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Thursday, August 18
Weak Meat Inspection Program
by
Caroline Vernon
on Thu 18 Aug 2005 03:45 PM CDT
 Weak Meat Inspection Program
Public Citizen
Evidence of Weak Meat Inspection Program Found in Nearly a Thousand Violations of Mad Cow Rules at Slaughter Plants
Aug. 18, 2005
Noncompliance Records Show Plants Failed to Follow Regulations
WASHINGTON,
D.C. - In stark contrast to the public relations message touted by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the beef industry that the
U.S. regulatory system is adequate to prevent the spread of mad cow
disease, an analysis released today by the consumer group Public
Citizen found significant lapses in the industry’s compliance with
federal rules.
The
analysis stems from a December 2004 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
request from Public Citizen to the USDA for all "noncompliance records"
(NRs) related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Public Citizen
received copies of 829 records on Aug. 15. (Read the analysis.)
More
than half the violations (460) occurred because slaughter plants did
not have an adequate plan for dealing with BSE in their plant’s food
safety plan, as required by the USDA, the analysis shows. Of those 460
violations, 60 percent described plans that contained no mention of BSE
at all.
"The fact that 60 percent of the violations were due to a failure to
even mention BSE or risk materials such as brains and spinal cords is
significant," said Patty Lovera, deputy director of Public Citizen’s
food program. "If officials running a meat plant cannot be bothered to
recognize the risk of BSE when writing their safety plan, how much of a
priority is it in daily operations and training of staff?"
Click here to read the complete article.
Public
Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based
in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.citizen.org.
Sunday, August 14
BUY FRESH, BUY LOCAL
by
Molly Regan
on Sun 14 Aug 2005 11:00 AM CDT
 BUY FRESH, BUY LOCAL
Had a good PEACH lately that wasn't laced with pesticides? How
about a free-range egg? Or, well… you know… a free-range
chicken? Actually, peaches happen to be one of the fruits with
the most pesticides in them.
"There are many good reasons to buy locally grown food. YOU'LL
GET EXCEPTIONAL TASTE AND FRESHNESS. Local food is fresher and
tastes better than food shipped long distances from other states or
countries. Local farmers can offer produce varieties bred for
taste and freshness rather than for shipping and long shelf life.
"YOU'LL STRENGTHEN YOUR LOCAL ECONOMY. Buying local food keeps
your dollars circulating in your community. Getting to know the
farmers who grow your food builds relationships based on understanding
and trust, the foundation of strong communities.
"YOU'LL SUPPORT ENDANGERED FAMILY FARMS. There's never been a more
critical time to support your farming neighbors. With each local
food purchase, you ensure that more of your money spent on food goes to
the farmer.
"YOU'LL SAFEGUARD YOUR FAMILY'S HEALTH. Knowing where your food
comes from and how it is grown or raised enables you to choose safe
food from farmers who avoid or reduce their use of chemicals,
pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, or genetically modified seed in
their operations. Buy food from local farmers you trust.
"YOU'LL PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT. LOCAL FOOD DOESN'T' HAVE TO
TRAVEL FAR. This reduces carbon dioxide emissions and packing
materials. Buying local food also helps to make farming more
profitable and selling farmland for development less attractive.
When you buy local food, you vote with your food dollar. This
ensures that family farms in your community will continue to thrive and
that healthy, flavorful, plentiful food will be available for future
generations."
Many local producers here in east central IOWA as well as others in
western Illinois are part of the BUY FRESH BUY LOCAL campaign.
The group creates a directory of local farmers markets. Also in
the directory are individuals who supply produce which U-Pick like
flowers and eggs from MISS EFFIE'S COUNTRY FLOWERS & GARDEN STUFF
by Donahue, IOWA, here in Scott County.
Listed also are NOSTALGIA FARMS by Walcott, IOWA, that provides
tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, chickens, and other items as well as "no
hormones or routine antibiotics beef" from Sawyer Beef by Princeton,
IOWA, both in Scott County.
So check out www.farmpaths.org to find a place close by so you can BUY
FRESH BUY LOCAL. If you are not close to those areas mentioned,
your county extension office may help you out. It's a good step
to take.
