Subject: Food Safety Week - 6/29/94 (fwd)
From: [email-masked] (Gabriel Hegyes)
Date: 1 Jul 1994 11:13:34 -0400
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 30 Jun 94 12:43 PDT
From: Michelle Thom <[email-masked]>
To: "Recipients of conference susag.news" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Food Safety Week - 6/29/94

Food Safety Week
Produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
June 29, 1994
Volume 2, Number 14
_____________________________________________
HEADLINES
_____________________________________________
- rBGH NEWS OF THE WEEK
- ESPY CONFIDENT HE WILL BE CLEARED
- BETTER DIET COULD HELP HEALTH CARE BILL
- HOT DOGS AND CANCER
- CAIRO CONFERENCE WILL FOCUS ON FOOD SECURITY
- USTR SAYS FOOD STANDARDS NOT COMPROMISED BY GATT
- GERMANY TAKES LEGISLATIVE STEPS TO BAN BRITISH BEEF
- GROUPS ASK FDA TO HOLD MOVEMENT ON TRANS FATTY ACIDS
_____________________________________________
NEWS SUMMARIES
_____________________________________________
rBGH NEWS OF THE WEEK

A spokesperson for Monsanto said last week that Wisconsin has been 
the toughest state to sell on rBGH.  Thomas McDermott said Wisconsin 
consumers and farmers have been most reluctant to embrace 
recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST).  He told a 
meeting of the Wisconsin Biotechnology Association last week that no 
other state can match Wisconsin in terms of the uproar or the 
number retailers selling rBGH-free milk.  "We weren't able to hold 
the line here," he said.  "They scared the hell out of retailers."  
Among those he blamed was the dairy industry itself.  "It is a 
contentious industry and we have become a lightening rod for all of 
the concerns in the dairy industry."  Nationally, he said the company 
is happy with sales figures for its Posilac product, but he declined to 
be specific.  He said the hardest argument to beat is the one that says 
small farmers will not benefit from using the drug.

H.R. 4618 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last 
week.  Introduced by Representative Bernie Sanders, the bill has 
three key points:  the development of a test to detect the presence of 
rBGH in milk; an assessment on farmers using the drug; and 
mandatory labeling of products derived from cows injected with 
rBGH.  In a press statement, Sanders said rBGH has already caused 
milk prices to drop for America's farmers.  He added that the Office 
of Management and Budget expects the government to spend about 
$500 million over the next five years buying the surplus.

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy said he is concerned about falling 
milk prices around the nation.  He told Jim Barr of the National Milk 
Producers Federation (NMPF) that while he is concerned, he cannot 
revitalize dairy export programs because of State Department 
opposition.  After milk prices dropped about $1.50 a hundredweight 
last month, NMPF, dairy farmers and members of congress asked the 
USDA to alleviate some of the burden by purchasing surplus milk 
early for the school lunch and other nutrition programs.  The USDA 
has issued a request for 3 million pounds of cheese.  

Last week, Minnesota Safe Food Link, a coalition of farmer and 
consumer groups, made an appearance at a Minnesota Twins game.  
The occasion was American Dairy Association (ADA) night at the 
game.  The ADA has been a supporter of rBGH and was on hand to 
pass out free cheese graters.  Minnesota Safe Food Link handed out 
flyers and stickers prior to game time.  Jon Youngdahl, one of the 
event's coordinators, said the night was successful in terms of 
response from attendees.  "People are still concerned about this 
issue," he said.  "Milk is as American as baseball.  Consumers 
continue to ask for rBGH-free, labeled milk."

Source:  "Lawmakers Introduce Milk and Dairy Labeling Bill," 
REUTER, June 21, 1994; "State's Consumers Sour on BGH Milk," 
WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, June 24, 1994; "Espy Concerned About 
Falling Dairy Prices," AGWEEK, June 20, 1994; Jon Youngdahl, 
Telephone communication, June 27, 1994.

