Agriculture
Chair: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
- Max Baucus (D-MT)
- Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
- Bob Casey (D-PA)
- Kent Conrad (D-ND)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Pat Leahy (D-VT)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Mike Johanns (R-NE)
- Dick Lugar (R-IN)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Pat Roberts (R-KS)
- John R. Thune (R-SD)
Appropriations
Chair: Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Robert Bennett (R-UT)
- Christopher Bond (R-MO)
- Sam Brownback (R-KS)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions
- Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Agriculture
Chair: B Collin Peterson (D-MN)
V. Chair: B Tim Holden (D-PA)
B Joe Baca (D-CA)
- John Boccieri (D-OH)
B* Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
- Bobby Bright (D-AL)
B* Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
- Travis Childers (D-MS)
B Jim Costa (D-CA)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
B Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
- Debbie Halvorson (D-IL)
B Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)
- Steve Kagen (D-WI)
- Larry Kissell (D-NC)
B Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
- Betsy Markey (D-CO)
B Jim Marshall (D-GA)
P Eric Massa (D-NY)
B Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
- Walt Minnick (D-ID)
B Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
- Mark Schauer (D-MI)
- Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
B David Scott (D-GA)
B Zachary Space (D-OH)
- Timothy Walz (D-MN)
- Frank Lucas (R-OK)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- K. Michael Conaway (R-TX)
- Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
- Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
- Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
- Sam Graves (R-MO)
- Timothy Johnson (R-IL)
- Steve King (R-IA)
- Robert Latta (R-OH)
- Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Mike Rogers (R-AL)
- Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
- Adrian Smith (R-NE)
- Glenn Thompson (R-PA) *=House Organic Caucus member B=Blue Dog Democrat
Appropriations
Chair: Dave Obey (D-WI) Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: P Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
- Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
* Allen Boyd (D-FL)
- Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
*P Sam Farr (D-CA)
*P Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
P Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
P Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
- Jack Kingston (R-GA)
- Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
- Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
* Tom Latham (R-IA) *=House Organic Caucus member
P=Congressional Progressive Caucus
Education and Labor
P Chair: George Miller (D-CA)
- Jason Altmire (D-PA)
- Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
- Timothy Bishop (D-NY)
P Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Susan Davis (D-CA)
P Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
P Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
P Phil Hare (D-IL)
- Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
P Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
- Rush Holt (D-NJ)
- Dale Kildee (D-MI)
P Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
P Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
- Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
P Donald Payne (D-NJ)
- Jared Polis (D-CO)
- Robert Scott (D-VA)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
P John Tierney (D-MA)
- Dina Titus (D-NV)
- Paul Tonko (D-NY)
P Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
- David Wu (D-OR)
- Buck McKeon (R-CA)
- Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rob Bishop (R-UT)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Michael Castle (R-DE)
- Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)
- Luis F Fortuno (R-PR)
- Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
- Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
- Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA)
- John Kline (R-MN)
- Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
- Tom McClintock (R-CA)
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
- Thomas Petri (R-WI)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Todd Russell Platts (R-PA)
- Tom Price (R-GA)
- Mark Souder (R-IN)
- GT Thompson (R-PA)
- Joe Wilson (R-SC) P=Congressional Progressive Caucus
Science says: organic strawberries are better!!!! And not just better for the environment, and better for the workers (who don't have to be exposed to toxic chemicals on the job). The berries tested higher in vitamin C and antioxidants, lasted longer without rotting, and tasted better.
I think a big fat "I TOLD YOU SO" is in order here.
Oh - and, no shock - the soil is better too. Here's what the article's abstract says:
We also found the organically farmed soils to have more total carbon and nitrogen, greater microbial biomass and activity, and higher concentrations of micronutrients. Organically farmed soils also exhibited greater numbers of endemic genes and greater functional gene abundance and diversity for several biogeochemical processes, such as nitrogen fixation and pesticide degradation.
Overall conclusion?
Our findings show that the organic strawberry farms produced higher quality fruit and that their higher quality soils may have greater microbial functional capability and resilience to stress.
Joe Sestak was the sole Democrat to vote against starting an organic pilot program for school lunch in a party-line vote this past week. All of the Dems on the House Education and Labor committee voted for it - except Sestak. All of the Republicans voted against it.
Rep. Sestak - perhaps soon to be Sen. Sestak - why do you think that little, developing children's bodies should be exposed to pesticide residues in their food? Many pesticides are proven or suspected neurotoxins, carcinogens, and endocrine disruptors. And your state has a vibrant organic farming industry. You've done wrong by the kids, but you've also done wrong by the farmers of Pennsylvania.
