Henry A. Wallace Institute for
Alternative Agriculture
9200 Edmonston Road, #117
Greenbelt, MD 20770
(301) 441-8777
E-mail: hawiaa@access.digex.net
World Wide Web: http://www.hawiaa.org
* * *
If You Are Interested in Sustainable Agriculture...
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 factors, challenges, and obstacles in organic farmers'
decision-making are featured in the new issue (Volume 14, No. 1). Other
articles cover evaluation of 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, and commentary on whether precision agriculture is
sustainable. Subscriptions to AJAA are $44 for libraries, $24 for
individuals, and $12 for students; contact the Wallace Institute, 9200
Edmonston Road, #117, Greenbelt, MD 20770; (301) 441-8777; e-mail
hawiaa@access.digex.net
Table of Contents
Bioengineered Corn May Be Killing Monarch Butterflies, p. 1
British Medical Group Calls for Gene-Altered Food Labeling, p. 2
Maryland Hog Farm Causes Problems Raised Nationwide, p. 3
Merrigan to Head USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, p. 3
Animal Antibiotics Linked to Human Illnesses, p. 3
Researchers Find New Use for Alfalfa, p. 4
World Food Prize Seeks Nominations, p. 4
Positions, p. 4
Resources, p. 4
Upcoming Events, p. 5
BIOENGINEERED CORN MAY BE KILLING MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
A variety of genetically altered corn produces a poison that may be
killing monarch butterflies during their annual migration, according to an
article published in Nature (May 20, 1999). Known as Bt corn, the variety
has been genetically modified to exude a poison fatal to corn-boring
caterpillars, and now accounts for more than one-quarter of the nation's
corn crop, being planted on an estimated 10 to 20 million acres out of the
country's 80 million acres of corn.
"Pollen from the plants can blow onto nearby milkweed plants, the
exclusive food upon which monarch larvae feed, and get eaten by the
tiger-striped caterpillars," according to The Washington Post (May 20,
1999). "Monarchs - which already face ecological pressures but have so far
managed to hold their own - may soon find themselves on the endangered
species list."
The research provides the first evidence that pollen from a
bioengineered plant can harm non-pest species, according to The New York
Times (May 20, 1999). "Butterfly or moth species other than the monarch
could be affected by the transgenic plant, particularly those that live on
plants like milkweeds that are often found in and around cornfields and
could be dusted by Bt corn pollen," the article said.
Monarch butterflies migrate from Mexico and Southern California to
northern states in the spring, and their offspring return south in the fall.
About half of the monarchs that winter in Mexico grow up as caterpillars in
the U.S. corn belt.
According to Newsweek (May 31, 1999), "Viewing the new crops as
useful alternatives to pesticides, most scientists want work on them to
continue, if more cautiously. The message from the monarchs, meanwhile, is
that even the most well-intentioned biotechnologies are not risk-free."
BRITISH MEDICAL GROUP CALLS FOR LABELING OF GENE-ALTERED FOOD
Adding to opposition in Europe to bioengineered food products, the
British Medical Association last month recommended that genetically altered
foods be labeled to inform consumers about their origins, and that those
crops be processed separately from conventional crops, rather than mixed
together as is done today in the United States. "If growers in the United
States or other countries continue to refuse to segregate gene-modified
products, the association concluded, then Britain should consider banning
imports of those foods," reported The Washington Post (May 18, 1999).
"Concerns about genetically engineered corn have already halted virtually
all corn exports from the United States to Europe, costing U.S. farmers
about $200 million a year."
England's largest grocery chain last month announced it would phase
out genetically modified foods and try to switch to suppliers whose foods
are not made from gene-altered crops. In addition, two large British food
processors said they would stop using genetically modified ingredients "for
the time being," according to a previous article in The Post (April 29,
1999).
Two other articles last month chronicled Europe's opposition to
genetically altered food. Newsweek (May 31, 1999) described "a noisy debate
raging over what the London tabloids like to call 'Frankenstein foods.'"
According to a front-page article in The Wall Street Journal (May 11, 1999),
"Monsanto has done something quite remarkable for a U.S. company in Europe.
