From iatp@igc.apc.orgFri Mar 1 21:42:18 1996 Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 14:45:37 -0800 (PST) From: IATP To: Recipients of conference Subject: ORGANIC COTTON MONITOR 2-96 ORGANIC COTTON MONITOR Produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy February 29, 1996 Volume 2, Number 1 ______________________________________________________ Headlines: - Texas Eradication Program Terminated - EPA Introduces New Pesticides - TradHound Color Grown Collection - Global Marketplace Intelligence - Events and Resources TEXAS ERADICATION PROGRAM TERMINATED In an unprecedented move, on January 22, 1996, cotton farmers from the Texas Rio Grande valley voted nearly 3 to 1 to terminate the $10 million Boll Weevil Eradication Program. The Texas farmers had voted to adopt the program in 1994, which involves periodic application of malathion at critical stages of the boll weevil's breeding cycle. The program was adopted after Georgia and the Carolinas experienced impressive results from the eradication program. Disaster struck in Texas during the first year of the eradication program when the malathion killed off spiders, wasps and other beneficial insects, which usually feed on pests like aphids and beet army worms, and allowed the pests to ravage crops. More than 80 percent of the crop was reported lost to pests, totaling more than $140 million in crop losses and a $300 million hit to the Texas state economy. The USDA and the Texas A&M Extension Service continue to blame successive mild winters and dry conditions for the beet army worm infestation. Clifford Smith, operator of Los Coyotes Gin and leader of the recall vote, stated "This thing isn't a boll weevil eradication program. It's a cotton farmer eradication program." Suzanne Roster, "Cotton -- Farmers Vote to Squash Bugspray Program," REUTERS, January 23, 1996; Sam Howe Verhovek, "In Texas, an Attempt to Swat an Old Pest Stirs a Revolt," NEW YORK TIMES, January 24, 1996; Robert Brice, "See No Weevil, Spray No Weevil: Valley Farmers Call a Halt to Rick Perry's Pesticide War," THE TEXAS OBSERVER, February 9, 1996. EPA INTRODUCES NEW PESTICIDES In an effort to reverse the devastating insect infestation which cost an estimated $1.6 billion for last year's cotton crop, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to release two pesticides, trade names Confirm and Pirate, that have not been approved for general use. Under Section 18 of a federal law, states are allowed, in emergency situations, to use pesticides that are not approved for general use. State officials must prove that the pests have exceeded a threshold of infestation. Confirm and Pirate are the only chemicals known to destroy the beet army worm and the tobacco budworm, the primary culprits in last year's crop loss. Confirm has been utilized by growers on an emergency basis since 1994, while Pirate has never been released by the EPA. Jim Jones, head of the EPA pesticide program, said that while neither chemical poses a human health risk, laboratory studies show that Pirate reduces fertility in ducks, and can linger in the environment for up to two years. In other EPA news, due to reduced funding, EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs is unable to process some product applications in time for this year's planting season. Included in products that won't make this crop season is a genetically engineered cotton plant introduced by Monsanto Co. Suzanne Rostler, "Cotton -- Worms Squirm Amid New EPA Pesticide Threat," REUTERS, February 2, 1996; "An EPA Office Feels the Pinch," CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY WEEKLY REPORT, February 10, 1996. TRADHOUND COLOR GROWN COLLECTION Trad Trading Co., Ltd. has been producing organic cotton apparel since 1994, and recently introduced a line of color-grown organic cotton workwear. "The reaction to our new color-grown organic cotton workwear has been a great boost to our new company," said David Harrison, president of Trad Trading Co. "We are also one of the first companies to utilize low-impact garment dying to add fashion colors to organic cotton. With the addition of color-grown, the need for dying is eliminated entirely. This further reduces the impact." TradHound Uncommon Workwear is a unisex sportswear collection including over thirty styles of rugged items such as bib overalls, canvas workshirts, walk shorts, basic golf shirts and tees. The collection is available nationally through a dealer network of specialty apparel, outdoor and catalog retailers. Patagonia stores in Ventura, San Francisco and Boston also handle the line. For more information, contact Trad Trading Company, Ltd., 111 Stuyvesant Road, P.O. Box 15964, Asheville, NC 28813- 0964. Phone 1-800-801-TRAD; fax 1-800-820-TRAD; email <75260.2157@compuserve.com>. "Less Is More...Color Grown Cotton Collection Hits Stores," Trad Trading Company press release, January 1996. GLOBAL MARKETPLACE INTELLIGENCE U.S.: U.S. textile mills will likely import around 100,000 bales of cotton in 1995-1996, according to industry estimates. Imports into the United States are permitted under a special import quota based on consumption data. The price trigger for the quota has been engaged repeatedly this season due to high cotton prices. In other news, the U.S. is withdrawing its membership from the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) because of funding cutbacks in the State Department. Effective June 30, this decision will limit