Food Bytes #2 (Sept. 24, 1997)


FOOD BYTES

News & Analysis on Genetic Engineering & Factory Farming

Issue #2 (Sept. 24, 1997)

by: Ronnie Cummins, Pure Food Campaign USA

http://www.OrganicConsumers.org

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Recent Developments of Note:

* Grain Cartels Sabotage Trade in Non-GE Crops

* USA and EU Battle on Beef Tallow and Mad Cow Issues

* Mad Cow USA: Could the Nightmare Happen Here?

* Let Them Eat Feces: Agribusiness Moves to Restrict Food Labeling in the USA

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Grain Cartels Secretly Trading in Non-Genetically Engineered Crops


Because of mounting consumer concern, especially in Europe, a growing
international trade has begun to develop in corn and soybeans--as well as
products derived from these grains--which are tested, certified, and
labeled as non-genetically engineered. Genetic ID in Fairview, Iowa and TNO
Nutrition in the Netherlands, two labs testing for genetic contamination,
report a "brisk business" as food buyers and manufacturers scramble to meet
increasing consumer demands for non-ge products. Polls in the USA, Europe,
Canada, Australia, Japan, and other industrialized nations continue to find
80-90% of consumers demanding mandatory labeling of genetically engineered
foods--mainly so that they can avoid buying them. Sales of organic or
"biological" products are rapidly increasing, partly in response to the gene foods controversy.


The world's largest grain multinationals (Cargill, Continental, Archer
Daniels Midland, Bunge, Central Soya, etc.) continue to claim publicly that
it is "impossible," or at at least "economically impractical," to separate
out and label gene-altered and regular grains. But recent behind-the-scenes
surveys of numerous grain handlers and grain dealers in the USA tell a
different story. The bottom line is that Cargill, ADM, and the other grain
cartels are already segregating or sourcing non-ge soy and corn and
supplying it secretly to some of their major European customers. Companies
such as Tesco, the largest supermarket chain in the U.K., seem to have
already made "backroom deals" with the cartels to supply them with all the
non-ge grains they need--as long as they, the buyers, agree to keep their
sources secret.


This way Tesco gets a marketplace advantage over its other British
supermarket rivals by being able to advertise that it has a full line of
non-ge products, while the grain cartels avoid risking the loss of their
dominant market share to independent grain brokers and shippers. These
"independents" have already begun to sell significant amounts of non-ge
grains to European buyers such as SPAR, the Austrian-based supermarket
chain. Also, under this biotech and cartel-friendly arrangement, the US
Department of Agriculture and the Clinton Administration can still claim
that "segregating" ge and non-ge grains and foods are impossible; while
European Commission and other EU authorities have a handy excuse to back
off from demanding that the US government require mandatory segregation of
gene-altered crops.


Inside sources in the US point out that the chemical, biotech, and seed
giants appear to have begun to selectively "spike" or mix their ge seeds
with their conventional hybrid seeds. This makes testing more difficult and
bolsters their often repeated claim that testing for genetic contamination
is "impossible." Another tactic is to leave enough residues of grain in
barges and grain elevators and in the cargo holds of ships so that
independent brokers have a hard time fulfilling non-ge contract obligations
that require near-100% purity. Yet another recent tactic has been to
facilitate the selling off of all of Brazil's soybean reserves so that the
country has no choice now but to accept cargoes of American grain in which
ge and non-ge soybeans are mixed together. This situation will then lead
to the elimination of a law currently on the books in Brazil which makes it
illegal to import genetically engineered soya. Of course this will also
prevent independent Brazilian grain traders from "stealing" new customers
in Europe and Japan away from the cartels.


A Continental Grain spokesperson in Chicago admitted to the Pure Food
Campaign in August that they are "taking orders" for certified non-ge grain
for next year's crops. In addition the PFC has learned that a number of
major US food multinationals have begun making preparations to segregate
and test their products, so as to avoid consumer boycotts--both overseas
and in the US. But again, why all the secrecy? First of all, according to
food industry experts, besides their cozy realtionship with the agri-toxics
and biotech companies, the grain cartels and the factory farm food
manufacturers fear setting a precedent. If they bow to "irrational"
consumer demands to separate out biotech foods and grains, then what is to
prevent customers from demanding that they do the same thing with
chemically contaminated grains and foods?


