Subject: NEWS: Food Safety Week 5/11/94 (fwd)
From: [email-masked] (Gabriel Hegyes)
Date: 13 May 1994 13:38:38 -0400
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 12 May 94 06:35 PDT
From: Michelle Thom <[email-masked]>
To: "Recipients of conference susag.news" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Food Safety Week 5/11/94

Food Safety Week
Produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
May 11, 1994
Volume 2, Number 10
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HEADLINES
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- rBGH NEWS OF THE WEEK
- FLORIDA PASSES ANTI-FOOD BASHING LAW
- CONSUMER REPORTS UNCOVERS WHO'S BEHIND ACSH
- CHICAGO COMPANY PUBLISHES "HOW-TO" BOOKLET ON NEW 
LABELS
- MORE MEAT NEWS
- TANZANIA FACING FOOD SHORTAGE
_____________________________________________
NEWS SUMMARIES
_____________________________________________
rBGH NEWS OF THE WEEK

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy reiterated an earlier position that 
milk derived from cows treated with recombinant bovine growth 
hormone (rBGH or BST) should be labeled as such.  "Consumers 
should be given the benefit of the doubt," Espy said at the annual 
meeting of the Food Marketing Institute.  After the meeting, Espy 
said the Clinton administration is toying with the idea of taking a 
position on labeling.  The secretary made a similar statement in 
March, which was promptly corrected by his press secretary Steve 
Kinsella, who said the secretary meant to say the USDA stands by the 
safety of rBGH.

In response to a recent editorial in AGWEEK calling for labeling, 
David Steffen, a North Dakota veterinarian, said the position was 
"misguided and lacks perspective."  He said that rBGH differs from 
other vaccination, nutrition and deworming programs only in that it 
is a new technology.  "Holding new technologies to requirements that 
BST was held to will only decrease technology development by 
increasing the cost and uncertainty associated with these ventures," 
Steffen wrote.

In other news, two North Dakota State University agriculture 
economists say increased milk production as a result of the use of 
rBGH could further depress milk prices.  Andrew Swenson and 
Dwight Aakre predict that rBGH will boost production and, hence, 
income by about $50 per cow per year.  "Trouble is," said Swenson, 
"this calculation is valid only as long as milk prices remain the same.  
But prices won't remain the same for long if many producers begin 
increasing production" by using rBGH.  The two economists say if 10% 
of dairy farmers use the hormone, prices will drop an average of 72 
cents per hundredweight, cutting into the profits most farmers 
anticipated as a result of using the hormone.

Dean Foods, one of the country's largest milk bottlers, is expected to 
announce an rBGH-free milk product soon.  "I'm not ready to 
comment but we're talking about doing something," said Dean vice 
president Doug Parr.  Producers said the company has sent out 
affidavits which state, "I certify that I am not treating my dairy 
cattle with rBST in the interest of preserving consumer confidence in 
the purity of my product.  I understand that Dean Foods may refuse 
to accept my milk if I use rBST."

All eyes are apparently on Minnesota, where two large processors 
have begun marketing rBGH-free fluid milk products.  Industry 
analysts say that if these products succeed, other bottlers around the 
country may follow.  In response to Land O'Lakes and Kemp's 
Marigold, three more Minnesota dairies will soon launch their own 
lines of rBGH-free milk.  Today, Governor Arne Carlson signed 
legislation that will allow processors to voluntarily certify farmers 
and label milk as rBGH-free.

Figures released by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture 
recently show milk sales in the state fell from 115 million pounds to 
88 million pounds between January and February 1994.  "Sales were 
back up in March," said Bill Coleman, director of the dairy division at 
the department.  Just how much was not specified.  Coleman said that 
because monthly sales always fluctuate, the significant drop cannot 
be attributed to the emergence of rBGH.  The USDA claims that fluid 
sales were up 1% throughout the country during the first quarter.  
Coleman referred to the farmer certification system as mandated by 
the state legislature and approved by the governor as "a big 
headache." 

