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The Provender Journal March-April 2010 Straus speaks out on GE alfalfa Straus speaks out on GE alfalfa —Straus Family Creamery, www.strausfamilycreamery.com In 2006, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa. They were subsequently sued by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) in federal court on the grounds that the approval was premature without a proper analysis of the potential effects of the crop may have on the ecosystem. The court ruled in favor of the CFS and banned GE alfalfa until the USDA fully analyzed the impacts of the plant on the environment, farmers, and the public in a rigorous analysis known as an environmental impact statement (or EIS). Monsanto appealed this decision and the case is now being heard in the Supreme Court. This is the first time the USDA has required this type of analysis for any GE crop, and the outcome will set a precedent that will have broad implications for all GE crops. The draft EIS was released for public comment in December of 2009. Many non-GE alfalfa farmers, organic dairies, and consumers are disappointed that the EIS does not adequately consider the threat of contamination of GE Alfalfa with non-GE Alfalfa which could have dire consequences for export and domestic markets and organic dairy and meat products. Organic law prohibits the use of GE ingredients; however, even organic crops grown without GE seeds can become contaminated with the GE crops due to cross-pollination. “Genetically engineered alfalfa will be devastating for organic dairy and livestock,” says Albert Straus, president of Straus Family Creamery, an organic dairy producer, in Marshall, California. “Alfalfa is one of the main forages we use and is too important for us to do without.” One of the more surprising claims in the draft EIS is that there is no evidence that consumers care about such GE contamination of organic. The EIS states that consumers will not reject GE contamination of organic alfalfa if the contamination is unintentional or if the transgenic material is not transmitted to the end milk or meat product. This is contrary to a recent 2008 CBS poll which found that 83% of the Americans surveyed want to know if they are purchasing food which contains GMOs. Over half of consumers surveyed in a separate CBS/New York Times poll said they would not buy food that has been genetically modified. Indeed, one of the reasons people purchase organic is because it is, by law, supposed to be G M O - f r e e . However, since the contamination of non-GE crops is becoming increasingly common, a new label has surfaced verifying that producers have taken steps to decrease the risk of GE contamination in their food, the non-GMO label. The program has grown rapidly since its inception; a recent survey by Nielsen Co., finding that ‘GMO-free’ is the fastest-growing retailer brand claim. Straus Family Creamery, one of the first producers to join the program, recently achieved third party verification that all of its products are eligible to carry the “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal. They’re not the only ones–the Project now has thousands of organic and natural food products enrolled and it continues to grow. Ideally, consumers should be able to trust the organic label to ensure that they are eating food free of GMOs. However, they have to speak up to be heard. The 60-day comment period for the draft-EIS was open until February 16th. There is no longer an opportunity for consumers to tell the USDA that they do care about GMOs and the Center for Food Safety had made it easy to have their voices heard. To learn more, visit www.strausfamilycreamery.com/?id=94. The 34th Annual Provender Alliance Educational Conference is heading to the Columbia River this year and will be held in Hood River, Oregon. The conference will be held Thursday and Friday, October 7 and 8, with additional events on Wednesday, October 6. The conference will be returning to the Hood River Inn. The conference theme this year is Know Impact: Rethink Consumption, Nuture Generosity. One of our confirmed keynote speakers is writer, activist and academic, Raj Patel. Visit his web site, www.rajpatel.org for more detailed information about this knowledgable and wellversed presenter. We are deep in the planning stages of the conference and have some great ideas in the works. We would like to offer another intensive this year, to take place on Wednesday, as well as farm and manufacturer tours (Columbia Gorge Organics and Turtle Island Foods were a great hit several years ago) and an evening gathering to kick off your conference experience. Stay tuned as we work out the details. Workshop scheduling is in full swing and we have another great line-up shaping up. It is not too late to make suggestions or requests for topics or presenters. Contact the office or one of your representatives listed on page 27 of this Journal. The conference is the place to recharge your energy. Don’t miss it! One Person Can Make a Difference Scholarship —by Vicki Reich, Provender Board President The “One Person Can Make a Difference Scholarship” application is now available! This is the first year this scholarship, which was inspired by the life and work of Craig Winters, will be available. Applications can be downloaded from our web site (www.provender.org) or by calling the Provender office at 888.352.7431. Applications are due by August 1st. The scholarship is Provender’s way of supporting