According to a new study by the American Farmland Trust, the United States is losing two acres of mostly prime farmland every minute to development, the fastest such decline in the country's history. That loss has been on the edge of the outer suburbs, where some of the country's best fruit farms are being replaced by houses on large lots, linked by new roads, highways and malls. The report pointed out that sprawl, not development is the problem. Using census data as well as Agriculture Department information about crops and soil, the study found that more than half of the lost farmland is being carved into 10-acre lots, paralleling a increasing economic divide between the rich and urban poor. Keith Collins, the chief economist for the Agriculture Department, said that the loss of farmland has been a concern for years because it destroys open spaces and local food production. The AFT can be viewed at: http://www.farmland.org/farmingontheedge/index.htm.

2. MORE FOOD FOLLIES & JUST WHAT DO THEY MEAN BY "COLD?"

Several news items this week continue to raise questions about the safety and wisdom of a corporate-dominated farming and food processing system. The environmental group Friends of the Earth this week asked Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to block the sale of biotech corn produced by the Garst Seed Company, until tests can be conducted to determine if the corn contains a toxic mold that could potentially cause pigs and cows to become sterile.

Also this week, the USDA announced the recall of 300,000 pounds of deli meats in the wake of a listeria outbreak. This news follows on the heels of the widening of an Emmpack Foods (a subsidiary of Cargill) recall of 2.8 million pounds of ground beef potentially contaminated with E coli 017:57. In other, possibly related news, the Food and Drug Administration issued guidelines this week that will allow irradiated food to carry euphemistic labels such as "cold pasteurized." Irradiation is permitted in the U.S. for treating raw poultry, beef, spices and dried seasonings, and was recently declared to be safe by the World Health Organization. However, a new report by Public Citizen and the Global Resource Action Center for the Environment casts doubt on the WHO's position.

The Bad Taste Report is available at: http://www.citizen.org/documents/BadTaste.pdf

3. FEEDLOT "ENCYCLOPEDIA"

Minnesota is the home of over 25,000 to 30,000 "active" animal feedlots. To better understand the economic impact of these facilities and to guide legislators in policy making, the state has completed possibly the largest study ever undertaken on the environmental impact of animal feedlots. The "Generic Environmental Impact Report on Animal Agriculture," is a 6,000-page document created with the input of a 25-member citizens committee that included industry groups and environmental and animal welfare advocates. This report, which has taken 4 years and $3 million to produce, makes 76 recommendations, taking into consideration economic, environmental, health and community concerns. The document can be accessed at: http://www.mnplan.state.mn.us/eqb/geis/ A 324-page section on farmed animal health and well-being is also included. A compact disc of that section can be ordered by sending $10 to: Jen Rinick, Animal Welfare Institute, P.O. Box 3650, Washington, D.C., 20027.

4. IOWA's LARGEST HOGGER GETS $32 MILLION IN FINES

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement have won a judgement of $33 million against Iowa Select Farms. Farmers in Sac County filed the lawsuit against the hog giant two years ago, alleging that the company's hog confinement facility there "produced offensive odors, noxious gases and excessive flies." The facility in question housed 30,000 hogs on 640 acres, producing an amount of manure equivalent to a 100,000-person city. The jury awarded the plaintiffs $1.06 million in compensatory damages and $32 million in punitive damages, a record judgment in a complaint of this type against a factory farm. "This sends a message that these factory farms have got to clean up their act," said Hugh Espey of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.

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