Always remember to CPR: CONSERVE/PARTICIPATE/RECYCLE
Saturday, August 13
Monsanto's Big Deal
by
Caroline Vernon
on Sat 13 Aug 2005 04:00 AM CDT
 Monsanto's Big Deal
by Karl Beitel and Nick Parker, Food First
This
serves as a reminder of where we are heading. As you know, Iowa has
already passed the Terminator Gene Bill. In my opinion, not only is
this a crime against nature, but serves as an example of the
irresponsible decisions that are being made in our government on behalf
of the highest bidder. He with the most gold makes the rules... and
evidently, now the seeds! As a mother, do you think I should be
concerned about what I feed my children?
The
world's food system is quickly consolidating. Five corporations control
90 percent of the global grain market while five supermarket chains
control most of the global retail trade. Monsanto knows that
consolidation of the global food system in the hands of a small number
of corporations is likely to continue. Wall Street analysts believe
Monsanto's future is dependent on the success of GE seed development.
Increasing its share of the proprietary seed market will allow Monsanto
to exercise significant control over the food we grow and eat. They
already control most of the biotech soy and corn markets. Now they've
extended that reach to the global seed market.
Monsanto's
announcement of their plans to purchase Seminis, the largest fruit and
vegetable seed producer in the world, was quickly followed by a
statement that Monsanto does not intend to apply biotech to develop
these seeds-at least not yet. This is a curious assertion from a
dominant biotech company.
Biotech
crops and food remain unpopular throughout much of the world. In the
United States, biotech corporations successfully fought labeling and
slipped the foods into grocery stores, knowing that these products
would likely have been rejected if consumers had a choice.
Europeans
actively oppose genetically engineered (GE) foods to the point that
major grocery chains in the European Union have vowed to remove GE
ingredients from their name-brand products. Subsequently, biotech
corporations have increasingly turned to the developing world to find
additional markets for GE foods. Even there resistance builds.
The
biotech industry promotes GE foods by claiming these technologies will
help break the cycle of hunger and increase food production. These
claims are not supported by available scientific evidence. Tests run by
the University of Nebraska, and in Australia and Argentina, discovered
significant drops in production associated with the switch to biotech
crops on the order of 10 to 30 percent.
But what if production increases are not the only reason biotech companies invest in GE foods?
Many
have argued that the real motive driving the development of GE seeds is
expanding control over the food system. Biotech crops are not only a
profitable patented product in and of themselves, they are also a
vehicle to sell other products. Monsanto sells "Roundup Ready" soybeans
as a proprietary package in which GE seeds are conveniently mated to
their Roundup pesticide. Farmers, who traditionally save seeds each
year, are prohibited from doing so with these GE seeds, which must be
purchased anew each growing season.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
Thursday, August 11
Humans Dying of Pig Disease a Concern
by
Caroline Vernon
on Thu 11 Aug 2005 07:55 AM CDT
 Humans Dying of Pig Disease a Concern
By Margie Mason, AP Medical Writer
Based
on the state of many of the hog farms in Iowa, this issue hits pretty
close to home. I hope we are able to examine the situation very closely
so we are able to prevent the same thing from happening here - if
that's even possible. It's enough to make you want to become a
vegetarian!
Experts
on a strep germ that's sickening people and pigs in China are baffled
by reports of 37 farmers suddenly falling ill, bleeding under the skin
and dying — all previously unheard of with the disease.
While
not uncommon in pigs, Streptococcus suis is seldom seen in people and
never dozens of cases all at once — raising bigger questions about
whether the germ has mixed with some other bacteria or virus.
"Something
is different," Marcelo Gottschalk, one of the world's leading experts
on the disease, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
"We are worried and we wonder what's happening. We would like to have the strain to identify."
Gottschalk
works in the world's only reference laboratory for Streptococcus suis
at the University of Montreal in Canada and says no one in China has
contacted him for help since the outbreak was reported last month.
So few
people have studied this disease, he's unsure how the Chinese have been
able to identify it and what type of vaccine they plan to use since
immunizations typically are not effective. Chinese state media have
reported that enough vaccine for 350,000 pigs has already been sent to
Sichuan province from a company in southern Guangdong province and that
enough doses for 10 million swine will be shipped later....
The infected farmers who handled or butchered sick pigs have experienced nausea, fever, vomiting and bleeding under the skin.
Thomas
Alexander, retired deputy director of the University of Cambridge's
School of Veterinary Medicine, was a pioneer in studying this
particular strep germ. He said the bacteria is commonly found in the
tonsils of healthy swine in different parts of the world. However, it sometimes becomes pathogenic when too many pigs are crammed together in unsanitary conditions.
To read the rest of the article, click here
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