Pesticide Potpourri
Several Florida counties have recently considered fertilizer ordinances which include “No application of fertilizer from May to October” language. Hopefully, UF/IFAS can steer counties to simply promote the Best Management Practice (BMP) guidelines that have been written using science and input from the Department of Environmental Protection, water management districts, IFAS, and the green industries, instead of passing various ordinances around the state. The feedback from manufacturers is that the use of fertilizer on home lawns is grossly over-estimated based on data from O.M. Scotts, Inc. Of the 70 million home lawns identified as do-it-yourself, 57 percent do nothing, 26 percent fertilize once, 14 percent fertilize twice, and about two percent fertilize three or four times. The recommendations in Florida generally range from three to four times a year. (The Green Sheet, May/June 2006).
It is nearly impossible to find a connection between some small organic brands and their corporate parents by looking at the organic brand's website. Kraft Foods, a subsidiary of Altria Group, bought small natural cereals producer Back to Nature in 2004 as a way to cash in on the ever-growing market for organic and natural foods. The Back to Nature brand includes organic macaroni and cheese, stoneground wheat crackers and cereal. Altria, which owns Phillip Morris Companies, also purchased Boca Burger Inc., which produces soy-based meatless hamburgers and sausages. Odwalla Inc., which sells premium-priced juices that are partially organic, was purchased by Coca-Cola in 2001. Dean Foods, the largest dairy company in the U.S., bought out Horizon Organic, which produces organic products such as milk, juice and pudding, in 2003. Dean Foods has been sharply criticized after it was discovered at least one of its suppliers, Aurora Organic, didn't give cows access to pasture. Kellogg's has acquired a few natural and organic brands: Kashi Cereal and Morningstar Farms, which consists of a line of vegetarian meat alternative products. General Mills purchased Small Planet Foods, which owns organic brand Cascadian Farm, in 2000. The brand consists of items such as frozen fruit, vegetables, granola bars and fruit spreads. Colgate-Palmolive bought Tom's of Maine, an independent company that specializes in natural oral and personal care products, in March. (CanWest News Service, 4/18/06).
While some will say that it is self-serving, pesticide benefits are generally collected by the pesticide registrants. That being said, Monsanto has collected some information regarding use of their products in foreign markets. The Philippines is one of the first countries in Asia to adopt GM crops. Corn growers in this country face persistently high levels of Asian corn borers that infest the crops and negatively impact yields. “We have been using (Bt corn) for two years now. We hardly use pesticides and the yield has improved,” says Jerry Due, who has fought corn borers since he started farming in 1990. “It has been about a 20 to 30 percent increase from the previous yield. Another benefit of biotech corn is that we do not have to burn the residue in our harvest anymore. We just allow the residue to decompose in the field to become fertilizers,” continues Due. “Our former practice was to burn them. With the help of Bt, this will not have the same adverse effects in our environment.” In 2005, Due was one of more than 50,000 resource-poor Philippine farmers who grew biotech corn on approximately 100,000 hectares, resulting in higher incomes and reduced pesticide applications. “If there were no Bt corn, I would not plant again after realizing the difference it makes in our harvest,” Due says. “Maybe those people whom oppose biotechnology do not know all the good things it has done for us.” (PR Web, 4/14/06).
U.S. farm policy geared towards driving down prices for corn and soybeans is a significant contributor to the nation’s obesity epidemic, according to a report released in April by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). The report, Food Without Thought: How U.S. Farm Policy Contributes to Obesity, found that low prices for corn and soybeans over the last several decades has spurred investment in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans fats). Additionally, while prices for HFCS and trans fats have decreased, contributing to low-priced, calorie-dense processed foods, prices for fruits and vegetables, grown with relatively little government support, have steadily increased. A number of studies have documented the strong correlation between price and consumer food purchases. “The food industry and consumers are following the distorted market signals driven by our farm policy,” said Mark Muller, director of IATP’s Environment and Agriculture Program and co-author of the report. “If we want to seriously deal with obesity, let’s create markets that promote healthy food production and consumption. Right now, farm policy is doing just the opposite.” (IATP, 4/18/06).
Michigan’s state House passed legislation in late April that aims to block local regulation of genetically modified crops but includes an exception if the Michigan Commission of Agriculture signs off on the regulation. As approved by the Senate, the measure would have pre-empted local governments from adopting ordinances that regulate or ban the planting of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. But the House version, approved on a 74-32 vote by the Republican-controlled chamber, would let governments ban seeds if they find the seeds will hurt the environment or public health and the bipartisan Commission of Agriculture agrees. (QP, 4/27/06).
Where’s Jose now? He’s being arrested (4/13/06) in relation to a protest targeting the U.S. company Monsanto, his live-in companion told Agence France Presse. Around 100 members of Greenpeace and Bove's Small Farmer's Confederation broke into a Monsanto site in Trebes, near Carcassonne in southwestern France, where they suspect the company stocks genetically-modified seeds. Bove was arrested along with a fellow activist after the protest wound up, in the centre of Trebes, by four armed officers said Ghislaine Dambrun. (Agence France Presse, 4/13/06).