ESPY CONFIDENT HE WILL BE CLEARED

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy said he expects to be cleared by a 
probe into whether he accepted gifts from Tyson Foods in exchange 
for lenient poultry inspection policies.  At a recent speech before a 
meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists in Atlanta, Espy said 
he is fully cooperating with the Justice Department investigation and 
that he expects to be cleared soon.  At issue is whether Espy violated 
the 1907 Meat Inspection Act, which prohibits USDA employees from 
accepting gifts from anyone in the meat industry who might benefit 
from the agency's policies.  "Anyone within the USDA can, on an 
anonymous basis, allege anything.  And since the allegations come 
against a senior Cabinet official, the FBI has an obligation to 
investigate.  That's simply what happened and I respect that 
process," said Espy.  If found in violation, the secretary could receive 
a one-year mandatory prison sentence.

Source:  "Agriculture Secretary Says Probe Will Clear Him," REUTER, 
June 25, 1994.

BETTER DIET COULD HELP HEALTH CARE BILL

Late last month, the American Cancer Society, the American Public 
Health Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest 
(CSPI) released a report that said by improving nutrition, Americans 
could save billions in health care costs.  "An ounce of prevention 
equals billions of dollars in health care savings," said Margo Wooten 
of the CSPI.  For example, if Americans reduce their daily intake of 
saturated fat by 8 grams -- just half a cup of Haagan Dazs ice cream 
-- health care costs could be reduced by as much as $17 billion a 
year.

Poor diet coupled with a lack of exercise rivals smoking as the 
number one cause of preventable death in the U.S., the report says.  
Poor diet also contributes to the three leading causes of death 
overall:  heart disease, cancer and stroke.  Prevention is the key, the 
report says.  "Health care reform should not just change the way we 
pay for engine failure.  It should ensure that the care and 
information Americans need to make the wisest dietary choices are 
available and reimbursable."   It cites initiatives such as the Special 
Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), 
which helps to prevent low birth weight, as exemplary.  

Wooten said despite the findings, five of the nine major health care 
reform bills currently before Congress ignore nutrition altogether.  
The report recommends that any health care reform strengthen 
education attempts at improving diet and nutrition, provide 
insurance coverage for preventive and therapeutic nutrition, expand 
community nutrition programs, and increase research on nutrition 
and diet.  "The best way to cut costs is to help people stay healthy in 
the first place," said Wooten.

Source:  "Improved Nutrition Could Save Billion in Health Care Costs," 
THE DAILY CITIZEN, May 31, 1994.

HOT DOGS AND CANCER

Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) released the 
results of a 10-year study which concluded children who consume 
more than 12 hot dogs a month and whose fathers had similar 
patterns of consumption have a higher risk of developing childhood 
leukemia.  "The findings, if correct, suggests that reduced 
consumption of hot dogs could reduce leukemia risks, especially in 
those consuming the most," the report states.  

The researchers studied 232 Los Angeles children, ages ten and 
under, with childhood leukemia and 232 who did not have the 
disease.  Possible causes looked at included parents' occupations, 
environmental factors, food and exposure to electro-magnetic fields.  
Attention was given to processed meats that are treated with 
nitrates for preservation, including bologna, bacon, salami, ham and 
pastrami.  Only the hot dogs showed an increased risk of leukemia.  
While the link between hot dogs and leukemia was clear, researchers 
said the risks did not become large until hot dog consumption 
reached 12 or more per month for both fathers and their children.  
The study appears in the journal CANCER CAUSES AND CONTROL, 
published by the Harvard School of Public Health.  Researchers 
caution that their findings are preliminary, but said "we believe it is 
important to pursue this finding with other human studies."

Source:  Michael Miller, "Hot Dogs Seen As Risk Factor in Childhood 
Cancer," THE DAILY CITIZEN, June 3, 1994.