It has gone from obscurity to infamy in just a few years" because of its
production of genetically altered seeds, particularly soybeans imported from
the United States.
MARYLAND HOG FARM CAUSES PROBLEMS RAISED NATIONWIDE
A local controversy over a Maryland farmer's decision to run a
concentrated hog feeding operation has raised issues seen across the
country, as more and more family farmers become contract farmers for huge
corporate farming operations, according to an article in The Washington Post
(May 23, 1999). The Maryland farmer decided "to turn from small-time dairy
farming in favor of hog production on a grand scale," built two big barns,
and filled them with 4,000 hogs, the article said.
Now neighbors are complaining about the odor emanating from the
farm, and the operation has "raised a stink with environmental groups, who
fear that Maryland is ill-prepared to handle the threat to air and water
posed by hogs and their excrement." State and local officials are also
concerned, particularly since there are similar large-scale hog operations
in place or being planned in Maryland and parts of Pennsylvania within the
Chesapeake Bay watershed. But supporters of the corporate takeover of hog
farming say that "farming needs to evolve that way to survive in the global
marketplace."
"What's happening in Frederick County reflects how large-scale
operations are transforming American agriculture," according to the article.
"State and local governments have been slow to recognize the coming of such
large-scale farms and their possible consequences."
According to the USDA, the number of U.S. hog farms has fallen from
one million in 1967 to 114,000 in 1998. Operations of 1,000 or more hogs
now account for 64 percent of the national inventory, and about half of all
hogs are raised under some form of contractual agreement.
MERRIGAN TO HEAD USDA'S AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE
Kathleen Merrigan, the Wallace Institute's senior policy analyst for
the past five years, has left the Institute to become the new administrator
of the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. The AMS has a staff of 3,500.
Merrigan was formerly an aide to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) when he served as
chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. She has been a member of the
National Organic Standards Board since 1993.
"Same agenda, different location," said Merrigan. "This is a great
opportunity to go back inside government and work with an agency responsible
for many of the issues at the forefront of sustainable agriculture, notably
the new organic standards, farmers markets, farmers' cooperatives, mandatory
price reporting, and pesticide data collection."
ANIMAL ANTIBIOTICS LINKED TO HUMAN ILLNESSES
The use of antibiotics in animals has been linked to human
illnesses, according to several medical reports published last month. A
study from Minnesota in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the
use of antibiotics in food animals such as chickens can lead to
drug-resistant diarrhea in humans. It also found that some people who
acquired the illness picked up the germ overseas, where antibiotics have
been used more widely than in the United States. "Increasing foreign travel
and the internationalization of the food trade make the use of antibiotics
in food production a public health issue of global dimensions," said an
editorial in the Journal. Two other studies from California and Washington,
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, linked
outbreaks of drug-resistant salmonella to unpasteurized milk and antibiotic
use in dairy cattle.
RESEARCHERS FIND NEW USE FOR ALFALFA
Researchers at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in Madison,
Wisconsin, have found a way to make lactic acid from alfalfa fiber,
according to an article in Agricultural Research (May, 1999). Lactic acid,
now used in foods as a flavoring or preservative, could become a key
ingredient in biodegradable plastics. It is currently made synthetically
with chemicals or organically as a byproduct of corn fermentation; about
half the U.S. lactic acid market is currently imported. Extracting lactic
acid from alfalfa would give farmers more incentive to grow the crop,
according to the USDA. Alfalfa is valuable in sustainable agriculture
because it fixes its own nitrogen, eliminating the need to add nitrogen
fertilizer. The article is available electronically on the Internet at
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/may99/acid0599.htm
WORLD FOOD PRIZE SEEKS NOMINATIONS
The World Food Prize is seeking nominations for the year 2000 World
Food Prize, which recognizes outstanding individual achievement in improving
the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. The prize
emphasizes the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food supply for
all people and recognizes that improving the world's food supply for the
long term depends on nurturing the quality of land, water, forests, and
other natural resources. The deadline for nominations is December, 31,
1999. For a brochure detailing the nomination process, contact World Food
Prize, Office of the Secretariat, David Acker, College of Agriculture, Iowa
State University, Ames, IA 50011-1050; (515) 294-2883; e-mail
bjelland@iastate.edu
POSITIONS
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University,
seeks a Director; a full job description is on the Internet at
http://www.ag.iastate.edu/news/leopold.html; send letter, resume, and three
references to Dr. Wendy Wintersteen, Chair, Leopold Center Search Committee,
Iowa State University, 132 Curtiss Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1050.
