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2/20/04
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1. USDA Mad Cow Testing Methods Questioned
2. Family Farmers Log Two Court Wins Against Tyson
3. Global GMO Trade To Be Discussed at Cartagena
Meeting
4. Grants Available: Economics of Invasive Species
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1. USDA MAD COW TESTING METHODS QUESTIONED
New
testimony regarding the regulations used by the US Department of
Agriculture's to detect Mad Cow disease has farmers and
consumers seriously questioning the agencies ability to protect
consumers and export markets. In a Press Release to
Anne Venneman, Peter Lurie, M.D., deputy director of Public
Citizen's Health Research Group, said that "in a number of
crucial areas, the agency has overstated the impact of new
rules, falsely reassuring the public." The release
says USDA cannot adequately identify BSE because of their
assumption that it only exists in "Downer" cows or
those too sick to walk.
The issue has come to light
due to the testimony of a slaughterhouse worker who says the
infected cow recently diagnosed with Mad Cow disease showed no
symptoms of being a downer when it was butchered. Public Citizen says that data from Europe show that although the
BSE risk is higher in downer cattle, hundreds of animals that
appear normal have also tested positive for BSE. Read
more.
2.
FAMILY FARMERS LOG TWO COURT WINS
It's been a bad week in court
for agribusiness giant Tyson Foods. On Tuesday, a jury in
Alabama awarded $1.3 billion to cattle producers that had sued
Tyson/IBP for using captive supplies to drive down cattle prices
paid to independent producers. The jury found that Tyson
manipulated prices unfairly with captive supply cattle, driving
down the price that 30,000 independent producers received by
5.1% over the period of 1994-2002. On Thursday, the
Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that hog farmers whose contracts
were canceled in 2002 could take their case to court rather than
settling via an arbitration panel. The court upheld a
lower court's ruling that Tyson's contracts with over 100
producers in the state improperly forced farmers to accept
arbitration to settle disputes, while allowing the company to
"pursue any other remedies" like taking farmers to
court. Learn
more.
3. GLOBAL GMO TRADE TO BE DISCUSSED AT CARTAGENA
MEETING
A longstanding stand-off between the US and the European
Union over GMO crops escalated recently with the US suing the EU,
claiming the EU's consumer driven moratorium over "Frankenfoods"
was not in line with World Trade Organization rules. Now
due to the lawsuit the EU may lift its five year ban on new GMO
crops and an upcoming meeting called the Cartagena Protocol may
become the next battleground over the global proliferation of
GMO crops. The protocol, which aims for transparency in
global GMO trade, obliges exporters to provide more information
about GM products before shipment to other countries. This
transparency is designed to help these counties decide whether
to accept the shipment. Under the current rules a nation
may reject GMO imports or donations if it fears they pose a
danger to traditional crops, undermine local cultures or cut the
value of biodiversity to indigenous communities.
Signatory countries now number more than 80 and will meet this
month in Malaysia to discuss how to implement the protocol.
Read
more.
4. GRANTS AVAILABLE: ECONOMICS OF INVASIVE SPECIES
The
USDA's Economic Research Service initiated a new program of work
in fiscal year 2003 to examine the economic issues related to
managing invasive pests in increasingly global agricultural
markets. The ERS program focuses on national decision
making concerning invasive species of agricultural significance
or affecting, or affected by, USDA programs.
Last week,
the ERS announced that grants are available for research on the
economics of invasive species management. Grants are
available for up to three years for $50,000 to $250,000.
ERS will be funding proposals in three major research areas:
stakeholders and incentives for efficient invasive species
program management; practical decision tools for invasive
species management; and trade and invasive species. The
submission deadline is April 30, 2004. Read the complete details
about the ERS Invasive Species Management Program.
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Rural Updates!
Scotty Johnson and Aimee Delach
National Rural Community Outreach Campaign
sjohnson@defenders.org
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