Mad Cow Hits, Spurs Criticism Over Regulatory System
The discovery in December of mad cow disease on a Washington farm has had a serious and immediate impact on the U.S. beef industry. It has also exposed numerous loopholes in the U.S. food safety system designed to prevent mad cow disease and keep sick cows out of the food supply.

To follow the mad cow controversy, IATP has set up a listserve and special Web site at Ag Observatory.

IATP President Mark Ritchie has written a commentary, "Beyond Mad Cow," on how mad cow should spur a reconsideration of the global, industrial model of food production. Read "Beyond Mad Cow".

UN Told it has 'Opportunity to Make Progress' on Commodity Crisis
Amidst the global commodity crisis that is pushing farmers off the land in nations rich and poor around the world, there is a real opportunity to make progress, IATP President Mark Ritchie told the United Nations General Assembly gathering of the Panel of Eminent Persons on Commodities in October.

Ritchie cited this unique moment in history when "the international community is currently united in making a focus on the commodity crisis a top priority. From the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg to the World Trade Organization talks in Cancún, from the International Labor Organization and the Monterey Meeting on Financing for Development to this special hearing today at the UN, the best and brightest thinkers and doers on the planet are making this a top priority." Read Mark Ritchie's full speech to the United Nations.

FTAA Agriculture Proposals would Hurt Farmers, Forum Concludes
Proposed agricultural trade rules at the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Ministerial in November would continue a failed policy approach that has damaged the livelihood of farmers in developed and developing countries, concluded a panel of experts from countries throughout the Americas.

The Americas Trade and Sustainable Development Forum (ATSDF) was held in Miami, next to the official FTAA meeting, with experts from countries throughout the Americas. The ATSDF covered the FTAA's different components—including agriculture. Representatives from the ATSDF briefed FTAA delegates on their findings. IATP organized the agriculture forum at the ATSDF. IATP's Dennis Olson presented the Forum's findings on agriculture to the FTAA delegates.

In a statement on agriculture, the ATSDF determined that FTAA proposals "represent a continuation of failed policies, and are therefore unacceptable." The forum stated that, "Puting an end to agricultural dumping should be the highest and most immediate priority for fairer trade rules."

On the environment and agriculture, the ATSDF found that the FTAA proposal externalizes many environmental costs, such as pesticide pollution, and that "any future trade agreement should include mechanisms to assess, avoid, and mitigate these environmental impacts."

On genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture, the Forum called for the implementation of the "precautionary principle." The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which already sets international rules on GMOs, should take precedence over the FTAA. "We therefore oppose the proposed strengthening of the SPS Agreement that is reflected in the FTAA negotiating text, which would further restrict the rights of countries to implement the precautionary principle," the ATSDF forum concluded.

Read the ATSDF Agriculture recommendations at Trade Observatory.

Eat Well Guide a Hit for the Holidays
In November, IATP and Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) launched an updated online Eat Well Guide to help consumers find turkeys raised sustainably without the routine use of antibiotics, as well as certified organic and heritage turkeys.

The response to the new guide was amazing. The site received over 8 million hits during the month. The free, national online guide to sustainably raised meat was just in time for consumers to find the perfect holiday bird. The turkeys are raised sustainably or organically on small, local family farms. The guide also includes listings for sourcing chicken, beef, pork, lamb, buffalo, fish, dairy and eggs.

The new Eat Well Guide provides a locally searchable online directory of producers, grocery stores, restaurants and mail-order outlets throughout the country. Consumers can enter their ZIP code and find sustainable meat products close to where they live.

The Eat Well Guide is searchable by certain common claims and labels, such as "free-range," "cage-free," "pastured," etc. It helps consumers understand the meaning of these terms, as well as offering them background information about sustainable meat production.

IATP Applauds American Public Health Association Call
for Precautionary Moratorium on New CAFOs
The American Public Health Association (APHA) is calling on federal, state and local governments and public health agencies to institute a "precautionary moratorium" on the construction of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) because of health concerns. The new policy statement, passed at the organization's national meeting in November, was only recently posted to its web site. It also urges immediate funding of new research to better understand the exposures of communities, particularly children, to pollutants from CAFOs.

