Home News & Events Alternative Agriculture News -- August '99

Canada Introduces National Organic Standard
Rockefeller Foundation Asks Monsanto to Stop "Terminator" Gene
U.S. Farm Policy Has Caused "Accelerating Damage" Writes Berry
USDA Commission to Hold "Listening Sessions" in September
Organic Standards Board Seek Nominations
Resources
Glickman Calls for Review of USDA's Biotech Approval Process
Leopold Center is Requesting Proposals
Biocontrols Will Tackle Saltcedar Weeds
Positions
Upcoming Events

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Subscription information for the hard-copy version is available at the Wallace Institute website.

In addition to this monthly newsletter, the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture publishes the American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal of research on alternative agriculture. It is a scientific forum for disseminating technical, economic, and social research findings about the character and requirements of alternative agriculture systems.

The current issue (Volume 14, No. 1) features articles on:

• Factors, challenges, and obstacles in organic farmers' decision-making.
• Farmers' perceptions of soil quality indicators, farmers' attitudes towards sustainable agriculture issues and environmental quality in a selected area of Bangladesh.
• Rice and wheat production in Pakistan with effective microorganisms.
• A profile of an organic farm in Sweden.
• Commentary on whether precision agriculture is sustainable.

Subscriptions to AJAA are $44 for libraries; $24 for individuals; and $12 for students. Find more information about AJAA at he Wallace Institute website.

The Government of Canada has introduced a new National Standard of Canada for Organic Agriculture that "can be recognized and applied in markets around the globe," according to John Manley, the Minister of Industry who is responsible for the Standards Council of Canada. "For Canadian producers of organic agri-foods produce, this will translate to greater and easier access to international markets that demand these kinds of standards."

The standard was developed through the Canadian General Standards Board's Standards Committee on Organic Agriculture, which includes various technical experts, and announced through the Standards Council of Canada, which promotes efficient and effective standardization. The standard "outlines principles for organic agriculture that endorse sound production and management practices to enhance the quality and sustainability of the environment and ensure the ethical treatment of livestock." Specifically, it prohibits the use of ionizing radiation in the preservation of food, prohibits the use of genetically engineered or modified organisms, encourages maximum use of recycling, and encourages maximum rotation of crops and promotion of biodiversity.

The scope of the standard includes production plans and records; crop and livestock production; production requirements for maple products, honey, greenhouse crops, mushrooms, sprouted plants, and wild and natural products; the production and processing of organic products; and the packaging, labeling, storage, and distribution of organic food products.

"This new National Standard of Canada will provide consumers with a consistent meaning for 'organic,' helping them to make more informed choices," said Lyle Vanclief, Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

An abstract of the Standard is available on the Internet at http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/cgsb; to order copies of the entire Standard (listed as CAN/CGSB-32.310), contact CGSB Sales Centre, Ottawa, Canada K1A 1G6; (819) 956-0425; e-mail ncr.cgsb-ongc@pwgsc.gc.ca.

The Rockefeller Foundation has asked the Monsanto Company to stop using the "terminator" gene, which makes plant seeds sterile, according to The Wall Street Journal (June 28, 1999). "Work on the terminator gene is controversial among rural development groups because it would prevent farmers from keeping some of their harvest for seed, a common practice in poor regions," the article said. "Gordon Conway, president of the New York foundation, appealed to Monsanto's directors at a board meeting in Washington. Dr. Conway's speech was the first time the Rockefeller Foundation has taken a public stand on the terminator gene, and it is now the most prestigious organization to turn against it."

Dr. Conway said in an interview that he is worried that the backlash over the terminator gene is damaging public support for crop biotechnology in general, which might slow research that could benefit poor farmers overseas, according to the article. The Rockefeller Foundation is spending more than $100 million on crop biotechnology projects. Dr. Conway said that putting labels on foods that contain ingredients from genetically modified crops would help ease consumer fears about biotechnology. "I'm very worried we'll see a movement to ban field trials," he said. "If we don't have field trials, we can't figure out the benefits and risks."

This country's farm policy has failed farmers, "as demonstrated by the past 40 or 50 years of accelerating damage," according to an op/ed piece in The New York Times by Kentucky farmer and writer Wendell Berry (July 6, 1999).