individuals who are making a difference in their communities through education about and promotion of healthy choices for both our bodies and our planet. It is also a way to share the information learned by these individuals with the rest of the Provender community. This program will be funded by generous donations from In order to receive a “One Person Can Make a Difference” scholarship Those of you who aren’t applying for the scholarship can help make a difference, too, by contributing to the Scholarship Fund. Check the donation box on your membership invoice if you haven’t sent it in yet or send in an extra check today. If you don’t have any extra cash to donate, start thinking of what you can make and donate to our first Scholarship Silent Auction. We want to tap into the incredible creative talent of this organization by having a silent auction, at the upcoming conference, of handmade goods donated by our members. Knit, sew, paint, draw, sing, write or otherwise create something wonderful. We’ll For more information about the scholarship contact Vicki Reich, Organicology Returns to Portland in 2011 —from Organically Grown Company, www.organicgrown.com Get your calendars out; February 10-12, 2011 has been declared the date for ORGANICOLOGY: “The Study of a Sustainable Food Future,” by the hosts of the biannual conference. Oregon Tilth, Organic Seed Alliance, Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association and Organically Grown Company are joining forces again to unite and inspire the organic trade in Portland, Oregon at the Doubletree Lloyd Center. Organicology is an interactive educational format created by four organizations designed to meet the diverse needs of our rapidly expanding organic trade. Organicology offers curriculum designed to advance trade knowledge across a broad front. Seed producers, farmers, distributors and retailers, researchers and educators, logistical supporters, materials suppliers, chefs, food policy activists, and, of course, eaters of great food, all find topics of interest and sources of inspiration at the conference. In 2009, Paul Roberts and Vandana Shiva delivered keynotes to over 400 conference attendees. The conference focus addressed issues of sustainability, the dynamics of seed production and policy, local food systems and both crop and livestock farming systems. In 2011, there will be a continued focus on sustainability, farming and seed issues with the addition of education and interchange around the impacts of climate change on agriculture and the Farm Bill–both the next one before Congress and the “50 Year Farm Bill” being advocated in the sustainable agriculture community. Keynote speakers for the upcoming conference will be Jim Hightower, Andrew Kimbrell, and Stephen Jones. —from Moss Adams, LLP, www.mossadams.com Law firm, Moss Adams, LLP is sponsoring a few events that may be of interest to Provender members. Preventing Fraud will be offered Wednesday, March 31 in Eugene. This is a seminar for accounting departments with one to five staff. Most fraud perpetrators are first-time offenders. In 86% of business-fraud cases the victims had insufficient internal controls. Learn how you can tighten your internal controls to prevent fraud. This session will be 8:00- 9:30AM at the Moss Adams Eugene office located at 975 Oak Street, 6th floor training room. The cost for this session is $15.00. Please RSVP to eugene@mossadams.com. On Wednesday, May 19 and Thursday, May 20, they will offer a Willamette Valley Symposium. The Wednesday session will be held in Eugene and will run 1:00-6:00PM and includes a social hour. The Thursday session will be held in Salem and will run 7:30AM- 12:00PM and includes breakfast. This half-day seminar is geared toward business owners, CFOs, controllers, and other executives of commercial companies. Topics to be covered include financial covenants and exposure to risk presented by commercial bankers, tax updates for federal and state that could impact your business and business strategic planning to get what you want. The cost for either of these sessions is $25.00. For questions or more information or to RSVP, please contact Moss Adams at eugene@mossadams.com. —from Organic Trade Association, www.ota.com Who comes to mind when you think of leadership in the organic industry? The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is currently seeking nominations for its 2010 Organic Leadership Awards. Established in 1997, OTA’s Organic Leadership Awards are the association’s highest honor, bestowed on individuals who have made significant contributions to the organic industry. Do you know someone who has • Demonstrated skill, innovation, personal commitment, leadership and vision to grow organic agriculture or the organic industry? • Achieved identifiable and lasting changes to promote and protect organic agriculture and trade? • Inspired and persuaded others to act to advance the cause of organic agriculture and trade? OTA is currently seeking nominations for its 2010 Organic Leadership Awards in two categories— Organic Leadership Award (Achievement in Growing the Organic Industry) and Organic Farming Leadership Award (Achievement in Growing Organic Agriculture). The OTA Board of Directors’ Community Relations Committee serves as the review committee for this award. Please consider whether you know a candidate for an OTA Organic Leadership Award and submit a nomination if you do. Nominations are due by Friday March 19. The awards will be presented during