Biotech Companies "Thwart Scientific Research"

Last week, Andrew Pollack of the New York Times reported on a statement submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency by a group of 26 scientists engaged in biotechnology crop research. The statement was submitted by "26 leading corn insect scientists working at public research institutions located in 16 corn producing states." However, individual names were not listed "because virtually all of us require cooperation from industry at some level to conduct our research."

The New York Times article, Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research, is based on the statement and on interviews with some of the scientists that were willing to talk publicly. They allege that the biotechnology companies use their patent protection and licensing agreements to prevent independent research on their products. Researchers must seek permission from the seed companies before they are allowed to conduct their research, and the scientists allege that sometimes "permission is denied or the company insists on reviewing any findings before they can be published."

“No truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions,” the scientists wrote in a statement submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Such agreements have long been a problem, the scientists said, but they are going public now because frustration has been building.

“If a company can control the research that appears in the public domain, they can reduce the potential negatives that can come out of any research,” said Ken Ostlie, an entomologist at the University of Minnesota, who was one of the scientists who had signed the statement.

What is striking is that the scientists issuing the protest, who are mainly from land-grant universities with big agricultural programs, say they are not opposed to the technology. Rather, they say, the industry’s chokehold on research means that they cannot supply some information to farmers about how best to grow the crops. And, they say, the data being provided to government regulators is being “unduly limited.”

The companies “have the potential to launder the data, the information that is submitted to E.P.A.,” said Elson J. Shields, a professor of entomology at Cornell.

The scientists provided information to the Times about specific studies that were stopped because permission was withdrawn and studies that could not be undertaken because permission could not be obtained.

Dr. Shields of Cornell said financing for agricultural research had gradually shifted from the public sector to the private sector. That makes many scientists at universities dependent on financing or technical cooperation from the big seed companies.

“People are afraid of being blacklisted,” he said. “If your sole job is to work on corn insects and you need the latest corn varieties and the companies decide not to give it to you, you can’t do your job.”

Lobbying and the School Lunches

A Wrong Turn in Agricultural Production Research?

Consider the difference between the taste of that over-sized strawberry shipped from California and the much smaller strawberries you may grow yourself or remember from childhood. The former, while attractive and perfectly formed, often just does not have the flavor or even the texture found in the latter.

The human sense of taste often leads us astray, e.g., with respect to sugar or salt, but in this instance, we may have it right.

A report published in the February issue of the Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology raises serious questions about “improvements” in fruit and vegetable production adopted by commercial agriculture. Researcher Donald R. Davis compared past studies and the nutritional records of fruits and vegetables produced in the 1930’s with those available in today’s supermarket, and found that today’s vegetables may contain 5% to 40% fewer nutritionally beneficial minerals.

Agricultural research and modern farming practices focus on producing more food at a cheaper cost. Most often this involves producing larger fruits and vegetables in a shorter period of time. Both aspects of production, however, larger size and quicker growth, appear to have an inverse relationship with nutritional value. The larger size is produced through additional “dry matter,” a mostly carbohydrate substance. Rapid growth produces a crop that has had less time to absorb minerals from the soil. And, our selection and manipulation of varieties for the purpose of increasing yield may produce more, but nutritionally inferior products.

In side-by-side plantings, Roberts found:

plantings of low- and high-yield cultivars of broccoli and grains found consistently negative correlations between yield and concentrations of minerals and protein, a newly recognized genetic dilution effect

Blogger discussions of the study abound - see, e.g. U.S. Food Policy, and Kitchen Gardeners International.

News and Dickinson Ag Law Brief

Nebraska Dept of Ag update is here.

The Dickinson Brief is here.

First Lady Visits the USDA, "People's Garden"

In its blog posting, First Lady at Agriculture Department, the New York Times reports that the first lady, Michelle Obama visited the USDA to recognize 18 long-time employees for their service and to present a seedling from the Jackson magnolia, a tree planted by Andrew Jackson on the White House lawn 180 years ago.

During her visit, the first lady commented on a news story from last week, when newly appointed Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack jack-hammered a spot in the asphalt outside the Whitten building to break ground for "the inaugural USDA The People's Garden." Vilsack announced the goal of "creating a community garden at each USDA facility worldwide." Termed the "USDA community garden project" this effort "will include a wide variety of garden activities including Embassy window boxes, tree planting, and field office plots. The gardens will be designed to promote 'going green' concepts, including landscaping and building design to retain water and reduce runoff; roof gardens for energy efficiency; utilizing native plantings and using sound conservation practices."

Mrs. Obama voiced her approval of the project, stating, “I’m a big believer in community gardens,” she said, “both because of their beauty and for providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables to so many communities across the nation and the world.”

Acknowledging the work that goes on at USDA, she noted,

From supporting the farmers that produce the food that we eat, to managing the school meal programs that give students the energy and the nutrition they need to get through the day, to providing greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables, to giving struggling families the assistance they need to put food on their table, and to protecting our food supply, the work of this department touches the lives of all Americans on a daily basis in ways that sometimes we can't even imagine.

News

Contract Chicken Growers' "Housing Crisis"

A Wall Street Journal article earlier this week, Farmers Face Empty-Nest Syndrome Amid Chicken Housing Crisis, offered the sad tales of contract chicken growers who have lost their contracts. Faced with multiple empty chicken houses - structures that often cost over $200,000 each to build - these farmers are left without a stream of income to pay their six figure mortgages. The article evidences both the vulnerability of these growers and the rather astonishing willingness of these farmers and their lenders to take on this risk.

Many of the growers contracted with Pilgrim's Pride, the second-largest chicken company in the United States. Pilgrims Pride recently filed for relief in bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and has now terminated contracts with at least 300 farms in Arkansas, Florida and North Carolina.