A collaboration at the N.C. Research Campus could help determine whether organically grown food is more nutritious than food grown by conventional methods.
Dole Food's director at the Research Campus wants to test vegetables grown at the Cabarrus County training farm to learn more about the nutrition content of local, organic food...
While farmers suspect that locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables pack a bigger nutritional punch, they have little scientific evidence, Bost said.
Analyzing their produce using state-of-the-art instruments at the Research Campus will provide empirical data, she said.
Farmers then could tell consumers that their food is more nutritious.
Yes, THAT Dole. And this is not some study by a university researcher that happens to be funded by Dole. The director of the Dole Nutrition Research Laboratory reports directly to the CEO of Dole. And don't forget Dole's relationship with Monsanto:
Monsanto, a flagship tenant at the Research Campus, is the world's leading producer of genetically modified seed and the herbicide Roundup, both abhorrent to most organic farmers.
Others have expressed concern about Monsanto's presence at the Research Campus, although site leader Dr. Susan MacIsaac said Monsanto will not modify plant DNA in the company's 9,000-square-foot Kannapolis lab, expected to open this fall.
Instead, Monsanto will use traditional plant breeding techniques to develop tastier, healthier vegetables.
While Dole Food and Monsanto have a five-year agreement to study vegetables, the companies do not have an official collaboration at the Research Campus, Gillitt said, but it's a possibility.
Both companies currently have one scientist in Kannapolis. Monsanto plans to have 10 employees, and Gillitt said he will hire two more researchers this month.
I'm sure the results of this study will be totally independent, unbiased, and 100% credible.
I first learned about Baia Nicchia in 2006 when I read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about their tomato breeding efforts. What set them apart from other breeders was a focus on the S.F. Bay Area, a region with multiple microclimates — hot and dry in Walnut Creek, cool and sunny in the Mission, damp and foggy in the Sunset, and so on — that create challenges for backyard gardeners.
In the years since, I have bought produce and tomato seedlings* from them at the Berkeley Farmers Market; have been reading their blog; attended a tomato growing lecture at Magic Gardens in Berkeley; and most recently attended their open house.
The Sunol Ag Park
On a recent weekend, a friend and I went to an "open house" at Baia Nicchia's farm in Sunol. Baia Nicchia is run by Fred Hempel and Jill Shepard and has been on the Sunol land since 2006. They lease the land from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (which provides water to the City) and buy water from the Commission at rates somewhere between wholesale and retail. Their farm is part of the Sunol Water Temple Agricultural Park (a.k.a. the Sunol Ag Park), a project that came about because of efforts by the Berkeley nonprofit Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAGE) in 2006. At the time, San Francisco was developing a food policy that stressed food production within city limits. SAGE realized that it made sense for San Francisco to apply that to city-owned lands outside of city limits — like the Sunol plot — and convinced officials to launch a one-year pilot project in 2006 that eventually turned into a nine-year lease for agricultural uses. The San Francisco Chronicle had an article on the Ag Park in 2008. At that time, there were five groups working the land besides Baia Nicchia, including Oakland's People's Grocery and a group of refugees from Laos.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was tasked with data basing Farmers Markets, beginning in 1994. The directory was updated every two years through 2008. In 2009, the process changed to a yearly rite. Here's the breakdown:
Here's the video. The organic watchdog organization, The Cornucopia Institute, is also looking into this. Mark Kastel from Cornucopia said:
After many years of aggressive growth of organic imports from China, and overt pressure from the Cornucopia Institute and others to audit operations in China, the USDA finally sent staff to scrutinize the certification operations. In the entire country of China they only inspected two farms and found substantial noncompliances (no follow-ups to ascertain whether these were aberrations or systemic problems).
For a looong time now, factory farm-style dairies have been able to pass themselves off as "organic" by feeding the cows organic grain and abstaining from using hormones and antibiotics. And while that's an improvement from conventional factory dairy farms, it's unfair to organic consumers and organic dairy farmers. Milk is healthier when cows graze on grass instead of grain. This isn't entirely black and white, as some grain is OK for a mostly-grass-fed cow. But cows evolved eating grass and they do need a certain amount of grass in their diets.
