IATP Broadcasts WTO Candidates' Meeting With Civil Society
For the first time in the World Trade Organization's history, candidates for the institution's top position discussed their vision for world trade before civil society organizations. The civil society hearing on Jan. 26 in Geneva was organized by IATP, Oxfam International and 3D Trade --> Trade - Human Rights - Equitable Economy.

The current WTO director general is Supachai Panitchpakdi. His term ends on Aug. 31, 2005. Three of the four candidates to replace him attended the civil society hearing: Pascal Lamy of France, Jaya Krishna Cuttaree of Mauritius and Luiz Felipe de Seixas Corrêa of Brazil. Carlos Perez del Castillo of Uruguay was unable to attend. The WTO will decide on a new director general before May 31.

During the meeting, called a "beauty contest" by Lamy, the candidates responded to questions about the negative impacts of the world trading system, the role of the director general at the next WTO ministerial, safeguards against the increasing market power of multinational corporations, plans for farmers in developing countries who have been hurt by agricultural trade and their individual commitments to improving the WTO's transparency.

"It is a major step forward that the candidates have chosen to make their views known to a wider group of stakeholders before a decision is made," said IATP President Mark Ritchie.

The hearing was broadcast live over the Internet. A written summary is currently available with a video available for viewing soon at iatp.org.

New Book Features North American, European Agrarian Landscapes
A new book looks at farm landscapes across Europe and North America emphasizing the beauty and benefits of these regions while highlighting common challenges and solutions shared by the two continents.

Values of Agrarian Landscapes: Across Europe and North America is a project of the Netherlands-based Centre for Agriculture and Environment and Minnesota-based Renewing the Countryside and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

The 144-page book is full of great photographs and historical insight. It takes the reader from the Dutch peat lowlands to the Montana prairie, from the Iberian Peninsula to the Hawaiian Islands and includes interviews with local farmers, politicians and conservationists. Readers will also meet unique animals like the black-tailed godwit, the Iberian lynx and the blue-winged teal.

Agrarian Landscapes is published by Reed Business Publishers in Amsterdam and can be ordered online through Renewing the Countryside or by calling 1 (866) 378-0587.

Peace Coffee Supports Sumatran Farmers Recovering from Tsunami
IATP's coffee company Peace Coffee has been purchasing fair trade, organic, shade-grown coffee from the farmer's cooperative PPKGO in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, since 1998. In 2001, Peace Coffee's Fair Trader and Marketing Coordinator Melanee Meegan made one of the first visits by a U.S. coffee roaster to PPKGO in the previously wartorn province of Aceh. Read her account of the Aceh community.

The recent tsunami and earthquakes have taken the lives of many PPKGO farmers, family members and friends. The cooperative's processing facility has been damaged, homes destroyed and roads to major cities washed out. To help with relief efforts in Aceh, Peace Coffee has released Tsunami Relief Roast which can be purchased online for $13.50 per pound. For every pound sold, $10 goes directly to the PPKGO farmer cooperative. These funds will help provide shelter, food and medicine to farmers and their families. It will also be invested in the reconstruction of the PPKGO processing plant.

Purchase Peace Coffee's Tsunami Relief Roast

IATP Opens New Global Food Safety News Center
After Vietnam recently confirmed its seventh human death in three weeks related to avian (bird) flu, the World Health Organization warned the new virus could cause more deaths than last month's tsunami in southeast Asia. From the spread of avian flu to mad cow disease, food-borne disease outbreaks are becoming more global in nature. And international institutions are playing a larger role in addressing food-related outbreaks. In response to the emergence of a number of global food-related diseases, IATP has set up a new global food safety news center to track the latest news, research and analysis on this growing problem.

The Global Food Safety News Center can be found at Ag Observatory.

Mad Cow and the Agony of Cattle and Beef Markets
Recent announcements of two new cases of mad cow disease in Canada have thrown further chaos into cattle markets and raised questions about the adequacy of the U.S. regulatory system. IATP's Steve Suppan has written a new article on the impact of mad cow on the international beef market, the U.S. meat inspection system and U.S. cattle ranchers.

Read the article at IATP's Ag Observatory

Groups Urge Ag Head to Listen to Whistleblower, Not Punish Him
Eighteen farm, consumer and public interest groups, including IATP, delivered a letter to new Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns expressing concern about the apparent retaliation against the head of the government meat inspectors' union.

On Dec. 8, 2004, union chair Charles Painter sent a letter to the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) outlining concerns about the removal of "specified risk materials" (SRMs) from cattle and FSIS inspectors' ability to enforce the export requirements for products destined for Mexico. SRMs are the nervous system tissues believed to be most likely to carry the infectious prions that cause mad cow disease. Rather than addressing the issues raised, the USDA reacted to the letter by launching a formal investigation against Painter.

Read the group's letter at IATP's Ag Observatory

Study Strengthens Antibiotic Overuse, Salmonella Complications Link
A new study concludes that patients with antibiotic-resistant infections caused by salmonella bacteria are more likely to suffer potentially deadly bloodstream infections than patients with non-resistant salmonella. Salmonella, a leading bacterial cause of food poisoning, is responsible for 1.4 million food poisoning cases and about 500 deaths per year. The study, published in the Feb. 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, notes that antibiotic resistance in salmonella bacteria chiefly results from using antibiotics in food animals.