U.S. participation in forming international cotton policy and will hinder the ability of U.S. merchants to directly contact buyers in other countries. "U.S. Cotton Imports Forecast at 100,000 Bales in 1995- 96," THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, January 16, 1996; Kim Archer, "State Department Cuts Force End to U.S. Role in Global Cotton Group," THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, January 8, 1996. INDIA: As it is election year in India, the country's farmers' lobby is in a stronger position that usual, and is pushing the federal government to release extra cotton for export. This move would win agricultural votes, but lose support of the mill owners, who would prefer to delay any decision to alter the export quota until the release of the final crop estimate for 1995-96. "Indian Cotton Growers Seek Election Bonus," FINANCIAL TIMES, February 22, 1996. PAKISTAN: After three consecutive years of substantial crop damages caused by insects, Pakistani cotton farmers are enjoying a bumper harvest and are rushing to sell before prices fall. Even at lower prices, growers hope to make a profit and turn around losses from the last three years. Zahoor Ahmed, director of Pakistan's largest cotton research institute, points to increased plantings of pest-tolerant crop varieties and the elimination of the most pest-susceptible varieties for the improved crop performance. "Pakistan Picks Bumper Cotton Crop," FINANCIAL TIMES, January 9, 1996. EGYPT: Earlier this month, the Egyptian government lifted its ban on cotton exports, a move that should help to ease the pressure on the international market for the supply of long staple cotton varieties. Last season, Egypt captured 27 percent of the world market, but delayed any announcement on exports this year until local consumption had been satisfied. James Whittington, "Egypt Lifts Cotton Export Ban," FINANCIAL TIMES, February 7, 1996. EVENTS AND RESOURCES Sustainable Cotton Conference, March 7, 1996 at the Kern Ag Pavilion in Bakersfield, CA. Presented by the Committee for Sustainable Agriculture, sponsored by the Gap Foundation, CA Integrated Waste Management Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, Rincon Vitova, and the Sustainable Cotton Project. For more information, contact the Committee for Sustainable Development at 916-756-6967. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Information Package, 1995, by Rex Dufour and Chris Rugen. Describes key components and pest control tools of IPM systems and examines economic, social and environmental factors influencing IPM. 21 pp. No charge for U.S. orders. Contact Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), P.O. Box 3657, Fayetteville, AR 72702 phone 800-346-9140; email . _______________________________________________________ Produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Mark Ritchie, President. Editor: Kate Hoff, e- mail . E-mail versions are available free of charge to Econet and IATPnet subscribers. For information about fax or mail subscriptions or for a list of other IATP publications, contact the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 1313 5th St. SE, Suite 303, Minneapolis, MN 55414. 612-379-5980, fax: 612-379-5982, e-mail . For information about IATP's contract research services, contact Dale Wiehoff at IATP . From iatp@igc.orgFri Dec 6 20:40:15 1996 Date: Mon, 2 Dec 1996 11:17:33 -0800 (PST) From: IATP To: ipm-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: ORGANIC COTTON MONITOR 12-2-96 ORGANIC COTTON MONITOR Produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy December 2, 1996 Volume 2, Number 2 _____________________________________ Headlines: - U.S. GROWERS CONCERNED ABOUT ORGANIC COTTON MARKET - Bt COTTON UPDATE - MISSISSIPPI HOMES ACCIDENTALLY SPRAYED WITH COTTON PESTICIDE - ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD RULES ON GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD - USDA CREATES NEW POSITIONS TO FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE U.S. GROWERS CONCERNED ABOUT ORGANIC COTTON MARKET Anxious over the ability to secure contracts for their product, organic cotton growers have cut acres harvested to about half the peak 36,000 in 1994. Organic cotton production in the United States shrank from 7,500 tons in 1995 to an estimated 3,500 in 1996. With the shrink in the demand for organic cotton, many growers are not seeing a great enough return on their investments -- machinery, extra labor -- to justify planting the crop again next year without an improvement in the market price. California's largest growers of organic cotton, Claude and Linda Sheppard, told the CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR this month that they will go back to using herbicides and defoliants on their 1,070 acres of cotton if the market does not improve next year. There is reason to hope, however, that the market for organic cotton will improve in the coming years. Patagonia's switch to organic cotton in their clothing line this year holds great possibility for expanded use of the good in the huge retail clothing market. Patagonia is currently the largest purchaser of organic cotton fabric, passing along the increased cost of using organic cotton to consumers at a $2 to $10 increase for items previously made with conventional cotton. The company also lowered its profit margin on those same items. According to Patagonia's founder and owner, Yvon Chouinard, the switch