Little Brother Forum

By Nancy Scola/AlterNet/September 19, 2007

Anyone hearing about central India’s ongoing epidemic of farmer suicides, where growers are killing themselves at a terrifying clip, has to be horrified. But among the more disturbed must be the once-grand poobah of post-invasion Iraq, U.S. diplomat L. Paul Bremer.

Why Bremer? Because Indian farmers are choosing death after finding themselves caught in a loop of crop failure and debt rooted in genetically modified and patented agriculture - the same farming model that Bremer introduced to Iraq during his tenure as administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the American body that ruled the “new Iraq” in its chaotic early days.

In his 400 days of service as CPA administrator, Bremer issued a series of directives known collectively as the “100 Orders.” Bremer’s orders set up the building blocks of the new Iraq, and among them is Order 81*, officially titled Amendments to Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety Law, enacted by Bremer on April 26, 2004. (more…)

By Rick North /Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

Lactaid, the nationwide milk product specially designed for those who are lactose-intolerant, has confirmed that they’re now rBGH-free. This is printed on their labels and prominently displayed on their website.

They are associated with HP Hood Dairy, the 7th largest processor in the country, which is now mostly rBGH-free. A representative of Lactaid told me she was very happy the company made this move. She said that “consumers are concerned” and she had received “so many questions about it.” She can now proudly say to people they’re not using the hormone any more. Thank you Lactaid! (more…)

Center for American Progress/August 16, 2007

CARE, one of the largest humanitarian organizations fighting global poverty, announced yesterday that it would turn down $45 million in annual financing from the United States government because food grown in the United States under subsidies from the Farm Bill actually depresses the agricultural economies of the countries that receive food aid.

The practice literally robs the poor and gives to the rich.

As The New York Times explains, U.S. food donations compete with local farmers’ products, essentially perpetuating the cycle of poverty: “Under the system, the United States government buys the goods from American agribusinesses, ships them overseas, mostly on American-flagged carriers [which is stipulated by U.S. law], and then donates them to the aid groups as an indirect form of financing. The groups sell the products on the market in poor countries and use the money to finance their antipoverty programs. It amounts to about $180 million a year.” (more…)

By KATHARINE HOURELD/AP/August 16, 2007

A humanitarian group has turned down $46 million worth of U.S. food aid, arguing that the way the American government distributes its help hurts poor farmers.

CARE said wheat donated by the U.S. government and sold by charities to finance anti-poverty programs results in low-priced crops being dumped on local markets and small-scale growers cannot compete.

Other experts said they share CARE’s concern, but stressed that food donations are sometimes needed when a natural disaster harms a local area’s agriculture, such as the flooding that North Korea says has devastated vast tracts of its farmland.

The Atlanta-based CARE agreed with that view. “We are not against emergency food aid for things like drought and famine,” spokeswoman Alina Labrada said Thursday.

But, she added, the donation of wheat and other crops does not help in regions where people consistently go hungry because local farming has been weakened by international competition. “They are being hurt instead of helped by this mechanism,” she said. (more…)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released the most extensive research to date on the impacts of environmental toxins on children’s health. The report indicates that over 30% of childhood diseases can be linked to exposure to environmental toxins. According to WHO researchers, 13 million deaths could be prevented annually by improving the environment. The vulnerability of children is increased in degraded and poor environments. The report states that due to environment-related diseases, one in five children in the poorest parts of the world will not live longer than their fifth birthday.

Source: www.who.int/en/

Center for Health, Environment  and Justice, 7/10/07

(New York, NY) A new national study released today found for the first time ever that over 60% of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) packaging tested contains toxic heavy metals that violate state toxics in packaging laws in 19 states. Inks and colorants used on plastic shopping and mailing bags were the other packaging materials with frequently detected heavy metals. The study was conducted by the Toxics In Packaging Clearinghouse, a network of nine state environmental agencies coordinating toxics in packaging legislation. (more…)

Worldpress.org/July 10, 2007

An in-depth poll of four major Muslim countries has ascertained that in each of them large majorities believe that undermining Islam is a key goal of U.S. foreign policy. The poll surveys were conducted in Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, and Indonesia from Dec. 2006 to Feb. 2007 by WorldPublicOpinion.org, with support from the START Consortium at the University of Maryland. (more…)

BBC/July 14, 2007

China has suspended imports from several key US meat suppliers after months of international scrutiny over the safety of Chinese food and drugs.

Officials said they had found salmonella and growth-enhancers in several imported US chicken products. (more…)

The agency is considering a list of 38 nonorganic spices, colorings and other ingredients that would be allowed in products it deems ‘organic.’

By Scott J. Wilson/LATimes/June 9, 2007

With the “USDA organic” seal stamped on its label, Anheuser-Busch calls its Wild Hop Lager “the perfect organic experience.”

“In today’s world of artificial flavors, preservatives and factory farming, knowing what goes into what you eat and drink can just about drive you crazy,” the Wild Hop website says. “That’s why we have decided to go back to basics and do things the way they were meant to be … naturally.”

But many beer drinkers may not know that Anheuser-Busch has the organic blessing from federal regulators even though Wild Hop Lager uses hops grown with chemical fertilizers and sprayed with pesticides.

(more…)

Organic refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. It includes a system of production, processing, distribution and sales that assures consumers that the products maintain the organic integrity that begins on the farm.

Setting the stage for U.S. National organic standards, the U.S. Congress adopted the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) in 1990 as part of the 1990 Farm Bill. This action was followed by over a decade of public input and discussion, which resulted in a National Organic Program final rule published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in December 2000 and implemented in October 2002.

(more…)