CAIRO CONFERENCE WILL FOCUS ON FOOD SECURITY

Food security and Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development 
(SARD) will be the focus of the International Conference on 
Population and Development to be held in Cairo, Egypt September 5-
13, 1994.  Representatives from 160 nations and 1,000 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are expected to gather for the 
conference.  The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said it 
based its participation on the inclusion of these two topics.  Fatih 
Botros of the FAO said his organization is concerned with laying the 
foundations for 21st century development and proactive strategies to 
avoid catastrophe.  "The reality is that not only will the actual 
existing population have to be nourished and fed but so too will 
millions of extra people in the coming decades," Botros said.  Jacques 
du Guerney, FAO coordinator for the conference, said technical know-
how for feeding the world is not lacking.  "But food security lies at 
the heart of the problem.  The constraints are economic, social and 
cultural.  Because of this, solutions are not so much concerned with 
production but relate more to difficulties with distribution and, of 
course, to the geographic, economic and social conditions."  In 
addition to food security, the conference will also focus on gender 
equality and empowerment of women, international migration, 
population and education, technology, research and development.

Source:  Miriam Bianco, "U.N. Experts to Focus on Food Security in 
Cairo," INTERPRESS SERVICE, June 13, 1994.

USTR SAYS FOOD STANDARDS NOT COMPROMISED BY GATT

Shortly after Public Citizen released a report critical of what could 
happen to U.S. food safety standards under the General Agreement 
on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) 
office released its own report denying the group's allegations.  The 
USTR report says misinformation, misinterpretation and 
misrepresentation governed the message being put forth by groups 
like Public Citizen in their report entitled TRADING AWAY FOOD 
SAFETY.  According to the USTR, the GATT "specifically states ... that 
each country is free to choose the level of food safety that it 
considers desirable."  To ensure "phony" health concerns are avoided, 
the USTR's office said negotiators sought to "ensure that new trade 
rules would not hinder U.S. agencies ... from maintaining and 
enforcing food safety standards designed to protect the health and 
safety of the American people."  For consumers who do not want 
cancer-causing chemicals in their food, even though some scientists 
believe such amounts do not pose a health risk, the GATT protects 
that "value-judgement," the report says.  The GATT will not require 
the U.S. to lower its standards; will permit the U.S. to take action 
against other countries where a scientific uncertainty exists; will still 
permit the U.S. to reject foods that do not meet our standards; and 
will allow states to set their own standards even if those standards 
are stricter than those set by the federal government.

Meanwhile, the Sierra Club placed a full-page ad in the June 20 NEW 
YORK TIMES.  The ad outlines seven U.S. laws which could face a 
challenge under GATT.  Those include the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Act, the Corporate Average Fuel 
Economy (CAFE) Standards, California's Proposition 65 and, yes, food 
safety laws.  With higher standards, the ad says, other countries with 
lower standards can challenge U.S. laws as technical barriers to trade.  
GATT panels set up to resolve disputes may ask the U.S. to lower its 
standards on the basis that they are not "based on sound science.  
After GATT rules, we may find DDT back on our tomatoes," the ad 
says.

Source:  Gordon S. Carlson, "U.S. Report Says GATT Won't Reduce 
Safety Levels of Food," FEEDSTUFFS, June 20, 1994; "Don't Let 
Congress Trade Away Our Rights," NEW YORK TIMES, June 20, 1994.

GERMANY TAKES LEGISLATIVE STEPS TO BAN BRITISH BEEF

The German government has begun taking steps to ban imports of 
British beef out of fear over the spread of bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease.  Beef 
consumption has dropped during the past three months, and German 
officials blame it on fears about beef from the U.K.  The drop in 
consumption has prompted German farmers and retailers to demand 
that the government take action.  German Health Minister Horst 
Seehofer asked the upper house of the German Parliament, the 
Bundesrat, to approve a six month ban on British beef.  He was joined 
by German Agriculture Minister Jochen Borchert.  In response, 
British Agriculture Minister Gillian Shephard asked the European 
Commission to follow through on its threat to take Germany to the 
European Court for violating European Union (EU) laws.  In a letter to 
EU Agriculture Minister Rene Steichen, Shephard said Germany is 
"ignoring the community's scientific evidence and the community's 
legal system.  I expect you to take the necessary legal action 
immediately," she added.  

