1. AFGE CALLS FOR HALT OF USDA PRIVATIZATION The American Federation of Government Employees (Local 3354), is circulating a sign on letter asking Congress to block Bush Administration efforts to further privatize USDA activities. AFGE, who represents USDA workers in the Rural Development and Farm Loan programs, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the Agricultural Research Service, says that they are "under extraordinary pressure" by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to privatize "15% of the USDA's commercial activities by the end of FY 2003, 25% by the end of 2004, and 50% by the end of 2005." They say that "Rural Development and Farm Loan programs were created "because socially disadvantaged, limited resource, and low- income rural citizens, farmers, and communities can not be adequately served through private sector institutions alone " The programs "that are dedicated to promoting the public interests of safety, nutrition, and conservation", should remain inherently governmental functions and not be subjected to competitive sourcing. "Private contractors will always play an important role in the provision of services," states the sign on letter. "However, there are some public services that are too important to be turned over to private interests." For more information or to get a copy of the letter contact: smhollis@kcc.usda.gov. 2. NATIONAL PORK PRODUCERS BENEFIT FROM PRIVATIZATION As the previous story indicates there is a push within the Bush Administration to "privatize" the USDA. In the farm bill conservation program delivery sector, the effects of this are already being felt. On June 17 a company called Environmental Management Solutions, LLC, became the first private sector company eligible to train and certify technical service providers. The company will now be able to recommend to the USDA which individuals can write Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans for livestock operations, including Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's). What is unusual about EMS is that the company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). Previously, the only authorized certification organizations were the University of Tennessee and professional societies such as The Wildlife Society and the American Society of Agronomy. This development concerns many conservation and family farm groups who worry that EQIP funding could be unevenly distributed to larger operations, and that inadequate technologies for nutrient management will continue to receive funding. Get more information. 3. NOW THE WEEDS ARE ROUNDUP READY TOO A new report by an agronomy professor from the University of Iowa "reveals that in the last seven years four, and perhaps five, weed species have been found with resistance to the herbicide glyphosate, which is best-known around the world under the Monsanto trade name Roundup. The resistance has come about not through gene transfer from GE herbicide-tolerant crops, as some have feared, but through natural evolution." As is often the case in the history pesticides and their targets, a small fraction of the population of certain weeds is naturally tolerant to Roundup, and those plants have survived and reproduced. Monsanto recommends dealing with these "Roundup Ready" weeds by spraying fields with 2,4-D, another herbicide. The discovery has thrown a wrench in efforts to convince Europeans to raise and consume biotech crops. "Companies like Monsanto have spun GE crops and their weedkillers as having less impact on the environment, but the fact of resistant weeds undoubtedly means more weedkillers, and means the impact on the environment will be greater," said a UK representative of Friends of the Earth. Read more. 4. COLORADO BIOPHARMING With the Bush Administration taking a strong pro-biotech stance around the globe, related events on the US bio-engineering front are heating up. On May 2 the Colorado based Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, along with 40 other groups, submitted a letter to Colorado Governor Owens and the Colorado Department of Agriculture, requesting that "a moratorium be placed on growing biopharmaceutical crops in Colorado until the potential impacts to human health and the environment are studied and the technology is proven safe in an open, public process. On May 14, the Colorado Department of Agriculture granted permission to begin testing of a small plot of "biopharm" corn containing an experimental pharmaceutical designed to aid sufferers of cystic fibrosis. According to the Department their decision was based on the conclusions of a panel of "experts" that reviewed the application. In a subsequent press release the Farmers Union stated, "Since we first heard that biopharmaceutical crops may be grown in Colorado, we have had concerns," said John Stencel, president of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. "The regulatory framework at both the states and federal levels does not appear to require research on issues such as potential water and soil contamination, health impacts or other types of genetic pollution. We want to see that scientific studies have been done, rather than just rely on the industry to tell us that the technology is safe." Cultivating a vision where
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7/3/03