" I heard it through the AgLine"

March 8, 2011

 

 

·        US and Mexico resolve trucking dispute

·        Organic advocates upset with ‘natural’ food

·        Organic trade groups form strategic alliance

·        Growers fear GM chile will contaminate crop

·        Women farmers needed to help feed the hungry

 

 

US and Mexico resolve trucking dispute

 

(Reuters) - Mexico said on Sunday it expects its first truck to cross into U.S. territory in about four months, a move that would end a long-standing cross-border trucking dispute with its main trade partner.

 

President Barack Obama said late last week that the United States and Mexico had finally found a "clear path" to resolving the dispute although the proposal has yet to be approved by U.S. lawmakers.

 

The proposal could be ready for congressional scrutiny later this month or in April.

 

"The date we are expecting when a truck can definitely cross ... is in approximately four months," Mexico's Communications and Transport Minister Dionisio Perez-Jacome told reporters.

 

Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari said at the same news conference that the trucking deal between the two countries could be signed by the end of May of mid-June.

 

"As soon as the inking of the deal is announced, we would lift 50 percent of the tariffs," Ferrari said referring to the duties that Mexico has slapped on a rotating list of U.S. products starting in March 2009.

 

The tariffs were the result of U.S. lawmakers blocking funding for a plan to gradually allow Mexican trucks into the United States and meeting a condition of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the United States, Mexico and Canada.

 

The retaliatory tariffs, which Washington says have caused about $2 billion in commercial losses, have been temporarily levied on goods ranging from strawberries to Christmas trees and pork.

 

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Organic advocates upset with ‘natural’ food

 

(AP via Yahoo! News) DES MOINES, Iowa – An organics watchdog group's criticism of a cereal company that describes its products as "all natural" is the latest in the debate about whether the term is being used to confuse consumers or simply give them more information.

 

The Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute recently filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Hearthside Food Solutions, makers of Peace Cereal. It claims the Eugene, Ore.-based company promotes its cereals as being made with pesticide-free ingredients when they're not.

 

Cornucopia and others argue it's an example of the way some food manufacturers try to attract customers who may think buying natural means they're buying organic. The organization was especially critical of Hearthside because the company previously sold organic cereal before switching to conventional ingredients.

 

"The sleight-of-hand of Peace Cereal, switching from organic to conventional ingredients, in a stealth-like manner, needs to be exposed." said Mark Kastel, co-founder of Cornucopia.

 

Telephone and e-mail messages left for Hearthside Food Solutions over several days were not returned.

 

The debate between natural and organic has risen in recent years with the increased popularity of organic products. To be certified organic and eligible for an organic seal, food must meet strict government guidelines overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some claim that labeling products all natural or 100 percent natural can confuse consumers who think of the terms as synonymous.

 

"Natural doesn't have any regulatory meaning while organic does," said Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University.

 

According to the USDA, organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides or fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge. It also must be free from bioengineering or ionizing radiation. Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products must be free of antibiotics and growth hormones.

 

There are no such requirements for food that is labeled natural, and companies are left to determine for themselves what that means.

 

Douglas Karas, a spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration, said in an e-mail it's difficult to define the term "natural" because the food has likely been processed. Although it has not developed a definition for natural, the FDA has not objected to its use if a product does not contain added color, artificial flavor or other synthetic substances, he said.

 

Companies that market all-natural food said they're not trying to deceive customers but wanted to meet demands for more information about their products.

 

"Everybody wants to understand where it comes from and what is in it," said Aurora Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Plano, Texas-based snack maker Frito Lay.

 

Michigan-based Kellogg Company issued a statement that said: "We follow the FDA's guidance, which states the term 'natural' means: 'Nothing artificial or synthetic has been included in, or has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected in the food.'"

 

Illinois-based Kraft Foods Inc. said in a statement that it reviews the use of the term natural on a case-by-case basis to "assure the use of the term is clear to consumers." Kraft also offers some organic products that carry the USDA organic seal.

 

Kem Green, a Des Moines mother, said she realizes there is a difference between products labeled as organic and all-natural, but she buys some of each.

 

"I decide whether it makes a difference to me on some things," she said while shopping at a Hy-Vee grocery store in suburban Des Moines, Iowa.

 

She looks for the USDA organic seal and decides on each item based on price.

 

"If you're going to shop organic you need to be informed and know that seal is what you're looking for and what it means," she said.

 

Nestle said many consumers aren't as aware of the difference between the terms.

 

"If you want organic then you have to look for the USDA organic seal," Nestle said. "There is no seal on natural. It's just being used as a marketing tool because their job is to sell food."

 

Suzanne Shelton, chief executive officer of the Shelton Group, a Tennessee-based advertising agency that specializes in marketing green and sustainable products, said research by her firm shows consumers are confused about the differences between organic and natural. She said marketing surveys done for her company show consumers tend to value the words "natural" more than "organic."

 

Shelton said organic products don't appeal to some people, who think of such items aimed only at upper income people.

 

"Organic needs a marketing campaign ... to eliminate the baggage that it's only for the upper-income groovy," Shelton said.

 

Kastel, the Cornucopia founder, said he simply wants food packaging to be clear so people know what they're buying.

 

"What a lot of consumers might not think about is, it has nothing to do with how food is grown," he said. "Crops can be sprayed with fungicides and herbicides, or pesticides. Organic has achieved quite a value in the market place and some people want to come up with the same messaging and do it on the cheap."

