its about time the truth came out. I knew u could not trust these folks.
bring back DDT
check out a organic growers web page
http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html
----- Original Message -----
From: Andy Clark <aclark@nal.usda.gov>
To: <sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 1999 1:15 PM
Subject: FSNET: Poison risk is greater from organic foods, says scientist
> Only one article is pasted below--from FSNET. Sorry for the formatting--I
> didn't have time to fix it.
>
> Andy Clark
>
> > FSNET SEPTEMBER 7, 1999
> >
> > E. coli source discovered, 112 ill
> > E. coli, toxigenic, waterborne - USA (Washington) (02)
> > Poison risk is greater from organic foods, says scientist
> > EU food agency wins backing in Iberia
> > EU likely to OK Belgian loans to dioxin-affected cos
> > Undiagnosed illness, school - USA (Connecticut)
> > **********
> > FSnet is produced by researchers at the Agri-Food Risk Management and
> > Communications Project at the University of Guelph, is edited
> > by Douglas > Powell (dpowell@uoguelph.ca), Sarah Grant
> > (segrant@uoguelph.ca), and is > supported by the Ontario Ministry of
> Agriculture, Food and
> > Rural Affairs, > Health Canada, the U.S. National Pork Producers, the
U.S.
>
> > National Food > Processors Association, Pfizer Animal Health Group,
Dairy
> Farmers of
> > Canada, AGCare (Agricultural Groups Concerned About Resources and the
> > Environment), Monsanto Canada, Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited
> > (Canada), Canadian > Animal Health Institute, Novartis Crop Protection
> Canada,
> > Dairy Farmers of > Ontario, Meat & Livestock Australia, Canadian On-Farm
> Food
> > Safety Program, > Canadian Pork Council, the U.S. National Cattlemen's
> Beef Association,
> > Maple Leaf Meats/Poultry, Caravelle Foods, CKE Restaurants Inc., the
> > Rutgers University Food Safety Extension Program, Ontario Farm Animal
> > Council, Fleishman-Hillard Canada, Ag-West Biotech, Food
> > Safety Initiative > at New England Medical Center, J.M. Schneider,
Capital
>
> > Health, Parmalat > Food, the Ontario Soybean Growers Marketing Board,
the
> Canadian
> > Cattlemen's Association, Food Industry Environmental Network, Canadian
> > Poultry and Egg Processors, Chicken Farmers of Canada, MDS Nordion,
> > American Meat Institute, International Food Focus, and the
> > Agricultural > Adaptation Council (CanAdapt Program).
> >
> > archived at:
> > http://www.extension.iastate.edu/files/fscurrent/
> > **********
>
>
> >
> > POISON RISK IS GREATER FROM ORGANIC FOODS, SAYS SCIENTIST
> > Sept. 6/99
> > Sunday Times
> > Stephen Bevan and Lois Jones
> > Organic food is 30 times more likely to poison you than
> > conventional food,
> > according to a leading scientist and top government adviser.
> > Professor Alan Gray, acting chairman of the Advisory
> > Committee on Releases
> > to the Environment, which advises the government on the safety of
> > genetically modified (GM) crops and other "novel" organisms,
> > said it was a
> > "myth" that organic food was safer.
> > "You are 30 times more likely to poison yourself with organic produce
> > because it allows Bt [the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis] to spread
> > directly. There's this myth about it being natural," he said.
> > Sprays containing Bt have been used for a decade by farmers to control
> > caterpillars. When ingested, the bacterium produces endotoxins which
> > attack
> > the walls of the insects' guts. In mammals, they can cause death from
> > septic shock.
> > It is one of a number of biological agents permitted by
> > organic certifying
> > bodies such as the Soil Association, which insists it is safe
> > when used
> > properly. Ironically the production of Bt toxin is one of the
> > key features
> > of many GM crops.
> > "Because it's derived from the soil it's deemed to be natural
> > and organic
> > farmers are therefore allowed to spray it," said Gray. "But
> > Bt affects the
> > health of people who work with it due to the ingestion of
> > endotoxins." He
> > was also concerned about the presence of harmful bacteria
> > such as E-coli
> > (a
> > cause of food poisoning) in manures used by organic farmers.
> > "By using manures instead of fertilisers you're recycling
> > E-coli from the
> > guts of cattle and other animals," said Gray. "This is the
> > way the world
> > was before we had organic fertilisers. I'm not against organic food.
> > There's this sense that it's safe, but in fact the risk is
> > greater than
> > from eating some generic foods."
> > His comments were immediately attacked as misconceived by the Soil
> > Association, which certifies the majority of organic
> > producers. "People
> > like Professor Gray ought to know better," said Richard Young, the
> > association's agricultural policy adviser. "We've drawn up
> > standards for
> > 30
> > years to prevent these problems. Many diseases such as E-coli
> > are a result
> > of intensive farming systems."
> > Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, said he
> > suspected Gray's
> > comments were based on misinformation put about by the agrichemicals
> > industry. "Our view is that biological toxins are fine so
> > long as we can
> > show they are not dangerous and are used in a targeted way.
> > If there is
> > new
> > evidence which challenges that we would revisit the inclusion
> > of Bt on the
> > permitted list."
> > Holden admitted that manure from conventional farms could
> > contain E-coli
> > or salmonella but said strict rules about how it was used made it
> > extremely
> > unlikely that it could contaminate any organic products.
> > Radio 4 presenter John Humphrys, a keen fan of organic food,
> > said: "I'm
> > not
> > an expert but my reaction is that this is nonsense. I've been eating
> > organic food for 20 years and I haven't suffered from it."
> > The comments by Gray, who works at the Institute of
> > Terrestrial Ecology's
> > Furzebrook research station in Dorset and is vice-president
> > of the British
> > Ecological Society, threaten to upset the rapidly growing and
> > lucrative
> > organic market. Supermarkets have doubled their sales of
> > organic products
> > in the past year. In some sectors, such as baby food, organic products
> > represent as much as 40% of the market despite prices which
> > can be as much
> > as 50% higher.
> > Much of the demand is driven by people who are looking for safer,
> > healthier
> > food, as well as less intensive farming methods which are said to be
> > better
> > for the environment and for animal welfare. Food certified by the Soil
> > Association must be produced without the use of chemical fertilisers,
> > herbicides or pesticides.
> >
> >
>
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