"We have lost farmers in staggering numbers, mainly because of economic adversity," he wrote. "For generations we have given nothing to farm-raised children but reasons to leave home. Our farm communities have disintegrated everywhere. Ninety percent of our cropland is losing topsoil to erosion faster than the replacement rate. Our failed small farms have been replaced by chemical-dependent monocultures and animal factories, which have become major sources of pollution....

"I cannot see why a healthful, dependable, ecologically sound farm-and-farmer-conserving agricultural economy is not a primary goal of this country. I know that I am not alone, and that farmers are not alone, in wishing to see such a policy....Any politicians who now think that only farmers care about farming or have an interest in it are wrong. They will have to think again."

The Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture will hold three public listening sessions in September "to gather stakeholder input on the future of agricultural policy in the United States after 2002." The sessions will be in Chicago, IL, September 21; Montgomery, AL, September 23; and Scranton, PA, September 25. To appear before the Commission, participants must register through the Commission's Web site at http://www.agcommission.org, or by contacting the Commission, Public Listening Session Sign-Up, Room 3702 South Building, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC. 20250-0524. More information is available on the Web site or from Tim Peters at (202) 720-4860.

The USDA seeks nominations to fill four upcoming vacancies on the National Organic Standards Board. Written nominations and resumes must be postmarked by September 20. More information is available on the NOSB's Web site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop, or from Keith Jones, National Organic Program, (202) 720-3252.

• "Organic Agriculture: The Credible Solution for the XXIst Century," the proceedings of the 12th international IFOAM scientific conference, is $28 from IFOAM's Web site at http://ecoweb.dk/ifoam/letter.html; for more information, e-mail ifoam@t-online.de.
  
  
• "The Benefits of Biodiversity" is $15 plus $3 shipping from Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, 4420 West Lincoln Way, Ames, IA 50014-3447; (515) 292-2125.
  
  
• "Impacts of Adopting Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.--Preliminary Results" is available on the USDA Economic Research Service's Web site at http://www.econ.ag.gov/new-at-ers/.
  
  
• "Farmer Grants, 1993 to 1999," a summary of grants in the Northeast SARE Region, is free from Northeast SARE, 10 Hills Building, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405- 4656; (802) 656-0471; e-mail nesare@zoo.uvm.edu.
  
  
• "Hoop Structures for Gestating Swine" is $5 from Andrea Jahn, 219 BioAg Eng, 1390 Eckles Ave., University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108; (612) 625-9733.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman last month called for an independent scientific review of the USDA's biotech approval process to ensure that "our scientists have the best information and tools to ensure our regulatory capabilities continue to evolve along with advances in the new technology."

In a speech at the National Press Club, Glickman said the USDA will propose establishing regional centers to evaluate biotech products over a long period of time and to provide information to growers, consumers, researchers, and regulators. He also requested "all developers of biotech products to report any unexpected or potentially adverse effects to the Department of Agriculture upon discovery," and established a Secretary's Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology.

The committee will include people from government, academia, production agriculture, agribusiness, and ethical, environmental and consumer groups to provide advice on biotech issues and policies.

The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is seeking proposals for its Competitive Grants Program, which funds research, education, and demonstration projects. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, September 2. Funding for approved projects will begin on July 1, 2000. More information is available from the Center, Iowa State University, 209 Curtiss Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1050; (515) 294-3711; e-mail leocenter@iastate.edu.; on the Internet, http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/.

Researchers at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service have placed about 3,000 eggs of Chinese leaf beetles in experimental field cages in six states as the first step in a biological control program for the invasive weed saltcedar, according to the USDA.

Saltcedar has infested rivers and streams in the West and increases soil salinity, changes streamflows, and increases wildfire frequency. Saltcedar was brought to this country in 1837 to protect streambanks from erosion, but has spread enough to be crowding out plants crucial to wildlife. The leaf beetles eat only Old World species of saltcedar, according to the ARS. When the beetles are ultimately approved for release outside cages, they should spread out several hundred feet a year to infest other saltcedar plants.

• Organic Crop Improvement Association seeks an Internal Director and an External Director; for more information, contact OCIA Board of Directors Search Committee, 1001 Y St., Suite B, Lincoln, NE 68508-1172; (402) 477-2323; or e-mail Dave Welsch, dw32737@navix.net.
  
