward pest management practices that have the least risk."
Many organophosphates were used as a replacement for DDT after its ban in 1972.
According to The Washington Post (August 3, 1999), "Because of
questions about organophosphates' possible toxicity to humans, particularly to
the developing nervous systems of infants and children, critics have for years
been calling for tougher restrictions or outright bans on the use of the
pesticides."
More information is available on the Internet at
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides.
Berkeley Schools to Offer Organic Food to Students
The Berkeley Board of Education voted last month to become the first school
system in the country to offer a full menu of organic food to its students. It
will serve organic food in main dishes and after-school snacks, and will remove
irradiated and genetically altered foods from the menu, according to the
Associated Press.
School officials hope eventually to have an
all-natural menu, including milk from cows that have not been injected with the
bovine growth hormone (BGH). In developing the plan, School Superintendent Jack
McLaughlin said he wanted to improve both school lunches and student health. "The
new menu is intended to emphasize healthy eating habits and teach students where
their food comes from," the AP story said.
Under the new policy,
schools will have gardens and will incorporate eating, gardening, and nutrition
into the curriculum. Every school will have its own organic vegetable garden
tended by the students to teach them about agriculture and ecology, and to
provide up to 25 percent of the organic produce needed. What the district can't
grow, it will buy from local organic farmers.
"School officials
believe that adding organic items should not cost too much more than buying the
old standbys," according to
The San Francisco Chronicle. The organic foods will be phased in with
the traditional cafeteria choices as grant money comes in to pay organic
farmers. The USDA provided grant funds to the Center for Ecoliteracy, a
non-profit organization, to help start the gardens and establish a food policy
for the Berkeley school district.
Comment Period Opens for Factory Farm Proposal
The EPA last month released proposed guidelines for Clean Water Act
permitting for concentrated animal feeding operations, and opened a public
comment period which will last until the beginning of October. The guidelines
provide information on which facilities need to apply, co-permitting of
corporate entities, land application of manure, and public notice, monitoring,
and reporting requirements. Information on the guidelines and public comment
period is available on the Internet at
http://www.epa.gov/owm.
Positions
- Washington State University seeks a dryland farming specialist for
integrated, sustainable systems; Ph.D. required; for more information, contact
Dr. Edward B. Adams, Agriculture & Natural Resources Program Leader, (509)
358-7960; e-mail adamse@wsu.edu.
- Berea College Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources seeks an
agricultural educator in agricultural economics, and an agricultural educator in
animal science; for either position, send letter, C.V., transcripts, and three
letters of recommendation to Mike Panciera, Acting Chair, Department of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, CPO 2356, Berea College, Berea, KY 40404.
- North Carolina State University is offering a graduate assistantship in its
Department of Plant Pathology; contact Dr. Mark Boudreau, Department of
Environmental Studies, Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC 28815; (828)
298-3325 ext. 335; e-mail markb@warren-wilson.edu.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
seeks a Communications Manager; contact Dr. Rick Klemme, Director, CIAS, 1450
Linden Dr., Madison, WI 53706; (608) 262-5201; e-mail
klemme@aae.wisc.edu.
Bugs May Become Resistant to BT Cotton Faster Than Expected
University of Arizona scientists have written in Nature that some
insects may be able to develop resistance to genetically modified "bug-proof"
cotton plants more quickly than expected, according to an article in The
Wall Street Journal (August 5, 1999).
"The peer-reviewed
laboratory study, which is being published in today's issue of the science
magazine Nature, signals that some genetically modified plants might
become obsolete sooner than their inventors had planned," the article said.
Farmers this year are planting 3.5 million acres of bug-resistant cotton, which
contains a gene transplanted from Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt.
"The
potential problem exposed by the University of Arizona study is that the mating
cycle of its Bt-resistant bugs was out of synch with that of regular pink
bollworms," according to the article. "That suggests any Bt-resistant
bugs that develop in the wild might only be able to mate with each other, which
could trigger a population explosion of their kind."
U.S. Policy Has Led to "Dearth of Studies" on Engineered
Foods
A "dearth of studies" that "look directly for any harm from
an engineered food or crop" is "the legacy of a U.S. policy that
considers gene-altered plants and food to be fundamentally the same as
conventional ones, a policy some Americans are starting to question,"
according to an article in The Washington Post (August 15, 1999). "It
is also the legacy of the sheer scientific difficulty of conducting the kinds of
tests that might assure people that engineered crops and food are safe."
With new evidence that genetically altered crops may be "less
environmentally benign than biotech companies had predicted," the article
said, "some Americans are reconsidering the technology's overall safety."
But the Food and Drug Administration is five years behind in developing
guidelines for safety testing, and there are no formal guidelines for such
testing in place, according to the article.