An estimated 54 percent of U.S. livestock are now confined on only five percent of livestock farms. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, CAFOs are defined as more than 1000 beef cattle, 2500 hogs, and 100,000 broiler hens. CAFOs generate an estimated 575 billion pounds of manure annually.

"CAFO environments make workers sick, and pose public health risks to children and other vulnerable people living nearby," said David Wallinga, MD, co-director of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Food and Health Program. "This landmark policy says that we shouldn't add to the problems by building more CAFOs."

Dr. Wallinga was instrumental in drafting the resolution. Read the APHA 2003 policy statement #7 on CAFOs.

Read IATP's press release applauding the resolution.

FDA Rarely Tests for Toxic Pollutants Found in Salmon Study
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fish safety testing does not include, except for limited samples through their Total Diet Study, PCBs and dioxins—pollutants which were found to be widespread in farmed salmon in a study published last week. The largest study ever to compare pollutants in wild and farmed salmon, published in the latest issue of the journal Science, found that farmed-raised salmon contained eight times higher concentrations of PCBs and eleven times higher concentrations of dioxin than wild-caught salmon.

"The much higher contaminants being found in farmed salmon should drive the FDA to immediately expand their testing program to include toxic pollutants, like PCB's and dioxin," said David Wallinga, MD, co-director of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Food and Health Program. "Our public health agencies, like the FDA, should be acting to tell consumers which salmon, and seafood in general, are safer to eat. Keeping the public in the dark by not testing for known toxins doesn't instill much public confidence."

The Science study analyzed two metric tons of wild and farmed salmon sold in North America, South America and Europe. Using Environmental Protection Agency health guidelines, the study concluded that consumers can safely eat four to eight meals of wild salmon a month, while consumption of more than one eight-ounce portion of farmed salmon a month in most cases poses an "unacceptable cancer risk." The study found that European farmed salmon had significantly greater contaminant loads than those farmed in North and South America.

Read the Science study.

Download the Smart Fish Guide for Minnesota consumers from IATP's Food and Health program.

Rural Communities See Link to Chronic Disease, Environment
IATP and a diverse array of groups in the Upper Midwest sponsored "Exploring Environmental Links to Disease: A Look at Parkinson's Disease and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma" in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Dec. 4-5, 2003. The conference was designed to raise awareness, particularly in rural communities, of the possible links between environmental exposure to chemicals and chronic diseases such as Parkinson's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; and to promote a national partnership called the Collaborative on Health and the Environment. The two particular diseases were singled out for discussion because their rates of incidence are higher in the Upper Midwest, particularly for farmers.

Approximately 85 people braved blizzard conditions to hear nationally renowned speakers and local government officials and activists discuss the links between toxic pesticides and Parkinson's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The event was funded by the Bush Foundation and the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE). More information about CHE can be found at CHEforHealth.org.

Additional information about IATP's Food and Health program is located at iatp.org/foodandhealth.

North Minneapolis Meeting on Children's Environmental Health
Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota, the Minneapolis Urban League and IATP held a pre-Thanksgiving dinner and workshop at the Minneapolis Urban League entitled, "Protecting Your Children from Environmental Dangers in Your Very Own Home." Around 100 people attended this workshop, which featured practical information on reducing children's exposures to common toxic chemicals. Participants received informational materials and free pest prevention kits.

"A lot of parents don't realize that there are some simple things they can do to protect their children. For example, eating fish which are lower in contaminants," says Kathleen Schuler, Environmental Health Scientist with IATP.

This event was part of the Urban League's Minnesota Pipeline series and included a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Topics included: lead exposure, toxic cleaning products, pesticides and food contaminants. Featured speakers were: Melisa Illies and Megan Ellingson, City of Minneapolis; Annie Young and Shawna Hedlund, Women's Cancer Resource Center; Collie Graddick, MN Dept of Agriculture; and Kathleen Schuler, Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy.

For more information about Preventing Harm, go to PreventingHarmMinnesota.org.

Simple Steps Could Improve Mississippi Barge Traffic: New Report
By implementing small-scale, low-cost measures, the efficiency of barge traffic on the Mississippi River could be significantly improved, according to a new report by the University of Missouri-St. Louis' Center for Transportation Studies. IATP commissioned the report to explore low cost alternatives to improve barge traffic efficiency on the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterways (UMR-IW).

