Food & Environmental Electronic Digest, Union of Concerned Scientists

Sorry if this info is a dupe

FEED - Food & Environmental Electronic Digest
July 2005 - Read FEED online at:
http://ucsaction.org/ct/dp_7f2s1xzdC/

Contents

1. Overuse leaves drug useless against avian influenza
2. USDA criticized on mad cow investigation
3. House acts to ban fluoroquinolone-treated chicken in school
lunches
4. Whole Foods will label food GMO-free
5. What you can do (1): Participate in a Farm Bill forum
6. What you can do (2): Help save the Conservation Security
Program

1. Overuse leaves drug useless against avian influenza
Farmers in China have been using an antiviral drug meant for
humans to control avian influenza in their chickens since the
late 1990s. As a result, the subtype of avian influenza that is
considered most likely to trigger a human pandemic has developed
resistance to the drug. It's the first time overuse in animal
agriculture of an antiviral, rather than an antibiotic, has
compromised the efficacy of a human drug in a major way. The
Chinese government encouraged farmers to use the drug, called
amantadine, although such use is banned in the United States and
many other countries. The only remaining drug that could be used
to treat humans, oseltamivir, is prohibitively expensive and
difficult to obtain. The situation is a dramatic example of why
UCS advocates against the inappropriate use in animal
agriculture of drugs that are valuable in human medicine. Read
the Washington Post article about the story at
http://ucsaction.org/ct/cd_7f2s1xzcq/.

2. USDA criticized on mad cow investigation
The second case of mad cow disease in the U.S. - the first in a
U.S.-born cow - was confirmed in June. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) has been criticized for: not releasing the
news until last month, although initial tests were done last
November; mislabeling the sample; and not running a confirmatory
test sooner after one test was positive and another produced an
inconclusive result. The positive reading of mad cow was finally
confirmed by a laboratory in England. The USDA screens only one
cow in 90 for mad cow disease, while Europe screens one cow in
four and Japan screens every cow it slaughters. The USDA also
allows risky practices to continue, such as feeding chicken
litter that may contain cow parts back to cattle. Read the New
York Times article about the case at
http://ucsaction.org/ct/d7_7f2s1xzdV/.

3. House acts to ban fluoroquinolone-treated chicken in school
lunches
The House of Representatives passed a measure in June intended
to prevent the federal school lunch program from buying chicken
treated with fluoroquinolones, a class of antibiotics that
includes Cipro and other vital drugs for humans. The measure, an
amendment to the Fiscal Year 2006 agriculture appropriations
bill, was sponsored by Representative Sherrod Brown (D-13th/OH).
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) will offer a similar amendment in
the Senate. Routine treatment of farm animals with antibiotics
spurs the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can
infect humans. The Food and Drug Administration has been trying
to end the use of fluoroquinolones in chickens since 2000, but
has been blocked by legal appeals by manufacturer Bayer
Corporation. To read more, visit
http://ucsaction.org/ct/d1_7f2s1xzdK/.

4. Whole Foods will label food GE-free
Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats grocery stores both committed
in 2001 to using only non-genetically engineered (GE)
ingredients in their company brand products. Now Whole Foods,
the world's largest supplier of natural and organic foods, has
announced it will label its products, including all organic
food, GE-free. Growers and producers who sell to Whole Foods
will have to substantiate their non-GE practices through
documentation and independent laboratory tests. To read Whole
Foods' policy, visit http://ucsaction.org/ct/c7_7f2s1xzca/.

5. What you can do (1): Participate in a Farm Bill forum
Members of the public are invited to give input on the 2007 Farm
Bill at a series of forums hosted by Mike Johanns, the Secretary
of Agriculture. This is a great opportunity for you to tell
Secretary Johanns what you want U.S. agriculture to look like
and what role the USDA should play. For example, you might want
to tell him you want the USDA to assist farmers in making the
transition to organic, to encourage farmers to act as
environmental stewards, and to establish programs reducing the
use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. Remind him that
agribusiness is not his only constituent. It's our USDA too.
Farm Bill sessions that have been scheduled so far:
* July 26, noon-3 pm (CST) - North Dakota State Fair, Minot, ND
* August 3, 4-7 pm - Minnesota Farm Fest, Redwood County, MN
* August 4, 11 am-2 pm - Wisconsin State Fair, West Allis, WI
More forums will be scheduled at sites around the country. You
can also submit comments at
http://ucsaction.org/ct/c1_7f2s1xzc1/.

6. What you can do (2): Help save the Conservation Security
Program
The USDA is requesting public comments on the Revised Interim
Final Rule for the Conservation Security Program, a voluntary
stewardship incentives program that rewards farmers for
conservation practices that protect water and soil, improve
habitat, and increase energy efficiency. USDA is hobbling the
program by funding too few farmers in too few areas of the
country. This innovative program needs your support. Comments
are due by July 25, 2005. For detailed information about the
program and suggestions for writing effective comments on this
rule, visit http://ucsaction.org/ct/dd_7f2s1xzdZ/.

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