Community Alliance with Family Farmers seeks an Executive Director;
for application, call CAFF, P.O. Box 363, Davis, CA 95617, (530) 756-8518;
or e-mail caff@caff.org
Institute of Ecosystem Studies seeks an Ecology Field Program
Leader; send letter, resume, and three references to Dr. Alan Berkowitz,
Head of Education, IES, P.O. Box R, Millbrook, N.Y. 12545.
WoodPrairie Farm seeks a permanent, year-round worker; send letter,
resume, and letter to Jim and Megan Gerritsen, WoodPrairie Farm, 49 Kinney
Road, Bridgewater, ME 04735; (207) 425-7741.
Stonewall Farm, a non-profit educational farm, seeks an educator;
send inquiries to Kully Mindemann, Executive Director, Stonewall Farm, 242
Chesterfield Road, Keene, N.H. 03431.
Natick Community Organic Farm seeks a year-round farmer/educator;
send letter and resume to Lynda Simkins, 117 Eliot St., Natick, MA 01760.
RESOURCES
"1999 Progress Report," summaries of 16 research and education
projects funded by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, is
available from the Center, Iowa State University, 209 Curtiss Hall, Ames, IA
50011-1050; (515) 294-3711; e-mail leocenter@iastate.edu
"Reclaiming Our Rural Heritage: A Time to Act," a 55-minute video,
is $10 from Catholic Charities, P.O. Box 1342, Sioux City, IA 51102, ATTN:
Marilyn Murphy; (712) 255-4346.
"The Composters' Answers Book" is $39 from BioCycle, 419 State
Avenue, Emmaus, PA 18049; (610) 967-4135; e-mail biocycle@jgpress.com
"Controlling Odor and Gaseous Emission Problems from Industrial
Swine Facilities" is $5 from the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture,
P.O. Box 588, Poteau, OK 74953; (918) 647-9123.
"Who's Coming to Dinner? Livestock Eating Habits and Their Effects
on Grazing Management," a 15-minute video, is $19.95 from Publication
Orders, Extension & Station Communications, Oregon State University, 422
Kerr Administration, Corvallis, OR 97331; (541) 737-0803.
"Grazing in the Northeast: Assessing Current Technologies, Research
Directions, and Education Needs," $30 plus $5 shipping, and "Priority
Pasture Research and Education Needs," $5 plus $3.50 shipping, are available
from Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service, 152 Riley-Robb
Hall, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853; (607) 255-7654; e-mail nraes@cornell.edu
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 21-24, "Fire & Grit: Working for Nature in Community" will be
held in Shepherdstown, W.V.; contact the Orion Society, 195 Main St., Great
Barrington, MA 01230; 1-888-909-6568; e-mail orion@orionsociety.org
June 24-25, Advanced Community Food Security Workshop will be held
in Cincinnati, OH; contact Community Food Security Coalition, P.O. Box 209,
Venice, CA 90294; (310) 822-5410; e-mail asfisher@aol.com
July 5-August 7, "Intensive Permaculture Course and Self Reliance
Internship" will be held in Basalt, CO; contact Jerome Ostenowski, Central
Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute, P.O. Box 631, Basalt, CO 81621; (970)
927-4158; e-mail permacul@rof.net
July 7-10, International Symposium on Society and Resource
Management will be held in Brisbane, Australia; contact Donald R. Field,
Department of Forest Ecology and Management, 1630 Linden Drive, University
of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706; e-mail drfield@facstaff.wisc.edu
July 22, 19th Annual Milan No-Till Crop Production Field Day and
Planting Equipment Demonstration will be held in Milan, TN; contact Dr.
Blake Brown, Superintendent, Milan Experiment Station, 6205 Ellington Drive,
Milan, TN 38358; (901) 686-7362; e-mail utmilan@usit.net
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