And, lastly, a recent article in the WALL STREET JOURNAL says that 
even citizens in the dairy state of Wisconsin are skeptical about 
rBGH.  One school district began offering juice alternatives last month 
as the result of the passage of an rBGH-free resolution by the local 
school board.  "I know kids need their milk, but this milk is tainted," 
said Mary Probandt, who lead the charge in Wisconsin Rapids.  Roger 
Cliff of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation responded, "They're 
ignoring all the best science this country can muster."  Dave Kerr of 
the National Juice Products Association said, "We would urge extreme 
caution in branding a drink as harmful without the proper scientific 
merit.  But more demand for juice would obviously please us."

Source:  "Ag Secretary Sides With BST Proponents," AGRI NEWS, May 
5, 1994; "Espy Says Milk Should Carry BST Label,"  IOWA FARMER 
TODAY, May 7, 1994; "Labeling Arguments Don't Add Up," AGWEEK, 
May 2, 1994; "BST Fight Rages On," AGWEEK, May 2, 1994; "Labeling 
Showdown Begins," DAIRY PROFIT WEEKLY, May 9, 1994; Angela 
Shah, "Even Citizens of the Dairy State Express Concerns About Milk," 
WALL STREET JOURNAL, May 10, 1994.

FLORIDA PASSES ANTI-FOOD BASHING LAW

The state of Florida recently passed a law making it illegal for 
anyone to say negative things about food products.  Under the law, 
Florida's fruit and vegetable growers and food processors can sue 
anyone seeking to defame perishable food items.  Claims about food 
products must be scientifically based, the law reads.  If a court 
determines there was intent to harm farm crops, plaintiffs could 
collect triple damages.  Governor Lawton Chiles let the bill become 
law without his signature.  Other states passing similar laws include 
Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Idaho.  Colorado Governor Roy 
Romer let a similar measure die earlier this year.  Questions of free 
speech have yet to be resolved as the laws have not been challenged.

Source:  "BRF-Vegetable Libel," AP, May 5, 1994; Charles Mahtesian, 
"No Disparaging Asparagus," GOVERNING, May 1994.

CONSUMER REPORTS UNCOVERS WHO'S BEHIND ACSH

Last year, some newspapers around the country displayed a mock 
Thanksgiving dinner meal which potrayed the naturally occurring 
carcinogens in the traditional foods of the holiday.  The American 
Council on Science and Health (ACSH), which calls itself "a consumer 
education consortium concerned with issues related to food, 
nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle, the environment and 
health," placed the ads.  ACSH was also behind claims that cleaning 
up polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) wasn't worth the cost, that New 
York City schools were not filled with asbestos, that a ban on Alar 
and 2,4,5-T were unnecessary, and that current nutrition labeling is 
a waste of money.  

According to a recent article in CONSUMER REPORTS, the council 
argues that few chemicals are actually carcinogens.  "The council's 
funders would probably agree," the article states.  Those funders 
include American Cyanamid, Chevron, DuPont, Nestle, Union Carbide 
and Pfizer, to name a few.  Council President Elizabeth Whelan said 
industry only gives general support money to the council's activities.  
Consumer Reports uncovered a 1992 memo by Whelan after they 
lost funding from Shell Oil, which stated, "When one of the largest 
international petrochemical companies will not support ACSH, the 
great defender of petrochemical companies, one wonders who will."

Source:  "Forefront of Science or Just a Front?" CONSUMER REPORTS, 
May 1994.

CHICAGO COMPANY PUBLISHES "HOW-TO" BOOKLET ON NEW LABELS

The Chicago-based CCH company has published a consumer guide to 
the new food labeling regulations, which went into effect this month.  
The pocket-size booklet explains all facets of the new labels, which 
were designed helped consumers make better dietary decisions.  The 
new labeling rules went into effect May 8.

Source:  "Booklet Describes New Food Labels," Farming Today, UPI, 
May 2, 1994.

