6/1/04

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1.  Organic Democracy Prevails Again! 
2.  Greens Vow To Protect Canadian Farmers From Biopiracy 
3.  Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Beef Checkoff Case 
4.  USDA Takes Comments On New Grasslands Program

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1.  ORGANIC DEMOCRACY PREVAILS AGAIN! 

Special thanks to all the grassroots activists who contacted the US Department of Agriculture to rally against the USDA's recent attempt to gut the national organic standards.  Due to intense public outcry the USDA was forced to reverse "clarifications" they issued last month to the standards.  

The new interpretations would have allowed antibiotics in dairy cows, certain chemicals in pesticides and livestock feed containing non-organic fish meal. 

The public outcry from a broad host of groups forced the USDA to reconsider and on May 27 USDA Secretary Ann Veneman officially repealed the edicts.  Senator Patrick Lehey of Vermont is due special thanks. He sternly denounced the USDA, saying it violated the "spirit of the law" and circulated a congressional sign on letter among his colleagues asking Veneman to rescind the directives.  Great work to all and stay tuned.  While democracy is alive and well in the organic movement, the USDA has attempted these antics before -- and they will likely attempt them again.  

2.  GREENS VOW TO PROTECT CANADIAN FARMERS FROM BIOPRACY

In a marathon seven year battle, the Canadian Supreme court last week ruled that Percy Smeiser, the Saskatchewan farmer being sued by Monsanto, was guilty of copyright infringement but would pay no penalty to the giant multinational.  While the ruling is being spun as a victory for Monsanto, some believe it will take the teeth out of GMO laws rendering them "non-prosecutable offenses" if someone inadvertently acquires that seed.  

Ironically, several countries have regulations that require the GMO manufacturer to "clean up" any altered genetic material that drifts onto other farmer's properties. While Monsanto was not successful in fining Smeiser, the case did set a disturbing precedent for the future.  As a result, the Canadian Green party, infuriated with the situation, has agreed to help defend other Canadian farmers from "Biopiracy."  Green Party leader Jim Harris, reflecting this week on the affair said, "To hold farmers liable for mother nature, while allowing multi-nationals to experiment on Canada's food ... is a sad reflection of the Liberal governments priorities when it comes of the health of Canadians." 

3. SUPREME COURT AGREES TO HEAR BEEF CHECKOFF CASE 

The Supreme Court announced last week that it will hear an appeal on the constitutionality of the beef check off program.  Last July, an appeals court upheld a 2002 decision that the "beef checkoff" violated cattle producers' First Amendment rights by compelling them to pay for speech with which they disagreed."  However, in February of 2004, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to review the case on behalf of the USDA and the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the checkoff.  

Both sides in the case indicated that they were pleased with the Supreme Court's decision to hear the case.  A spokesman for the NCBA said that "we believe in the merits of the beef check off and confident that it eventually will prevail." A representative of the Western Association of Resource Councils, which brought the original case challenging the constitutionality of the checkoff program, said: "We're glad to see the end in sight to this unfair, undemocratic, and unconstitutional program.  The Supreme Court has already struck down a similar program for mushrooms.  We're confident that after hearing our case, the Court will do the same with beef." 

4.  USDA TAKES COMMENTS ON NEW GRASSLANDS PROGRAM 

The USDA has announced an interim final rule for the Grasslands Reserve Program, a new program established in the 2002 Farm Bill. The program, which will enroll two million acres of restored or improved grasslands, will be jointly administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).  The program establishes 30-year and permanent easements (available only to the owner of the eligible land) and 10 to 30-year rental agreements (available to landowner or the person with control of the property).  

USDA is accepting comments on all aspects of the program, particularly its chosen approach of allocating funds to the states rather than evaluating and selecting applications on a national basis and its criteria and weighing factors for allocating money to the states, particularly with respect to plant and animal biodiversity. Comments on the program are due by July 20 2004; stay tuned to Rural Updates for more analysis and talking points. 

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 to ensure abundant family farms, healthy critters, clean water and a wild Earth.  

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Rural Updates!
Scotty Johnson and Aimee Delach
National Rural Community Outreach Campaign
sjohnson@defenders.org