1. TAKE ACTION: PROTECT WILDLIFE FROM HARMFUL PESTICIDES

The Bush Administration announced last week that it is planning to amend regulations under the Endangered Species Act protecting endangered and threatened species from the harmful effects of pesticides. The changes under consideration would significantly weaken protections for endangered and threatened species at risk from pesticides and are entirely inconsistent with regulations that have been in place for more than 15 years. This proposal is extremely troubling because many pesticides can have serious negative impacts on wildlife, consumers and farm workers exposed to the chemicals. Review and input assessing the risks associated with these chemicals is currently mandated by the lead wildlife agency, but if the Bush Administration gets their way, all of this will change. Worse, the government wants all comments by March 10. Please take a moment to visit www.familyfarmer.org and sign your organization on to a letter asking the Bush Administration to extend the comment period on this issue so that more thorough public input can be provided.

2. ORGANIC OR NOT?

When Congress passed it's 3000 page Omnibus appropriations bill last week they tacked on a little surprise for lovers of organic food. At the last minute House Speaker Dennis Hastert, at the behest of Representative Nathan Deal (Rep. Georgia), attached a rider that undermined years of work on the national organic standards. This rider made it possible for certified organic farms to give their animals conventional feed containing antibiotics and pesticides and still allow them to label the meat as "certified organic." 

Needless to say the entire sustainable agriculture community, along with consumers nationwide were infuriated with this backdoor tactic. 

"We spent over a decade of bipartisan effort to get these (organic) standards, and then in a back room deal with a couple of Republicans they wiped out over a decade of work," said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, one of the architects of the organics label law. 

Now, after a week of having "no position" on the change, U.S.D.A. Secretary Ann Veneman is saying she is concerned the provision "might weaken the Organic Standards Program." Whole Foods has provided an action link at: http://www.wholefoods.org/issues/org_feed02-03.html.

3. ELI RELEASES STATE CAFO REGULATORY REPORT

The Environmental Law Institute this week released a comparison of seven states' efforts to regulate confined animal feeding operations. The report focuses on Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, and Oregon, all of which have been delegated authority by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to administer this CWA permitting. 

The state summaries identify what facilities and operations are regulated, how they are regulated, what regulatory standards apply, and how compliance with standards is monitored and enforced. Each states' summary describes 1) Primary applicable laws and responsible governmental authority; 2) Permits and thresholds; 3) Permit overview;4) Siting and design requirements 5) Nutrient and manure management planning; 6) Liability and enforcement, and 7) Other related provisions. Download the report for free.

4. FISH ON STEROIDS? WHERE'S THE PATCH?

For years, livestock producers have put hormone patches on cattle to make them grow faster. Now, the Monsanto Corporation is studying the effects of giving this same growth hormone to fish for use in aqua-culture. The species in question is Tilapia, an African bottom-feeder that survives in many different habitats. Tilapia has become a favorite in aqua-culture production. The idea is to pump the little wigglers with recombinant bovine growth hormones to see if they grow significantly faster. To test the effectiveness of this Monsanto has teamed up with the Director of the Hawaii Sea Grant, Gordon Grau. According to a Sea Grant press release, his research will help gather information essential for "determining whether this hormone has practical value in improving production and in reducing costs in the aquaculture of finish and shellfish." According to the release, Garu's big task now is to find a practical method for delivering the hormone to the fish; obviously, the "patch" method won't work underwater.

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