MORE MEAT NEWS

In the Philippines last week, contaminated beef sent 235 people to 
the hospital.  The Department of Health said the victims, mostly 
women and children, were confined to the southern region of the 
country.  The victims became ill after eating meat believed to have 
come from the Agusan del Sur province, where a livestock disease 
has killed 300 head of cattle since March.  Agriculture Secretary 
Roberto Sebastian has banned the sale of meat from the area since 
April.  Officials thought the cattle deaths were the result of 
hemorrhagic speticema, a rare animal bacterial infection, but 
treatments have not ended the disease, leading them to look for 
another cause.

Britain has again threatened legal action against Germany, which 
says it will proceed with threats to ban imports of British beef over 
concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), otherwise 
known as mad cow disease.  The European Commission has stated 
any unilateral action by Germany would be illegal under the terms of 
trade of the European Union (EU).  German Health Minister Horst 
Seehofer told a German newspaper over the weekend that Germany 
wanted to proceed with the ban.  Gillian Shepherd, British minister of 
agriculture, told the German government to expect legal action to be 
taken.  

Source:  "Beef Fells Hundreds in Philippines," UPI, May 3, 1994; 
"Britain Warns Germany Against Imposing Beef Ban," REUTER, May 7, 
1994; "Germany Says it Will Ban British Beef This Month," REUTER, 
May 7, 1994; Quentin Peel, "Germany Considers Unilateral Ban on 
Beef," FINANCIAL TIMES, May 10, 1994.

TANZANIA FACING FOOD SHORTAGE

The government of Tanzania announced recently that it expects to 
face of food deficit of about 435,000 tons this year.  Inadequate 
rains, crop pests and inefficient use of fertilizer were cited as reasons 
behind the reduction in domestic food crop production.

Source:  "Tanzania Predicts 435,000 Food Deficit," REUTER, May 1, 
1994.
_____________________________________________
RESOURCES
_____________________________________________
INFORMED CONSENT is a bi-monthly journal published by the 
International Institute of Research for Chemical Hypersensitivity.  
Articles of interest in the March/April 1994 issue include "The MSG 
Controversy," "Outdoor Chemical Hazards" and "Right-To-Know in the 
Workplace."  Subscriptions are $18/year.  For more information, 
contact INRCH, P.O. Box 879, Alto, NM 88312.

SUSTENANCE is the quarterly newsletter of the Congressional Hunger 
Center, headed by Representative Tony Hall (D-OH).  Issues 
addressed pertain to legislative activities around hunger issues.  To 
get on the mailing list, write Congressional Hunger Center, 133 C 
Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003, Tel:  (202) 547-7022, Fax:  (202) 
547-7586.
_____________________________________________
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
_____________________________________________
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD: A PUBLIC ISSUE FOR EXTENSION 
EDUCATION (nationwide video conference), May 12, 1994.  FFI, 
contact: Gene Schriefer, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Tel: (608) 
262-8065).

ESTABLISHING AND EXPANDING STUDENT NUTRITION PROGRAMMES:  
SECOND ANNUAL NUTRIACTION CONFERENCE, June 2, 1994, Toronto, 
Ontario.  FFI, contact:  Foodshare Metro Toronto, 238 Queen Street 
West, Lower Level, Toronto, Ontario M5V 1Z7, Canada, Tel:  (416) 
392-6653, Fax:  (416) 392-6650.

CUISINE, AGRICULTURE AND SOCIAL CHANGE, June 9-12, 1994, 
Tucson, AZ.  FFI, contact:  Gerry Walter, 59 Mumford, 1301 West 
Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, Tel:  (217) 333-9429, Fax:  (217) 
244-7503, email:  [email-masked].
_____________________________________________
Produced by:  Michelle Thom, Institute for Agriculture and Trade 
Policy, 1313 5th Street SE Suite 303, Minneapolis, MN 55414, Tel:  
(612) 379-5980  Fax:  (612) 379-5982  EMail:  [email-masked] or 
[email-masked].  In addition to this news bulletin, the 
Institute publishes a variety of news bulletins on agriculture, the 
environment and international trade.  All bulletins may be 
reproduced and distributed freely without prior permission as long 
as proper attribution is included.  A copy of any publication in which 
an IATP bulletin is cited would be appreciated.