OTA’s Annual Dinner in Chicago during the All Things Organic ™ Conference and Trade Show, June 16-17. You may view a list of past award recipients, review the 2010 selection criteria, and download nomination forms on OTA’s web site, www.ota.com. —from WSDA, www.agr.wa.gov Farmers who sell their products directly to consumers have a new tool to help launch a business or expand into new products: the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s (WSDA) Small Farm & Direct Marketing Handbook. The handbook provides extensive information about the resources available to farmers. The 125-page handbook can be downloaded at http://agr.wa.gov/Marketing/ SmallFarm in its entirety, by chapter or by topic. Printed copies may be obtained by e-mailing smallfarms@agr.wa.gov with your address or by calling Leisa Schumaker at 360.902.1926. Study Compares Local, Non-Local Food Prices —from Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, www.leopold.iastate.edu If you think local foods are more expensive than their conventional counterparts, think again. Research conducted last summer by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture shows few differences in price for Iowagrown vegetables, eggs and meat when compared to similar non-local products. The study surveyed prices for eight different vegetables sold at Iowa farmers’ markets in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Ames and Iowa City. On the same day, prices were documented for similar produce from national or international sources sold at supermarket chains in those cities. Prices were checked on five days during July and August. The results showed no statistical differences for local and non-local vegetables during Iowa’s peak growing season: an average price of $1.25 per pound for local zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, string beans, cabbage, onions, tomatoes and sweet corn from a farmers’ market, compared to $1.39 per pound for non-local items from a supermarket. The lower prices for the local items can be attributed in part to competitive pricing of zucchini and summer squash at farmers’ markets. A two-week supply of those eight vegetables for a family of four, based on per capita consumption, would cost $15.03 at a farmers market, compared to $16.91 at a supermarket. A second part of the study looked at prices for lean ground beef, pork chops and brown eggs sold at supermarkets, natural food stores and butcher shops in those four Iowa cities in June, July and August. Rich Pirog, Leopold Center associate director who collaborated on the study, said it was difficult to find products with similar attributes available at all venues to make meaningful comparisons. However, they did find that locally raised lean ground beef and bone-in pork chops from butcher shops are similar in price to their non-local counterparts from supermarkets. Pirog said the study did not look at relative freshness, taste or overall quality of products. The study also did not examine any items sold under organic certification. He added that the study also points to an obvious opportunity for growers who extend their production season by using greenhouses or high tunnels and market their harvest at competitive prices. For more details, including comparative charts and tables, see the new report, “Is Local Food More Expensive? A Consumer Price Perspective on Local and Non-Local Foods Purchased in Iowa,” on the Leopold Center web site at www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/ staff/prices.html. Report Available on Food Policy Councils —from ATTRA–National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, Weekly Harvest Newsletter, December 23, 2009, http://ncat.attra.org A new report from Food First and the Community Food Security Coalition highlights a useful tool that city, state and local governments can use to fight hunger, diet-related diseases and other symptoms of a failing food system. Food Policy Councils: Lessons Learned is based on an in-depth survey of 48 Food Policy Councils established in North America over the past 30 years. The report contains tips and case studies for successful councils, warns of common red flags, and includes ample resources for citizens and local governments who may be interested in establishing or helping run a Food Policy Council. Food Policy Councils are advisory boards that bring together representatives of different food system sectors, from farm to fork to recycling, and different walks of life, including neighborhood leaders, local business and concerned citizens. They analyze problems around food, agriculture, diet, nutrition, hunger, and economic development as part of a holistic food system in their local area, and make recommendations on ways to solve those problems. To read the report, visit www.foodfirst.org. CA County Approves Pesticide Buffer Zones —from Pesticide Action Network Updates, December 18, 2009, www.panna.org On December 14, 2009, Kern County approved the toughest pesticide protection buffer zones in California. The Kern policy follows the 2008 decision in neighboring Tulare County that established quarter-mile buffer zones around schools and other sensitive sites for aerial applications of Restricted Use pesticides (generally the most hazardous). Kern County improved on the Tulare standards by including all applications, both ground and aerial. Unfortunately, the proposal of Kern officials to include all pesticides was blocked by the California Dept. of Pesticide Regulation. The