When the USDA first proposed its so-called "pasture rule" at the tail end of the Bush administration, the rule was unacceptable for a number of reasons. Most of the reasons were technical ones, but the end result was that the rule would have disqualified many good dairy farmers from being organic. Yesterday, the USDA published a NEW pasture rule, and this time it's a good one as far as I can tell. The new rule requires organic dairy farmers to let cows graze on pasture for the entire growing season but not for less than 120 days. Also, the animals must receive at least 30% of their feed by grazing on pasture. Animals must have year-round access to the outdoors unless they are in ill health or the weather is so bad that they must be indoors. This goes into effect on June 17 of this year.
For more information, see below. I've included a link to an LA Times story on this as well as press releases from the Federation of Organic Dairy Farmers (FOOD Farmers) and the Cornucopia Institute.
The Obama administration's competing agricultural policies could prompt a bad case of indigestion - or whiplash.
Longtime food policy observers are having a difficult time squaring the Department of Agriculture's entrenched preference for high-tech industrial agriculture that emphasizes biotechnology and genetically engineered crops with its newfound interest in helping those who favor low-tech ag: small farmers, advocates of organic and local food and champions of sustainability.
Margaret Mellon, senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, describes the USDA as schizophrenic. "It wants to promote both organic and sustainable local," she said. "It is also committed to promotion of biotech here and around the world. So far, there has not been collision between those two priorities, but I'm not sure that situation will last much longer."
She's got it soooo right. I think this idiotic contradictory policy is due to a fundamental lack of understanding of agriculture... and a very good understanding of politics. Obama's doing very well to try and please two very disparate constituencies - the biotech/pesticide lobby and health & environmentally conscious citizens. You can't have it both ways, but they sure are trying.
Organic industry watchdog, The Cornucopia Institute, put out a press release entitled "Organic Family Dairies Being Crushed by Rogue Factory Farms." In a time that is already tough for dairies, the last thing organic family farms need is unfair competition by factory farms that break the spirit of the organic law, if not the letter of it. The press release says that the organic family dairies are asking the President and OMB (the Office of Management and Budget) to remove loopholes from the law that allow factory farms to produce "organic" dairy products. This is not a new issue at all. It's one that's gone on for years, and the government is aware of it:
The pending rewrite of the organic livestock standards, with an emphasis on assuring compliance with provisions that require that ruminants, like dairy cows, be grazed, is currently under review at OMB, where the administration is being heavily lobbied by industrial farming interests to water down the rules.
It sounds to me like explosive growth in the organic market attracted these large factory farms (with up to 7200 cows), but now as organic dairy demand is flat, the glut of milk produced by these enormous milk factories is harming family dairies who allow their cows to graze on pasture. And, of course, consumers are not being served well by this either, as milk is healthier when the cows are able to graze on pasture.
Here's the strange part of it: The press release notes that the respected organic brand Strauss Dairy is partnering with Aurora (an "organic" dairy that even the Bush administration went after for violations) to do away with the pasture requirements for organic cattle that the OMB is looking at.
This is not TOO surprising to me, as in the past the government proposed organic dairy standards requiring the cows spend a certain amount of time grazing on pasture, but the standards were so flawed that they would have disqualified many legit organic dairies. Could that still be the case? (I'll add that I buy my milk from Strauss and would be most upset if they were actually lobbying for legalization of factory farms in the organic dairy market.)
I fully support strict pasture regulations to maintain the integrity of the organic standards and ensure that factory farms are not allowed in the organic industry. My concern is that the proposed rule takes a one-size-fits-all approach which ignores regional diversity, dictating farm management without regard to geographic and climate differences in this vast country.
See more from Strauss plus the full Cornucopia Institute press release below.
Hooray for Pennsylvania and their PATH to Organic Farming Transition program!!! This is not new news - it was initially announced nearly a year ago - but it's still awesome and worth a mention. To date, 13 farms have been selected ranging in size up to 288 acres, and including dairy, livestock, poultry, orchard and crop enterprises. This program provides a fantastic model that other states should copy.
This past Tuesday, I went to a private screening of Michael Moore's new movie, Capitalism, A Love Story, at the Rialto Theater in Santa Rosa, California. I went as a guest of a friend that works at the Alvarado Street Bakery, in Petaluma.
Before the show, I was briefly introduced to the CEO of the company, Joseph Tusk. I mentioned to him that I was hoping to write an article on his company and the film. He smiled and said, "That's great. I know you will want to write about the co-op, but please talk about the bread. Encourage people to buy our bread."
UPDATE: Well, it was a rumor when I heard it, but by the time I posted this it was confirmed true! Here's the press release.