Source:  Michael Lindemann, Alison Maitland and David Owen, 
"Germany Takes Steps Towards Banning Imports of U.K. Beef," 
FINANCIAL TIMES, June 29, 1994.

GROUPS ASK FDA TO HOLD MOVEMENT ON TRANS FATTY ACIDS

Four food industry groups are asking the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) to hold off on proposing a ban or requiring 
labels for foods containing trans fatty acids.  Trans fatty acids occur 
naturally in the fat of foods like beef, butter, milk and lamb.  Some 
nutritionists say the trans fatty acids are bad because they may 
increase "bad cholesterol," or LDL, and reduce "good cholesterol," or 
HDL.  The American Dietetic Association, the American Institute of 
Nutrition, the American Society for Clinical Nutrition and the 
Institute of Food Technologists say there is insufficient data to make 
such a judgement against trans fatty acids.  The groups are asking 
the FDA to call for more research before following through on 
requests by some public interest groups to ban or label trans fatty 
acids.  

Source:  Cris Carmody, "Midwest Farming Today," UPI, June 22, 1994.
_____________________________________________
RESOURCES
_____________________________________________
FOOD OUTLOOK is a publication of the Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.  The publication is 
produced on a monthly basis and looks at food consumption and 
production throughout the world.  Heavy on statistics, the June 1994 
edition looks at emerging food crises in Africa and an anticipated 
stabilization in world milk production for 1994.  For more 
information, contact FAO, Via delle Terme di Caracalle, 00100 Rome, 
Italy.

The New York-based group Mothers & Others for a Livable Planet 
has source sheets available for organic foods and rBGH-free dairy 
products.  The group also has other information available on the 
nutrition and food safety campaigns it is involved in.  For copies of 
the source sheets or more information, contact Mothers & Others, 40 
West 20th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10011, Tel:  (212) 242-
0010, Fax:  (212) 242-0545.
_____________________________________________
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
_____________________________________________
INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS, June 27-
August 18, 1994, Davis, CA.  FFI, contact:  Mark Van Horn, Student 
Experimental Farm, Department of Agronomy, University of 
California, Davis, CA 95616, Tel:  (916) 752-7645.

BASICS OF FARMING AND MARKETING VEGETABLES, farm tour, June 
29, 1994, Delano, MN.  FFI, contact:  Tel:  (612) 972-2052.

LILLIAN FOUNTAIN SMITH CONFERENCE FOR NUTRITION EDUCATORS, 
July 29-30, 1994, Fort Collins, CO.  FFI, contact:  Pat Kendall or 
Jennifer Anderson, Colorado State University, Department of Food 
Science and Human Nutrition, Fort Collins, CO 80526, Tel:  (303) 491-
7743, Email:  [email-masked].

INTERNATIONAL FOOD INFORMATION COUNCIL CALIFORNIA FOOD 
ROUNDTABLE, August 4, 1994, San Francisco, CA.  FFI, contact:  Libby 
Mikesell, IFIC, Tel:  (202) 296-6540.

NATIONAL GROWTH MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE, 
September/October 1994, St. Paul, MN.  FFI, contact:  Land 
Stewardship Project, 14758 Ostlund Trail North, Marine on St. Croix, 
MN 55047, Tel:  (612) 433-2770.

DOWN TO EARTH:  PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF ECOLOGICAL 
ECONOMICS, October 24-28, 1994, San Jose, Costa Rica.  FFI, contact:  
III International Conference of Ecological Economics, P.O. Box 555-
3000, Heredia, Costa Rica.

FARMING SYSTEMS RESEARCH, EXTENSION AND RURAL 
DEVELOPMENT, November 21-25, 1994, Montpelier, France.  FFI, 
contact:  Amon Z. Mattee or Thierry Lasalle, Department of 
Agricultural Education and Extension, Skoine University of 
Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
_____________________________________________
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.