new rules aim to limit pesticide drift, and establish buffer (or protection) zones to decrease drift exposure for especially vulnerable populations including school children. Among other rules, the new regulations allow use only of pesticides that can be confined to the target area, and hold applicators responsible for utilizing buffer zones and other drift-prevention measures. In addition, no applications of “Restricted Materials” may occur within a quarter-mile of a school in session or during school-sponsored activities when children are present. Applicators must submit a notice of intent at least 24 hours prior to the use of restricted materials. The Kern campaign was led by members of the statewide coalition, Californians for Pesticide Reform, including the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, Committee for a Better Arvin, the Wasco, California group R e s i d e n t e s O r g a n i z a d o s Servidores al Ambiente Sano, and many activist residents of Kern, Tulare and surrounding counties. —from ATTRA–National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, Weekly Harvest Newsletter, February 3, 2010, http://ncat.attra.org USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has released the results of the Organic Production Survey at www.agcensus.usda.gov. The survey, a follow-up to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, is USDA’s first-ever, wide-scale survey of organic producers. NASS published state- and national-level data on organic farm numbers and acreage, sales, production, marketing practices and more. IPM Education Helps Washington Farmer —from American Farmland Trust, www.farmland.org On the outskirts of Wenatchee, a city in the heart of central Washington where golden hills surround endless miles of irrigated fruit orchards, a large apple-shaped sign reads, “Apple Capital of the World.” In a region that ships over 100 million boxes of apples a year around the nation and the world, education has been the key to helping growers— especially the valley’s many Latino orchard employees and managers—reduce their use of pesticides. Apple and cherry grower Jesus Limón, who worked his way up the ranks at a fruit company in order to purchase his own Wenatchee Valley orchard, participated in a Latino orchard employee education program— funded by an EPA grant administered by American Farmland Trust—that teaches growers in Spanish about integrated pest management (IPM). Since the 1970s, researchers have been exploring safer and more ecologically sound ways to manage pests like insects and plant diseases. IPM includes sustainable methods such as scouting for pests, weather monitoring, disruptions to a pest’s life cycle, and ways to reinforce a pest’s natural enemies. The Wenatchee-region IPM classes—taught initially by pest management consultant Naná Simone and then by Leo Garcia and other IPM experts at Wenatchee Valley College—were integral in helping Limón reduce the use of pesticides in his orchard, which he then converted to 100 percent organic over a three-year period. Limón’s conversion of his orchard to organic had a domino effect on the farms around him. The program’s classes were such a success not only because the Spanish language instruction helped growers understand the complexities of IPM more quickly, but also because they were taught right in the student’s orchards and fit around the schedule of the farmers. “This is a much better way to get people to change,” Limón says. “This program got us away from [conventional chemicals] without forcing us. Trying to work with the farmer is better than being the mean guy on the block. If the EPA knew what this program really did for us, they would do more programs like it.” Limón proudly points to wooden hawk boxes he installed on poles lining the rows of his apple trees. After two years, he finally got a family of hawks to move into his orchard. The hawks scare away birds that like to peck apples and cherries off the trees. This natural approach to managing wildlife is also an outgrowth of learning about IPM, Limón says. —from Food & Water Watch, www.foodandwaterwatch.org Did you know that just a handful of companies determine what kind of food you can buy and how farmers can produce it? It’s true. Decades of bad farm policy and unchecked corporated mergers have driven out independent players, creating powerful agribusiness giants with massive market share. Tell the Obama Administration that it’s time to protect consumers instead of agribusiness! How bad are things right now? • More than 85 percent of U.S. beef cattle are slaughtered by just four companies. After decades of government officials looking the other way, regulators are finally acknowledging there might be a problem. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are conducting public workshops around the country to hear about the state of competition in agriculture markets. We’ll let you know how you can get involved in these hearings as they get closer. In the meantime, you can let the USDA and DOJ know that they must do a thorough investigation of the lack of competition in agriculture, as well as take immediate action to deal with unfair practices and lack of competition that are wreaking havoc on farmers and consumers across the country. Tell the Obama Administration that it’s time to take on agricultural antitrust enforcement! Visit the “Take Action” tab of the Food & Water Watch web site, www.foodandwaterwatch.org.
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