3/11/05

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1. Evidence of Generational Pesticide Danger Mounts
2. Farm Bill: House and Senate Present Budget Plans
3. Tillamook Victory – Say Cheese!
4. British Researchers Urge Local Eating

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1. EVIDENCE OF GENERATIONAL PESTICIDES DANGER MOUNTS

The ability of some pesticides and industrial chemicals to "mimick" or block the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone is considered one of the most disturbing discoveries in environmental science of the last decade. 

A new study published in the journal "Environmental Health Perspectives" adds to the evidence that these chemicals, called "endocrine disrupters" can alter sex hormones in animals and can have effects lasting for decades. 

The new research is based on the study of the increase in hermaphroditic frogs and shows that the chemicals that were used five and six decades ago can still be having lasting negative effects on the environment. Frogs and other amphibians have been vanishing worldwide over the last few decades. 

2. FARM BILL: HOUSE AND SENATE COMPETE ON SPENDING 

The House and Senate this week offered their budget proposals for Fiscal Year 2006, which begins on October 1. 

On the Senate side, Budget Chairman Gregg unveiled a plan that trims $32 billion from the budget over 5 years, with nearly half of that coming from Medicaid, and $2.8 billion over five years coming from agriculture funding, according to Agriculture Online. 

Ferd Hoefner of the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition told Agriculture Online on Thursday that, "He's not taking cuts out of conservation. He's not taking cuts out of nutrition and he's come up with a number that puts Grassley (the Iowa Republican Senator who heads the Finance Committee) in reach of doing it with payment limitations." 

On Friday morning, the Senate Budget Committee adopted an amendment by Grassley and Budget ranking member Kent Conrad, D-N.D., that would express the sense of the Senate that mandatory savings in agriculture programs should be found largely through changes to commodity payment limitations enacted as part of the 2002 farm law. However, this amendment would not be binding on Agriculture Chairman Chambliss, who is opposed to changing the payment limit formula. 

The House budget proposes cutting 68.6 billion from the total budget over five years, with $5.3 billion coming from USDA, although it is "not yet clear whether those cuts are applied only to farm programs or to other portions of the USDA budget." Meanwhile, 218 groups signed a letter asking both the House and Senate budget committees not to cut any USDA mandatory or discretionary programs, with specific mention of the commodity and nutrition programs. 

3. TILLAMOOK VICTORY – SAY CHEESE!

Last week, members of the Tillamook Creamery cooperative voted 83-43 to uphold the board's decision to end use of the genetically engineered growth hormone rBGH! 

This effort was in response to the Monsanto Corporations extended lobbying efforts to change a Tillamook board decision to go stay hormone-free with their cheese. 

The response, particularly from the medical community was strong. Thanks to all of you who contacted Tillamook to show your support for rBGH-free Tillamook products. 

Over 6,500 people commented to the creamery, of which more than 98% were in support of the ban! You helped to make this possible! All suppliers of fluid milk to Tillamook have signed an agreement to end use of rBGH by April 1, 2005. 

Agreements are being worked out for suppliers of butter, yogurt, sour cream, and cream and powder used to make ice cream. 

4. BRITISH RESEARCHERS URGE LOCAL EATING 

A study released in Britain found that eating locally might have greater environmental benefits than eating organic, if the organic produce had to travel a long way to your plate. 

The researchers from City University in the UK, "calculated that if all foods were sourced from within 20km of where they were consumed, environmental and congestion costs would fall from more than £2.3bn to under £230m - an "environmental saving" of £2.1bn annually. 

They pointed out that organic methods can also make an important contribution. If all farms in the UK were to turn organic, then the country would save £1.1bn of environmental costs each year." The study also found that "road miles" account for proportionately more environmental damage than "air miles". All the more reason to try to buy organic AND local! 

Cultivating a vision where rural and urban communities join together
 to ensure abundant family farms, healthy critters, clean water and a wild Earth.  

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Scotty Johnson and Aimee Delach
National Rural Community Outreach Campaign
sjohnson@defenders.org