Here's a GREAT rumor, if Sustainable Food News is to be believed: Miles McEvoy will be tapped as the USDA's next deputy administrator of the National Organic Program (NOP). McEvoy currently serves as the organic program director at the Washington State Department of Agriculture. He is very well respected within the organic community. Let's hope this rumor is TRUE!
McEvoy has led the development of the Organic Food Program at the WA State Dept of Agriculture for 20 years. This was one of the first state organic certification programs in the U.S. McEvoy was also the founding Director of The Food Alliance, a program that incorporates social welfare components AND sustainability to provide an label that ensures food is fair in addition to being eco-friendly. He also helped found the WSDA Small Farm and Direct Marketing Program and the National Association of State Organic Programs (NASOP).
I received the Aug-Sept 2009 issue of ATTRA News, which is the "Newsletter of the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service: A project of the national Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT)" the other day.
This month's issue is dedicated to "Pasture-Based Beef and Dairy Production", ie it's talking about Grass-fed beef.
ATTRA News is intended to educate farmers and other interested persons about sustainable agriculture. This issue includes an article about grass-fed labeling and another comparing the various standards for meat production of grassfed beef.
Are organics more nutritious, or aren't they? Last month the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a report from the UK that organics are NOT more nutritious than conventional foods. Parke Wilde of the blog U.S. Food Policy responded to this report by citing one study that found organics are more nutritious in 61% of cases analyzed. Parke calls this "notable but not overwhelming" and concludes that organic food "probably has modest nutrient advantages over conventional food." He goes on to say:
It seems to me the new UK literature review was not sufficiently powered to detect the small advantages of organic that one might realistically expect. For example, unless there is an error (in tabulation or in my reading), it shows a 10% advantage of organic over conventional in zinc, but the result was not statistically significant (for example, because the sample size was not large enough). The authors say this shows organic is no better than conventional. But, nobody ever expected a greater than 10% advantage for organic anyway. Really, the new results are essentially consistent with the older research. I think the authors err in summarizing their results as refuting the earlier claim that organic food offers slightly more nutrients, and the Reuters report is mistaken in its news summary of this research.
Today, the blog continues by discussing the complicated relationship between the ADA and organics, this time with a post by Registered Dietitian Ashley Colpaart. She notes a new "Hot Topic" posted by the ADA, saying:
The 'Hot Topic' was co-authored by Christine McCullum-Gomez, PhD, RD and Anne-Marie Scott of the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition (HEN) Dietetic Practice Group (DPG) of ADA. In their review they challenge the AJCN study for "not examining differences in contaminants (such as pesticide, herbicide or fungicide residues) or the possible environmental consequences of organic versus conventional production practices." Further, the authors claim there are benefits to organic beyond human nutrition.
When considering benefits and costs of organic versus conventional agricultural production, it is important to consider benefits and costs to consumers, farmers, communities and the environment. For example, current research in numerous areas is showing both short-and long-term benefits to our population and the planet with organic and other sustainable production systems. Documented environmental benefits of organic production systems include reduced nutrient pollution, improved soil organic matter, lower energy use, reduced pesticide residues in food and water and enhanced biodiversity.
That's all good. But... (yes, there's a but)... the ADA has a disclaimer on the Hot Topic saying that it "is a reflection of the expertise and opinion of HEN DPG members" i.e. this is not a position endorsed by the entire ADA. Ashley says this is the only Hot Topic with such a disclaimer. What gives? Is the ADA trying to have its organic cake and eat it too?
If you've attended any of my book talks, I say that it's important for consumers - not just farmers - to understand the hows and whys of sustainable farming because otherwise, we are susceptible to marketing efforts by the fertilizer, pesticide, and biotech industries. Well... here's Exhibit A. It's a report by the USDA called "The Unexplored Potential of Organic-Biotech Production."
The organic movement rejects biotechnology as inherently contradictory to its fundamental goal of promoting environmental protection in agriculture. European organic promoters in particular stress respect for nature over yield maximization, campaigning for a return to traditional production methods and inputs. [1] In reality, the divide between organics and biotechnology is an artificial construction maintained by ideology rather than science. A governmental decision to change organic regulations to permit the use of biotechnology could have far-reaching policy implications for global agriculture.
Allowing producers to gain organic certification for biotech crops could encourage the development of a new type of environmentally sustainable agricultural production with greater benefits for the consumer.
I go for science - not ideology - and I don't think biotech has a place in organics. For more information on why, I point you to a diary I wrote that summarizes the work of scientist Jack Heinemann and the IAASTD report.
The Sunol Ag Park