  
• Center for Rural Affairs seeks a Project Leader for its Agriculture Policy Project; contact CRA, P.O. Box 406, Walthill, NE 68067; (402) 846-5428; or e-mail Jon Bailey, jonb@cfra.org.
  
  
• McGill University seeks applications for an Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Department of Plant Pathology; contact Dr. Diane Mather, Chair, Search Committee, Department of Plant Science, McGill University, Macdonald Campus, 21,111 Lakeshore Rd., Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada H9X 3V9; e-mail infoplsci@agradm.lan.mcgill.ca.
  
  
• West Virginia University seeks a research assistant in organic farming research; contact Dr. B.S. Baker, P.O. Box 6108, WVU, Morgantown, WV. 26506-6108; (304) 293-4817; e-mail bbaker2@wvu.edu.
  
  
• Louisiana State University seeks an Assistant/Associate Professor, Natural Resource Economics; contact Dr. Kenneth W. Paxton, Professor and Head, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-5604; (225) 388-3282.
  
  
• Drumlin Farm seeks a livestock manager; contact Stacy Miller, Drumlin Farm, South Great Rd., Lincoln, MA 01773; (781) 259-9506 ext. 7700; e-mail stacymiller@massaudubon.org.

For additional listings, see the Sustainable Agriculture Network's Calendar of Events.

• August 27-29, "Seed Saving: From Seed to Seed" will be held in Occidental, CA; contact Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, 15290 Coleman Valley Rd., Occidental, CA 95465; (707) 874-1557.
  
  
• August 28-September 12, permaculture design course will be held at the Black Foot Nation Indian reservation, Montana; contact International Institute for Ecological Agriculture, 834 West California Way, Woodside, CA 94062; (650) 365-2993; e-mail permaculture-institute@igc.org.
  
  
• September 9-11, "Income Opportunities from Specialty Products: Agroforestry in the Northeast" will be held in Portland, ME; contact Mark Hews, Threshold to Maine Resource Conservation and Development Area, 67 Shaker Rd., Gray, ME 04039; (207) 657-3131.
  
  
• September 10-12, Biointensive Sustainable Mini-Farming Workshop will be held in Willits, CA; contact Ecology Action, 5798 Ridgewood Rd., Willits, CA 95490; (707) 459-0150.
  
  
• September 10-13, 11th International Exhibition of Natural Nutrition, Health, and the Environment will be held in Bologna, Italy; contact Fiere E Comunicazioni, SANA Secretariat, Via San Vittore, 14-20123 Milano, Italy; e-mail info@sana.it; phone 39/02/86451078-867408.
  
  
• September 13-15, "Composting and Organics Recycling--Strategies for Project Success," the BioCycle Northeast Conference, will be held in Portland, ME; contact BioCycle, 419 State Ave., Emmaus, PA 18049; 1-800-661-4905.
  
  
• September 14-16, USDA's Rangeland, Pasture & Forages National Program will hold a workshop in Kansas City, MO; contact Nadine Kessler, ARS-National Program Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 4-2270D, Beltsville, MD 20705-5140; (301) 504-4636; e-mail nmk@ars.usda.gov.
  
  
• September 18, "From Farm to Fork: Reclaiming Our Food System From Corporate Giants" will be held in Bloomington, MN; contact Suzanne McIntosh, Clean Water Action, 326 Hennepin Ave. E., Minneapolis, MN 55414; (612) 623-3666.
  
  
• September 23-25, "Reweaving the World," the 11th Annual International Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration, will be held in San Francisco, CA; contact SER, 1207 Seminole Highway, Suite B, Madison, WI 53711; (608) 262-9547.
  
  
• September 27-29, "Alliance for Environmental Stewardship: A Comprehensive Approach" will be held in St. Louis, MO; contact Richard Reynnells, USDA/CSREES, (202) 401-5352, e-mail rreynnells@reusda.gov; or Nickolas Zimmerman, University of Maryland, (410) 651-9111, e-mail nz6@umail.umd.edu; on the Internet, http://www.inform.umd.edu/ManureNet/workshops/workshop.htm.
  
  
• September 30-October 3, "The Hope of the Harvest is in the Seed," the 20th Annual Conference of the American Community Gardening Association, will be held in Philadelphia, PA; contact Patricia Schrieber, Philadelphia Green, (215) 988-8841; e-mail pschrieb@pennhort.org.

Home News & Events Alternative Agriculture News -- August '99