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US and EU Fight Over Beef Tallow/Mad Cow Safety Precautions


One again the US is threatening to take the European Union to the World
Trade Organization (WTO) over a food safety issue, this time claiming that
European demands for increased Mad Cow Disease (BSE) beef tallow
precautions are nothing more than protectionist trade restrictions.
European Union scientists stated Sept. 18 that the United States had
"probably been free" of BSE in the past but that, given lax US procedures
for manufacturing beef tallow, (by boiling whole carcasses including
brains, eyes, and spinal tissue) there was "no guarantee" that a US version
of Mad Cow Disease would not eventually contaminate beef tallow, widely
used in the manufacture of drugs and cosmetics. The EU Scientific
Veterinary Committee stated that "the committee cannot guarantee that
cattle from the United States have not been exposed to and thus do not
carry BSE infectivity, though there is no positive evidence that they do
so." The EU ruling threatens to shut off $100 million in beef tallow
exports to Europe. The EU ban on US beef tallow exports comes in the wake
of a May 1997 ruling by the WTO that Europe must accept beef exports from
the US--even though most Europeans object strenuously to the US practice of
using artificial hormone implants in cattle to stimulate faster growth.


In the US, groups such as the Center for Media and Democracy (publishers of
PR Watch), the Consumers Union, and the Pure Food Campaign have warned that
the nation's animal feeding practices appear inadequate to fully protect
the public from BSE and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
(TSEs). These groups, joined by family farm organizations such as Family
Farm Defenders, and animal protection organizations such as the Humane
Society, have repeatedly demanded that the US government stop the feeding
of all rendered animal protein to all animals, as Great Britain has done. A
May 12 national news program on ABC News warned that the human form of Mad
Cow Disease (called CJD or Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) seems to be on the
increase in the USA, although factory farm interests and government
authorities continue to deny this. A new book arriving in bookstores Nov.
1, Mad Cow USA: Could the Nightmare Happen Here, (see announcement below)
will undoubtedly add fuel to the fire of this controversy.
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- ANNOUNCING AN IMPORTANT NEW NON-FICTION BOOK -


Mad Cow U.S.A.

Could the Nightmare Happen Here?


"This first-rate work of investigative journalism is the real story of mad
cow disease. Reads like a detective story."

Dr. Timothy B. McCall, M.D., author of

Examining Your Doctor: A Patient's Guide to Avoiding Harmful Medical Care


"This looming disaster is no Sci-Fi scenario.
A fabulous and urgently needed warning."
Nicols Fox, author of
Spoiled: The Dangerous Truth about a Food Chain Gone Haywire


The November 1st publication of Mad Cow U.S.A.: Could the Nightmare
Happen Here? will shatter the belief that government and industry would
'never let it happen here.' This is the true and terrifying tale that
agribusiness wants to censor.


Authors Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber reveal a world of
brilliant scientists, callous industry, courageous victims and cowardly
bureaucrats. All are united by a mysterious new killer disease threatening
a global epidemic - unless we heed this book's warning.


In Britain the meat industry's feeding practice of 'animal
cannibalism' has unleashed a fatal Alzheimers-like dementia that is killing
a growing number of young victims who ate contaminated beef from mad cows.
Some experts predict hundreds of thousands of Britons may die in the
decades ahead due to the long and invisible incubation period of this
brain-destroying illness, called 'new-variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.'


Mad Cow U.S.A. explains how mad cow disease and nvCJD have emerged
as a result of modern, intensive factory farming. Europe has, for the most part,
banned the feeding practices that spread this emerging disease. However,
here in the U.S. the dangerous practice of 'animal cannibalism' continues with
government approval.


Mad Cow U.S.A. exposes the deadly game of "dementia roulette" being
played with our food supply, demonstrating how previously unknown risks can
become catastrophic. The U.S. already has its own versions of the
brain-wasting disease killing cows and people in Britain. The threat of a
U.S. epidemic persists as each year billions of pounds of rendered fat,
offal, meat and bone meal are fed back to cows, pigs, chickens and pets.


Rather than invoking the "precautionary principle" to protect human
health, the powerful U.S. food lobby is waging war against free speech by
legislating "food disparagement laws" in more than a dozen states,
criminalizing those who speak out for food safety. The first lawsuit is
currently proceeding against Oprah Winfrey for her show examining U.S. mad
cow risks.