 

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Organic trade groups form strategic alliance

 

(Natural Products Insider) WASHINGTON—The Organic Trade Association (OTA) and California Certified Organic Farmers Inc. (CCOF) formed a strategic alliance to strengthen the organic industry’s national public policy effectiveness to benefit the entire organic sector.

 

“This important collaboration enhances the resources and capacity needed to grow and protect U.S. organic agriculture in the current fast-changing political environment," said Christine Bushway, OTA’s Executive Director and CEO, and Will Daniels, Chair of CCOF’s Board of Directors. “As the two leading organic agriculture and trade associations in the United States, we will work together, while remaining independent organizations to leverage the collective reach of our diverse memberships."

 

OTA will collaborate with CCOF Inc. to increase the representation of organic producers in federal legislative advocacy. As part of the agreement, OTA recognizes CCOF Inc. as a member of OTA’s new Producers Advisory Council. OTA’s Producers Advisory Council provides OTA with input from organic farmers, ranchers, and growers on matters pertinent to the advancement of organic agriculture. OTA, with a permanent Washington office, advocates for the organic industry on the national level. OTA has pledged to support CCOF on its policy positions and political advocacy to protect and encourage organic food and agriculture in the state of California.

 

With more than 470,000 acres in certified organic production, California is the nation’s leading state for organic agriculture. “Now, OTA will bring the voice of over 6,500 organic businesses, more than 2,500 from California alone, to official Washington. Together we will advance organic", added Bushway.

 

Domestic National Organic Program standards, areas covered under CCOF Certification Services LLC accreditation, are excluded from the agreement.

 

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Growers fear GM chile will contaminate crop

 

(KOAT.com) LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Some local growers said they are afraid that genetically engineered chile seeds may contaminate centuries-old natural crops in southern New Mexico.

 

Like so many New Mexicans, chilies are in farmer Estevan Arellano’s blood.

 

“Forever, you know, my family has been in Embudo since 1725,” he said. “We’ve been growing chile forever.”

 

But according to some, that New Mexican tradition and livelihood is in grave danger.

 

“I think the biggest threat right now is the development of genetically engineered chile,” Isaura Andaluz with the Save NM Seeds Coalition said.

 

The chile being developed would apparently look and taste like naturally grown New Mexican chile.

 

“We’re looking to develop herbicide-resistant or tolerant varieties that can reduce the industry's reliance on hand labor,” New Mexico State University researcher Dr. Stephen Hanson said.

 

Since 2007, more than $500,000 of taxpayer money has gone to the project.

 

Now, some New Mexico chile farmers are concerned that their local crops could be contaminated with the genetically engineered seed.

 

“With all the chiles grown in the state, there are so many ways it can spread and potentially contaminate all our original seeds,” Andaluz said.

 

Andaluz said there are several ways that stray seed could contaminate local chile products, including pollen migration and birds carrying pods into other fields.

 

Hanson said those fears are unfounded. While he admits that seeds can fly from field to field, Hanson said commercial chile seeds and specialty, native seeds have long grown next to each other without cross contamination.

 

Still, Andaluz fears the worst.

 

“We will forever loose those genetics that have been coming down generation to generation to generation,” Andaluz said.

 

Arellano said he’s proud of his family’s involvement in New Mexico’s most cherished crop, but is also fearful of the future.

 

“It is a nightmare,” he said. “You can’t really protect yourself.”

 

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Women farmers needed to help feed the hungry

 

(Earth Times) Rome - Women in rural areas could help reduce by up to 17 per cent the number of the world's hungry which currently stands at almost 1-billion, according to a report issued Monday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

 

If women had the same access to land, technology, financial services, education and markets as men, agricultural production could be increased and the number of hungry people reduced by 100-150 million, the Rome-based FAO said in the 2010-11 edition of its The State of Food and Agriculture report.

 

"The report makes a powerful business case for promoting gender equality in agriculture," FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said.

 

"Gender equality is not just a lofty ideal, it is also crucial for agricultural development and food security. We must promote gender equality and empower women in agriculture to win, sustainably, the fight against hunger and extreme poverty," Diouf added.

 

Yields on plots managed by women are lower than those managed by men - not because women are worse farmers than men, but because they do not have the same access to inputs, the FAO report said. Giving women the same access as men to agricultural resources could increase production on women's farms in developing countries by 20 to 30 per cent.

 

This could raise total agricultural production in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 per cent, which could in turn reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17 per cent, or 100 to 150 million people, the FAO report said.

 

FAO estimates that worldwide 925 million people were undernourished in 2010, of which 906 million live in developing countries.

 

Women make up on average 43 per cent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries, ranging from 20 per cent in Latin America to almost 50 per cent in East and Southeast Asia and sub- Saharan Africa.

 

The report however, noted that where rural women are employed, they tend to be segregated into lower paid occupations and are more likely to be in less secure forms of employment, such as seasonal, part-time or low-wage jobs.

 

New jobs in high-value export-oriented agricultural industries offer better opportunities for women than traditional agriculture, the FAO report said.

 

"In many countries women do not have the same rights as men to buy, sell or inherit land, to open a savings account or borrow money, to sign a contract or sell their produce. Where legal rights exist on paper, they often are not honored in practice," the report's editor Terri Raney, said.

 

According to FAO government officials must be held accountable for upholding the law and women must be aware of their rights and empowered to claim them.

 

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