"This study gives Congress yet another compelling reason to pass legislation to phase out the use of antibiotics that are important in human medicine as animal feed additives," said David Wallinga, M.D., director of IATP's Food and Health Program.

Read more at IATP's Food and Health Program site

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Fish Consumption
Fish are an excellent source of protein and can be an important component of a balanced diet. Fish also provide essential vitamins and minerals including iron, zinc, vitamins A, B and D, and long chain omega-3 fatty acids. There are a variety of potential health benefits associated with omega-3 fatty acids, including prevention of cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases and cancers. However, nutritional benefits may be compromised by the health risks of toxic contaminants in many fish.

A new fact sheet by Physicians for Social Responsibility summarizes the state of knowledge about omega-3 fatty acids, their sources and their documented and potential health benefits so that health care providers and consumers can make better informed dietary recommendations and choices with regard to fish consumption and chemical contaminant concerns.

David Wallinga, M.D., director of IATP's Food and Health Program, was a contributor to the fact sheet. Read the fact sheet at envirohealthaction.org.

FDA Urged to Withdraw Proposal for Evaluating GE Foods
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed voluntary guidelines for biotech companies field-testing new genetically-engineered foods. In a January letter, IATP, Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Church Development Service) from Germany and the Gene Campaign from India urged the FDA to withdraw the proposal.

The letter criticized FDA guidelines for only being voluntary, allowing unlimited levels of contamination through cross pollination and not requiring adequate public health testing. The groups also expressed concern about reported FDA intention to use the guidelines as an international model, which would force countries to accept the contamination of their food supplies by genetically engineered plants.

Read the full letter (PDF)

Task Force Opts for Global Farm Policy Approach
As the debate looms over what should be included in the 2007 U.S. Farm Bill, a new white paper by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture suggests a global approach to formulate policies that govern food and agriculture. These views are outlined in the draft of a new white paper, Toward a Global Food and Agriculture Policy.

The paper was written by a task force of agricultural economists and policy experts convened by the Leopold Center's Policy Initiative. The task force includes Mark Ritchie of IATP; Iowa State University economist and professor emeritus Neil Harl; University of Tennessee economist Daryll Ray; Traci Bruckner from the Center for Rural Affairs in Walthill, Neb.; and former Iowa state senator Paul Johnson. Leopold Center director Fred Kirschenmann and associate director Mike Duffy also joined the discussions that have taken place over the past year.

The Leopold Center task force report outlines current U.S. price and income policies and the structural transformation that is occurring not only here but also in the rest of the world. The report also points to resource and conservation needs in a global agricultural economy, including energy as an essential component of agricultural policy.

Read the white paper at Leopold Center

Splenda Uses Misleading Advertising
IATP lodged a complaint in January with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission against an allegedly misleading advertising campaign for the artifical sweetner Splenda being conducted by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary McNeil Nutritionals. IATP asked the FTC to launch an investigation into Splenda ads and to order McNeil to discontinue the deceptive campaign and provide consumers with accurate information about Splenda and its contents.

In a letter submitted to the FTC's Division of Advertising Practices, IATP charged the Splenda campaign leads consumers to believe Splenda is a natural product, even though McNeil has no factual basis to support these assertions.

"We are extremely concerned about McNeil's insinuations in its advertisements that Splenda is natural or linked to sugar," said IATP President Mark Ritchie. "Splenda is anything but natural and it should not be confused with sugar that is grown by farmers."

Read IATP's press release (PDF)

Farm Aid Grant to IATP Connects Health and Food Policy
In January, IATP was awarded a grant from Farm Aid to incorporate public health into the national farm policy debate with the goal to promote family-farm-centered food production. Concern about obesity, in particular, is reshaping the public health agenda. A growing body of research indicates that flawed government farm policy has contributed to the obesity problem.

The Farm Aid grant to IATP will be used to develop closer collaboration and consensus among family farmers, sustainable agriculture organizations and the public health community.

"By driving down the price of commodities such as corn, U.S. farm policy has made heavily processed foods extremely cheap to produce and buy, while simultaneously driving farmers out of business," said Mark Muller, Director of IATP's Environment and Agriculture Program. "These processed foods are what we as a nation already overconsume. It doesn't have to be this way. We can have farm policies that make healthy food more affordable and farming economically viable."

Food Market on Wheels
Residents of low-income communities traditionally have limited access to high-quality, reasonably priced food. IATP received a Vision Grant from the Minnesota Community Foundation to develop and launch a Food Market on Wheels to provide residents of Minneapolis' Phillips neighborhood with greater access to regional fruits and vegetables and ready-to-eat healthy foods. The project will explore partnerships with local hospitals that may potentially support greater access to healthy food as a public service.

The Minnesota Community Foundation gives grants designed to fund visionary ideas that address needs that are critical to Minnesotans. Read mroe about the Minnesota Community Foundation.

Donate to IATP! You can help. IATP does very important work to keep family farmers on the land, to ensure the safety of our food supply and to preserve biodiversity and the environment for future generations. We cannot do this work without you. Your tax-deductible contribution will help us secure a sustainable world. Please make your tax-deductible contribution today. If you would like more information about our programs, or if you would like to discuss different contribution options, please contact Kate Hoff, Development Director, at khoff@iatp.org or (612) 870-3404. We appreciate your interest in our work. Thank you for your support.

You can help support IATP by contributing online. We thank you for your continued support!

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