to organic cotton has so far had no effect -- positive or negative -- on sales. Other clothing manufacturers are less eager to venture into using organic cotton in their products. Levi Strauss and Esprit saw their organic clothing lines quickly fade after some initial interest. Levi Strauss has expressed concern over organic cotton lines, saying that the company had invested millions of dollars in marketing and development on their line of organic clothing (Elements) but consumers "were simply not interested in purchasing these products." Further, the company maintains that there is not enough supply of organic cotton to make using it a feasible option for them in large scale production, and that current prices are prohibitive (about $0.30/lb U.S. above conventional cotton prices). The Gap is currently looking into a cost-effective way of integrating organic cotton into their clothing manufacturing. The company recently commissioned a study examining pesticide reduction in cotton production and the ability of the industry to increase the supply of organic cotton and subsequently bring the price down. The goal is to structure an expansion of the organic cotton market so that no one entity (farmer, miller, manufacturer) pays the price for their pesticide reduction efforts. Brenda Biondo, "Tough Terrain for Organic Cotton Growers," CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, November 5, 1996. Bt COTTON UPDATE Bollgard cotton users in five southern states were forced to apply pesticides to their fields despite their hopes that Monsanto's product would hold up against bollworm infestation. In an effort to reduce pesticide use on their fields, farmers had planted 648,000 hectares of Monsanto's Bollgard cotton, genetically engineered with DNA from the soil microbe Bacillus thuringiensis to produce toxins poisonous to the bollworm. Bollgard is billed by the company as a substitute for using in-season sprays. In some areas, bollworm levels this year were especially severe, proving too much for the transgenic cotton to withstand and thus forcing farmers to spray pesticides. Monsanto stated that "You can never guarantee 100% control 100% of the time," and that the cotton "is performing as well as we expected...this year." The company claims that only a small portion of the total acres planted of the product required spraying. Additionally, Monsanto maintains that bollworm levels in some areas were higher than they have been in 20 years, and that testing of Bollgard before release was conducted at a lower level. The company claims that the product is probably killing the same proportion of bollworms as it did during testing but that given the extremely severe bollworm problem this year, surviving bollworms are more noticeable. The company also pointed out that Bollgard is still highly effective against the tobacco budworm and so farmers who planted Bt cotton are likely to come out ahead. The Union of Concerned Scientists has asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend sales of Bollgard cotton. Saying that the bollworms invasion into Bollgard cotton fields shows that Monsanto's resistance management plan, which it accepted as a condition for approval of the product by the EPA, has failed. The EPA has indicated that they don't see suspension of Bollgard cotton as necessary, although the EPA has suspended sales of a new high Bt-producing corn to states that do not produce cotton, hoping to stem Bt resistance among migrating pests. The suspension prohibits sales of the Bt corn, distributed by Northup- King, in nine southern states and parts of four others. Farmers who planted Bollgard this year paid a $79/hectare licensing or "technology" fee for the right to plant Bollgard. Lest farmers think they might replant Bollgard cotton seed and recoup their losses from also having to apply expensive pesticides, Monsanto is clear in its licensing agreement that the company "is only licensing growers to use seed containing the patented Bollgard gene for one crop. Saving or selling the seed for replanting will violate the limited license and infringe upon the patent rights of Monsanto. This may subject you to prosecution under federal law." In a related story, Australian cotton growers threatened to boycott Monsanto products amid the company's decision to charge $245 Australian ($196 U.S.)/hectare for its insect resistant transgenic cotton, Ingard. Growers protested that the price was two and a half times what U.S. growers were charged. Monsanto has agreed to rebate the farmers $25 Australian ($20 U.S.)/hectare if they have to spray their crops more than twice. Tim Beardsley, "Picking on Cotton," SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, October 1996; Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA Communique, July/August 1996; "Monsanto Offers Aussie Growers Rebate on Ingard," DAILY NEWS RECORD, October 10, 1996. MISSISSIPPI HOMES ACCIDENTALLY SPRAYED WITH COTTON PESTICIDE Hundreds of homes in southeastern Mississippi were accidentally sprayed with the highly toxic cotton pesticide methyl parathion. Several people have reported becoming ill after their homes were sprayed by an unlicensed extermination company. The pesticide stays toxic for months or years when applied indoors. No deaths or hospitalizations have been reported. The exterminator had used methyl parathion as a long- term pest killer in local Pascagoula homes and businesses. The co-operators of the firm were arrested in mid-November on misdemeanor charges of operating an unlicensed pest-control business, with additional charges pending. In a statement made after his arrest, one of the operators commented that "If I had known [that the chemical was deadly], I wouldn't have sprayed my house." There is no word yet as to the extent of contamination. "Some Mississippi Houses Sprayed With Highly Toxic Cotton Pesticide," MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE, November 21, 1996. ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD RULES ON GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD The National Organics Standards Board (NOSB) ruled in late September that genetically engineered food cannot be labeled as organic. Specifically, the NOSB unanimously approved a statement declaring that "The National Organics Standards Board recommends that genetically engineered organisms and their derivatives be prohibited in organic production and handling systems. Genetically engineered is defined as: Made with techniques that alter the molecular or cell biology of an organism by means that are not possible under normal conditions or processes. Genetic engineering includes recumbent DNA, cell fusion, micro- and macro- encapsulation, gene deletion and doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and changing the positions of genes. It shall not include breeding, conjugation, fermentation, hybridization, in-vitro fertilization and tissue culture." The National Organics Standards Board is a 15 member body established by the 1990 Farm Bill to develop a single national organic standard to replace varying state organic accreditation programs. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & BIODIVERSITY NEWS, October 10, 1996. USDA CREATES NEW POSITIONS TO FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Dan Glickman announced at the end of October that new positions would be created effective immediately to help forward the department's sustainable agriculture goals. The appointments stem from recommendations made by the President's Council on Sustainable Development in its March 1996 report "Sustainable America -- A New Consensus for Prosperity, Opportunity and a Healthy Environment for the Future." The report recommended that the USDA step up its sustainable development initiatives. To wit, the USDA created the position of Director of Sustainable Development, reporting to the Chief Economist, who will represent the USDA both domestically and internationally regarding matters of sustainable development. The Director of Sustainable Development will also chair the newly created USDA Council on Sustainable Development. The Director and Council are charged with incorporating principles and concepts of sustainable development into USDA regulations, policies and programs -- emphasizing the balancing of environmental quality, economic development and vitality of rural communities. Secretary's Memorandum on Sustainable Development, November 1, 1996. RESOURCES/EVENTS Proceedings of the Second International IFOAM Conference on Organic Textiles, 1996. Contains 180 pages of presentations on organic fiber production, manufacturing, marketing, labeling and certification from the 1996 conference. IFOAM is also offering the International Organic Textile Directory, an international listing of participants in the organic textile sector. Both publications are available for $50 U.S. ($75 DM), plus postage. Order from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Okozentrum Imsbach, D66636 Tholey- Theley (FRG). Phone: 49/6853/5190, Fax: 49/6853/30110. The 12th IFOAM International Scientific and Technical Conference will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 15-19, 1998. The theme will be "Organic Agriculture Credibility for the 21st Century," focusing on four central topics: Organic agriculture credibility, productive systems credibility, guarantees credibility and trade credibility. For more information contact the Argentina Movement for Organic Agriculture (MAPO), Diagonal Roque Pena 1110, 5th Floor, Of. 5 (1035), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Phone/fax: 54/1/382/3221. Proceedings of the European Seminar on Organic Farming in the European Union, June 1996. The seminar covered policies, marketing and farm conversion case studies. The proceedings include information on the current situation of organic farming in Europe. Order from CEPFAR, Rue de la Science 23-25 (Box 10), B-1040 Brussels, Belgium. Phone: 32/0/2/230/32/63, Fax: 32/0/2/231/18/45. 1996 National Organic Directory. Contains 1000+ cross- listed references of commodities bought and sold, contact information for growers, wholesalers, and suppliers. Includes updated summary on state and federal organic laws. Order from Community Alliance with Family Farmers, PO Box 464, Davis, CA 95617. Phone: 1- 800-852-3832. $34.95 (U.S.) plus $6 postage and handling. _______________________________________________________ Produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Mark Ritchie, President. Editor: Judy Brienza. E-mail versions are available electronically free of charge. For information about fax or mail subscriptions or for a list of other IATP publications, contact the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 2105 1st Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55404; 612-870-0453; fax: 612-870-4846, e-mail . For information about IATP's contract research services, contact Dale Wiehoff at IATP .