11/05/04

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1. Defenders Action Fund Releases Wildlife Scorecard
2. G.R.A.C.E. Launches "Sustainable Table" Resource
3. China Opposes US Textile Moves
4. Organic Sales Booming In China

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1. DEFENDERS ACTION FUND RELEASES WILDLIFE 
SCORECARD

Last week Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund released its 2004 
Wildlife Conservation Report Card. The report measures U.S. 
Senators' and Representatives' commitment to wildlife conservation 
and habitat preservation. "The Action Fund's report card is the only 
resource with complete information on the wildlife conservation 
voting records of Members of Congress," said the Action Fund 
President Rodger Schlickeisen. Using the scorecard, voters 
throughout the country can quickly learn how their elected officials 
voted on the most important issues affecting threatened wildlife and 
their habitat. "There is a worldwide scientific consensus that we are 
losing species and their natural habitat at an accelerating rate," 
added Schlickeisen. "...and that this loss is harming the ecological 
heath of the planet, upon which all life depends. 

You can view the report at: http://www.defendersactionfund.org 

2. GRACE LAUNCHES SUSTAINABLE TABLE WEBSITE

With hormones in our milk, food poisoning, mad cow disease, 
antibiotic resistant bacteria in meat and corporate farming that is 
ruining our water and air, one has to ask: What has happened to 
our food? To help awaken consumers to the dangers of non-
sustainable and unhealthy food production, GRACE, the Global 
Resource Action Center for the Environment has launched the 
"Sustainable Table" website. Sustainable Table is an introduction 
to issues surrounding today's agricultural system. It traces where 
our food comes from and describes the difference between 
corporate factory farming and sustainable production. GRACE'S 
goal is to help people understand the issues, offer suggestions on 
what folks can do, direct people to more in-depth information, and 
introduce them to the exciting and hugely popular sustainable food 
movement exploding around the world.

See the website at: http://www.sustainabletable.org/intro/

3. CHINA OPPOSES US TEXTILE MOVES

According to CBS Marketwatch, China's Ministry of Commerce 
released a report saying a U.S. committee's decision to widen its 
investigation into Chinese imports will "seriously hurt the 
confidence" of domestic manufacturers and will have a negative 
impact on U.S. cotton farmers, textile consumers, machinery 
exporters and investors in China. The ministry added that an 
investigation into potential threats to the U.S. market violated 
agreements China signed with Washington before entering the 
WTO, the report said. "China will reserve the right to take action 
under the WTO framework," the ministry reportedly said in a 
statement. Last month, a coalition of U.S. textile makers asked the 
Bush administration to curb imports of Chinese trousers and shirts, 
expected to flood the U.S. market when quotas are lifted at the 
beginning of next year. According to Elizabeth Becker of the New 
York Times, just days before the presidential election, the Bush 
administration agreed to "consider" a petition from the coalition 
that would limit some imports from China.

Read the full story on CBS Marketwatch at: 
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BFB14BC46-
FB0F-47A1-9B7A 
E140EA606CF2%7D&siteid=google&dist=google&dist=

4. ORGANIC SALES BOOMING IN CHINA

In China, purchases of organic food are booming. A northwest 
Chinese official says the green food industry has now "entered a 
new stage of development in the country." According to the 
Xinhua news agency, the China Green Food Development Center is 
reporting that organic food sales have been increasing by nearly 30 
percent annually. At a round-table meeting recently held in China, 
Ma Aiguo, director of the center noted that "the government had 
established a national network to enforce laws monitoring 
production, processing, quality, storage and transportation of 
produce carrying a green label." Since then, the business has been 
booming. The concept of organic food was first introduced to 
China 14 years ago and more than 2,000 companies are now 
involved in green food production across China.

Cultivating a vision where rural and urban communities join together

 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