Home News & Events Alternative Agriculture News -- September '99

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Alternative Agriculture News
For September '99, from the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture.

red ballGene-Altered Food is 'New Trade Threat for U.S. Farmers'
red ballEPA Eliminates and Reduces Uses of Two Pesticides
red ballBerkeley Schools to Offer Organic Food to Students
red ballComment Period Opens for Factory Farm Proposal
red ballPositions
red ballBugs May Become Resistant to BT Cotton Faster Than Expected
red ballU.S. Policy Has Led to "Dearth of Studies" on Engineered Foods
red ballBritish Farmers Feel the Heat for Planting "GM" Crops
red ballResources
red ballUpcoming Events

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©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 sanet-mg

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.


red ballGene-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 Representative’s 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."

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red ballEPA 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.

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red ballBerkeley 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.

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red ballComment 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.

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red ballPositions
  • 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.
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red ballBugs 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."

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red ballU.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.

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red ballBritish 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.

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red ballResources
  • "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.
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red ballUpcoming 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 USDA’s 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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Home News & Events Alternative Agriculture News -- September '99


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