The Army Corps of Engineers is considering alternatives to improve the navigation system on the UMR-IW, including a controversial $2.1 billion lock expansion project that will take more than 20 years to complete. The Corps collects and maintains operational data regarding the locks along the UMR-IW, and those data show significant waiting times at certain locks during certain times. There is no coordination with the arrival of barges at various locks. This first come, first serve system can create significant back ups.

The report, "Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterways: How to Reduce Waiting Times of Vessels While Using the Current Infrastructure" by David Ronen, Ph.D. and Robert Nauss, Ph.D., finds that regardless of whether the locks are expanded, transportation logistics management makes sense.

IATP simultaneously released another background report, "Technology We Have vs. Money We Don't: How to Avoid Sinking $2.1 Billion into the Mississippi River." The report argues that lock expansion could actually increase transportation costs and that there is little reason to believe barge traffic will rapidly expand on the UMR-IW system any time soon.

IATP's Environment and Agriculture Director Mark Muller testified before the Corps at a public hearing in November. He presented the two new IATP-published reports on the Mississippi River in Washington at a Congressional briefing in December.

Both reports can be found at IATP's Environment and Agriculture program Web site.

Minnesota Global Site Live
For several years, IATP has been hosting a series of public forums on how global issues and institutions impact Minnesota, titled Minnesota Global. A new web site chronicles those forums and will frequently broadcast the events live over the internet.

In December, IATP hosted Dr. Árpád Pusztai of Scotland's Rowett Research Institute and Dr. Charles Benbrook, former executive director of the National Academy of Science Board of Agriculture, for a Minnesota Global event. Dr. Pusztai's research on the toxic effects of genetically engineered (GE) potatoes ignited a firestorm throughout Europe over the safety of biotech foods. Dr. Benbrook released a new study indicating that GE crops are increasing pesticide use in the U.S.

Visit the Minnesota Global Web site.

League of Rural Voters Announces National Summit
The League of Rural Voters and a host of other rural advocacy groups, including IATP, organized a daylong summit in Des Moines to showcase new and necessary directions in rural economic policy. The summit culminated in a plenary session where Democratic presidential candidates discussed their plans to address the economic devastation that has impacted rural Americans for decades.

"Each of the candidates agreed that renewing the economies of rural America is a priority," said League of Rural Voters Executive Director, Niel Ritchie. "People in rural America are banding together to demand policy changes that will help main street businesses compete with the Wal-Marts, promote economic opportunity that give young people a meaningful job, sustain the quality of education that rural schools provide, and attack the root causes of rural poverty."

Presidential candidates attending included: Rep. Richard Gephardt, Sen. John Kerry, Gov. Howard Dean, Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. Representatives from state and national agriculture groups, including Mark Ritchie of IATP, addressed the participants. Farmers, rural community leaders, and trade unionists from Iowa, Kentucky, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Idaho, New York and Washington, D.C., also attended.

For more information and to hear what the candidates had to say, visit the League of Rural Voters Web site.

Decisions for Farmers Moving to Sustainable Cropping Systems
In Marshall County, Minn., in the 1990s farmers were facing tough times. Crop prices had fallen to their lowest point in a decade. A plant disease called "scab" was causing serious problems for spring wheat and barley crops. The region was also seeing a declining and aging population. As a result, many farmers in that region, known as the Red River Valley, were re-evaluating their cropping system, and considering diversifying to other crops.

In the latest issue of the journal Agriculture and Human Values, the article "Farmer Perspectives on Cropping Systems Diversification in Northwestern Minnesota," by IATP's Kristen Corselius along with Steve Simmons and Cornelia Flora, looks into various factors that Marshall County farmers considered in designing their cropping systems. The researchers found that while farmers in that county considered scientific factors in their decision making, institutional and spiritual issues also influenced their cropping systems management. Read the full article.

IATP News is an occasional publication reporting on recent events and activities at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). It is sent to board members, supporters, partners and friends. If you want to learn more about any particular item or if you do not want to receive this newsletter, send email to Communications Coordinator Ben Lilliston at blilliston@iatp.org or call: 612-870-3416. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
Mark Ritchie, President
2105 First Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404 USA
Tel. 1 (612) 870-0453 Fax. 1 (612) 870-4846
Email: iatp@iatp.org Web: iatp.org