Government cover-up in Britain and industry and bureaucratic
collusion in the U.S. have kept these threats hidden from American view.
Until now, when Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber answer the question of
Mad Cow U.S.A.: Could the Nightmare Happen Here?


The authors Sheldon Rampton is a Princeton graduate and investigative
journalist; this is his third book. John Stauber is founder of the Center
for Media & Democracy, a non-profit organization dedicated to reporting on
the 'propaganda-for-hire' industry of public relations. Stauber and
Rampton write and edit the quarterly PR Watch. www.prwatch.org


They are also co-authors of the recent acclaimed book Toxic Sludge
Is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry, now in
its fourth printing from Common Courage Press. The authors live in
Madison, Wisconsin.


Mad Cow U.S.A.: Could The Nightmare Happen Here?

Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber

Publication date November 1, 1997 Price: $24.95/Cloth

Common Courage Press, Monroe, ME (207)525-0900

ISBN: 1-56751-111-2 Email: comcour@agate.net



For Review Copies and Author Interviews

Contact Greg Bates of Common Courage Press

Phone: 207-525-0900 Email: comcour@agate.net



For more information on Mad Cows, TSEs, and America's new anti-activist

food slander laws see the web sites of the Pure Food Campaign and PR Watch

http://http://www.purefood.org

http://prwatch.org/

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Let Them Eat Feces: Agribusiness & Government Move to Weaken US Food

Labeling Laws and Irradiate Beef



Once again Corporate America's food giants find themselves scrambling to
restore public confidence in the wake of the latest outbreak of e-coli
0157, which the press has dubbed the "hamburger disease." In August, after
several dozen consumers in Colorado were poisoned by the e-coli feces in
their burgers, 25 million pounds of hamburger meat had to be recalled from
the Hudson Foods Corporation. Even the giant chain Burger King was forced
to stop serving hamburgers in their restaurants briefly. In interviews with
the press, the government Centers for Disease Control (CDC) admitted that
food poisoning has reached epidemic proportions in the US, with up to 80
million consumers per year being poisoned, mainly by feces and
bacteria-contaminated beef, poultry, eggs, and fish. National polls in the
US have found 80% of all consumers expressing concern about food safety
issues such as e-coli and salmonella, pesticide residues, artificial growth
hormones, and genetic engineering.


Statistics over the past 4 years indicate that up to 35% of America's
hamburger meat may be contaminated by feces, with up to 1.5%-3.5% likely
containing the deadly e-coli 0157. In 1993 the Foundation on Economic
Trends sued the USDA over the e-coli and meat contamination issue--forcing
the government to begin placing warning labels on all 2 billion packages of
fresh meat sold in the USA each year. Statistics on salmonella and feces
contamination of poultry and eggs are even worse, with the Clinton
Administration announcing in July 1996 that the government's long-term
goals were to reduce feces residues on poultry to just under 50%!


In addition, an investigative article in US News and World Report on Sept.
1 reported that cattle and other animals are now being fed raw manure on a
massive scale--as a low-cost alternative to alfalfa, hay, and other
traditional feeds. And now, after a year of media reports on the BSE
epidemic in Europe, the US news media appear finally to be waking up to the
fact that literally billions of pounds of dead and diseased animals and
waste body parts continue to be rendered and fed back to America's farm
animals and pets. No wonder sales of organic foods and natural, free-range
meats have skyrocketed over the past 5 years. No wonder the USA has had to
resort to using the WTO to try to force its beef on Europeans, who have
banned all US beef imports since 1988. Even Boris Yeltsin, certainly not
known for his consumer activism, briefly halted half a billion dollars in
chicken imports from the USA to Russia in 1996, citing widespread feces and
salmonella contamination. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 18 that
Clinton has sent USDA secretary Dan Glickman to Russia to deal with the
"growing backlash" against food exports to Russia, "especially poultry."


Reacting to the ongoing crisis in public confidence, the Clinton
Administration and America's food multinationals have decided to take
drastic action. Not drastic action in the sense of implementing stringent
food safety measures. The drastic actions they have in mind are entirely
different: to crack down on and intimidate the media and food critics; to
restrict or to take away altogether consumers' rights to know what's been
done to their food; and finally to start using nuclear waste to irradiate
America's feces-tainted meat, poultry, and produce. In future issues of
Food Bytes we will look into some of these food safety issues in greater
detail.