British Farmers Feel the Heat for Planting "GM" Crops
Four British farmers who are taking part in government-run field trials of
genetically modified, or what Europeans call "GM," seed crops "have
been targeted by protesters who have already invaded other such plantings,
trampling and ripping up roots in fields of oil seed rape and corn,"
according to an article in The New York Times (August 23, 1999).
"The
protesters' acts of destruction, while illegal and extreme, are an expression of
the widespread opposition to the introduction of genetically modified crops in
Europe and particularly in Britain." One of the farmers argues that only
field tests can provide answers to people's concerns, but 79 percent of the
British public think that such tests should be stopped.
Resources
- "Marketing Sustainably Produced Foods" is available from Food
Choices, 30 West Mifflin St., #401, Madison, WI 53703; (608) 258-4396.
- "Urbanization of Rural Landscapes," a syllabus and teaching
materials, is $10 from Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University
of Nebraska, PO Box 830949, Lincoln, NE 68583; (402) 472-2056; on the Internet
at http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/csas/reports.htm.
- "Organic Dairy Farming" is $8 from Community Conservation
Consultants, Rt. 1 Box 96, Gays Mills, WI 54631; (608) 735-4717; e-mail
ccc@mwt.net.
- "IPM Field Corn Pocket Guide" is $7 plus $3.75 shipping/handling
from Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service, Cooperative
Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853; (607) 255-7654; e-mail
nraes@cornell.edu.
- "Biological Control: A Guide to Natural Enemies in North America"
is available on the Internet at
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/,
or from C.R. Weeden, Jordan Hall, Cornell University, NYSAES, Geneva, NY
14456-0462; (315) 787-2253; e-mail crw7@cornell.edu.
Upcoming Events
For additional listings, see the
Sustainable Agriculture
Network's Calendar of Events.
- September 25, Country Living Field Day will be held in Carroll County, OH;
contact Ohio State University Extension, (330) 627-4310.
- September 28, Chesapeake Bay Day will be held at the USDAs
Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD; contact Janet Gates, USDA, (301)
504-7338.
- October 1-2, "Traditional Nutrition and Restorative Agriculture,"
the fourth Annual Mid-Atlantic Biodynamic Conference, will be held in Charles
Town, WV; contact conference planners, (304) 876-2373.
- October 8-10, "Healing Our Culture Through Biodynamic Agriculture"
will be held in Spring Valley, NY; contact Biodynamic Association, PO Box 29135,
San Francisco, CA 94129.
- October 10-15 and October 17-22, "Herbicide Action" will be held
at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; contact Kathy Hyman, Division of
Conferences, Purdue University, 1586 Stewart Center, Rm. 116, West Lafayette, IN
47907-1586; 1-800-359-2968, ext. 92H, or (765) 494-2758; e-mail
kfhyman@conf.purdue.edu.
- October 12-15, National Small Farm Conference will be held in St. Louis,
MO; contact Debi Kelly, Missouri Alternatives Center, University of Missouri;
(573) 882-1905; e-mail kellyd@umsystem.edu;
or Dyremple Marsh, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO; (573) 681- 5547;
e-mail
marshd@lincolnu.edu.
- October 14-17, Community Food Security Coalition's Annual Meeting will be
held in Chicago, IL; contact Andy Fisher, CFS Coalition, PO Box 209, Venice, CA
90294; (310) 822-5410; e-mail asfisher@aol.com;
on the Internet at http://www.foodsecurity.org.
- October 15 is the deadline for abstracts for the January 29-February 2,
2000, meeting of the Southern Rural Sociological Association; contact Dr. Donald
McDowell, SRSA Program Chair, North Carolina A&T State University, C.H.
Moor, A26, Greensboro, NC 27411; (336) 334-7054; e-mail
mcdowedr@ncat.edu.
- October 15 is the deadline for abstracts for the May 16-18, 2000, National
Extension Natural Resources Conference; contact Larry Biles, National Program
Leader, Forest Management, USDA/CSREES/NRE; (202) 401-4926; e-mail
lbiles@reeusda.gov.
- October 20-23, "Sustaining Agriculture in the 21st Century: Thinking
Outside the Box," the fourth biennial meeting of the International Farming
Systems Association, will be held in Guelph, Ontario, Canada; information is
available on the Internet at http://www.oac.uoguelph.ca/FSR/.
- October 20-24, Natural Products Expo East will be held in Baltimore, MD;
contact Expo, PO Box 671, Boulder, CO 80306; (303) 998-9118.
- October 25-27, "Utilizing Organics and Recyclables--Waste Management
for the Millennium" will be held in Cedar Rapids, IA; contact BioCycle
magazine, 1-800-661-4905.
- October 26-28, "Exploring Opportunities for Carbon Sequestration"
will be held in Missoula, MT; contact Bitter Root RC&D, 1709 North First
St., Hamilton, MT 59840; (406) 363-5450.
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