Food & Environment Update Feb. 2006--Union of Concerned Scientists

FEED - Food & Environment Electronic Digest
February 2006
Union of Concerned Scientists
Read FEED online at: http://ucsaction.org/ct/vp_Ifnd1AXg3/

CONTENTS

1. An alternative to pharma crops approved
2. New price-competitive organic chain opens
3. Corn: not all it's cracked up to be
4. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria abound in soil
5. Switzerland bans engineered crops
6. Penicillin and other antibiotics fail in human medicine

1. An alternative to pharma crops approved
For the first time, a vaccine produced in genetically engineered
plant cells has been approved by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. The vaccine produced by Dow AgroSciences protects
poultry against Newcastle disease. Dow produces the vaccine in
genetically engineered tobacco plant cells grown in a steel
fermentation tank, a process that avoids the problem of food or
environmental contamination posed by the outdoor cultivation of
crops. Dow plans to use its new process to produce West Nile
vaccine for horses and avian flu vaccine for chickens, and
perhaps someday, vaccines for humans. To read more in The Des
Moines Register, visit http://ucsaction.org/ct/f1_Ifnd1AXgA/.

2. New price-competitive organic chain opens
The first of a planned chain of 50 stores selling organic and
"natural" foods at prices intended to compete with conventional
groceries recently opened in Indianapolis. Sunflower Market
Stores, which are owned by Minneapolis-based SuperValu, will
offer meat and seafood raised without hormones or antibiotics,
and organic groceries. According to SuperValu, the new chain is
a response to consumer research indicating cost was the biggest
barrier for would-be organic buyers. Read a press release at
http://ucsaction.org/ct/v1_Ifnd1AXgw/.

3. Corn: not all it's cracked up to be
George Pyle's highly readable new book on the corn industry will
change the way you see the Midwest landscape. A reporter and
editor who specializes in agricultural issues, Pyle came to see
that corn production causes a number of environmental and
economic problems. His book explains how the growing of corn
affects our nation's soil and water quality, compromises the
welfare of livestock in factory farms, destabilizes countries
that receive food aid from the United States, and forces
small-scale farmers out of business, increasingly putting
control in the hands of large corporations. To learn more about
why Pyle considers agricultural industrialization to be "a
monumentally bad idea" and about how our corn surplus impacts
the world, pick up his book, Raising Less Corn, More Hell: The
Case for the Independent Farm and Against Industrial Food
(http://ucsaction.org/ct/vd_Ifnd1AXgs/).

4. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria abound in soil
A new study published in Science reports that most soil bacteria
are resistant to a wide range of antibiotics. The study tested
480 bacterial strains collected from diverse locales, including
urban, forest, and agricultural sites, against 21 antibiotics,
including products derived from natural sources, synthetic
drugs, "gold standard" antibiotics that have been used for
decades, and a few newly approved drugs. Each of the tested
bacterial strains was resistant to, on average, seven or eight
antibiotics, and none of the antibiotics was effective against
all the bacterial strains. The study reveals the enormity of the
reservoir of antibiotic-resistance genes that exists in the
environment; these genes could become more widespread in
response to the overuse of antibiotics. A commentary on the
study noted that the resistance mechanisms in the soil bacteria
could pose serious threats to human health if they found their
way into bacteria that infected humans. To read the study
abstract, visit http://ucsaction.org/ct/v7_Ifnd1AXgx/.

5. Switzerland bans engineered crops
Swiss voters recently passed a referendum banning the growing of
genetically engineered plants for the next five years. Only one
genetically modified crop, an experimental wheat crop, has ever
been grown in Switzerland. The moratorium contrasts with the
European Union's decision last year to lift its ban on
genetically engineered crops; Switzerland is not a member of the
European Union. Swiss farmers, many of whom are considering
switching to organic production, overwhelmingly supported the
referendum. To read more, visit
http://ucsaction.org/ct/fd_Ifnd1AXgM/.

6. Penicillin and other antibiotics fail in human medicine
A study based on 11,500 cases and presented at the Interscience
Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in December
found that penicillin fails to cure strep throat infections 25
percent of the time, necessitating treatment with additional
antibiotics. Amoxicillin fails in 18 percent of cases, and
older-generation cephalosporin antibiotics fail 14 percent of
the time, compared to 7 percent for newer cephalosporins. The
failure rates are attributable to the increase in resistance in
disease-causing organisms. The results may lead doctors to
prescribe the newer antibiotics as a first-line response, a
practice that erodes the effectiveness of the newer drugs. To
read more, visit http://ucsaction.org/ct/f7_Ifnd1AXgN/. To
read about the personal struggles of Washington Redskins
football player Brandon Noble against an antibiotic-resistant
staph infection, visit http://ucsaction.org/ct/51_Ifnd1AXge/.