Although sometimes touted as a possible "risk management strategy," production contracts in the chicken industry are structured in such a way that the growers assume tremendous financial risk. Under these contracts, farmers receive a set price per pound for raising chicks that are owned and supplied by the chicken processor. Although the farmer bears the financial risk associated with the construction and maintenance of the chicken houses, the contract is frequently "flock to flock." A typical flock matures in 4-6 weeks. This means that even when verbal assurances are given, the contract provides that the farmer has no guarantee that he or she will have any stream of income to support the debt less than two months in the future. And, without a contract, chicken houses have virtually no value. In fact, because of issues of aesthetics as well as environmental contamination, an unused chicken house is likely to actually lower the property's value.

Even so-called "long term" contracts are for only several years - hardly sufficient to pay off a debt of several hundred thousand dollars under long term mortgage. Moreover, many of the contracts have "economic necessity" clauses that the processors claim allows them to cut production and terminate the contract early. And, then there is the risk of processor bankruptcy.

Consider the problem faced by one of the farm families described in the article. Young Arkansas farmers Darris Dixon and his wife built three chicken houses on their farm, taking out a $532,000 loan from Farm Credit Services. They did quite well for three years, until last May when a tornado destroyed two of the houses.

Their $370,000 insurance payment wasn't enough to rebuild; they grappled with whether to quit.

Mr. Dixon says he received a visit from a Pilgrim's representative who said, "Build them back as quick as you can and get 'em rolling again."

The Dixons tapped their savings to rebuild. On Aug. 1, a fresh batch of Pilgrim's chicks took up residence. Ten days later, Pilgrim's called to say those chicks would be the last.

The Journal reported that a Pilgrim's Pride spokesman said that, "At the time of the May tornado, the company was in need of square footage for housing. . . . But no one could have foreseen the dramatic changes that occurred in the U.S. chicken industry last summer."

A complaint alleging fraud on behalf of a group of Arkansas growers has been filed against Pilgrim's Pride. Growers argue that they are misled by verbal assurances that they will continue to be provided with chickens.

One might wonder why are banks willing to lend over a half a million dollars to a farmer with a contract that only guarantees an income stream for a month or two at a time. Some of the loans are guaranteed by the USDA's Farm Service Agency, but that is a story for another post . . .

Consumer Spending on Food

The Wall Street Journal has recently chronicled the impact of the economic crisis on food and agriculture. Financial woes are impacting both consumption and production patterns.

With respect to food purchases, in an article published yesterday, Consumers Cut Food Spending Sharply, consumer efforts to trim food costs were described.

In 2008's fourth quarter, consumer spending on food fell at an inflation-adjusted 3.7% from the third quarter, according to data from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis. That is the steepest decline in the 62 years the government has compiled the figure.

Hit particularly hard are "sit-down" restaurants, although the decision to cut back on these expenditures has very divergent outcomes. On one hand, some consumers have turned to cheap fast food. McDonald's reported that same-store sales rose 5.4% in January in the U.S.

On the other hand, there are those who are joining the ranks of the foodies.

Other consumers are opting for home cooking. In Bellevue, Neb., stock broker Kevin Vaughan and his wife cook chicken to make broth from scratch instead of buying it in cans, and use all of the resulting meat for multiple dishes. "You'll have three or four meals off a $10 to $12 investment," he said. And there's another bonus from reduced food purchases, he added: less trash to take out.

Another Agricultural Law Blog & A Request

The American Agricultural Law Association and the National Agricultural Law Center have embarked on a joint blog titled "The United States Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog". It should be of interest to readers of this blog.

I am updating some research on corporate farming laws for an article. If you have seen states amending their corporate farming restrictions in the wake of Jones v. Gales, please drop me a line at aschutz2@gmail.com.

Goats in the News

Pharming, as reported by the NY Times.

The Onion

The Onion hits USDA (warning: some profanity included):

USDA Official Takes Courageous Stand Against Interstate Countercyclical Potato Pricing

A Surprise Regarding Rural Health and Activity

When I grew up on the farm, I did not participate in many organized sports activities, but I spent literally hours every day playing outside. I climbed trees, built forts, helped with chores, even walked around on home made stilts! This is what I would consider to be the typical rural kid lifestyle.

My parents both worked hard, performing a good deal of physical labor, and both were a healthy weight and were generally very healthy people. Mom was 91 and Dad was 97 when they passed away about five years ago.

We ate lots of good food on the farm, fresh garden produce in the summer and home-canned food in the winter. Talk about local food - our milk came from the milk tank, about 50 yards from the kitchen table. How trendy is that?

Apparently my experience may not be replicated in significant parts of rural America today. The Center for Rural Affairs reports that rural Americans lag behind their urban counterparts in physical activity and nutrition, and they are more likely to be obese. Consider this excerpt from Rural People Lag in Physical Activity, Nutrition and Weight.

Growing anecdotal and statistical evidence show that rural people are no longer better off in terms of physical activity, nutrition and weight compared to urban residents. Recently, a comprehensive review of several studies that examine nutrition, physical activity and obesity in rural areas found a significant body of research documenting problems in nutrition and activity. Further, rural residents generally fare worse than their urban counterparts in regards to obesity, opposite to the situation that existed prior to 1980.

National and state studies have found rural children to have higher rates of obesity than do urban children. National studies have found rural adults more physically inactive than urban adults. And rural children engage in behaviors that result in less healthy lives. Nearly half of rural children report not participating in any after school sports/activities, and nearly half of rural children report spending at least two hours per day with electronic entertainment media, slightly higher than the number of urban children reporting the same behavior.

My suspicion is that the farm residents that make up a sub-group of "rural" fare better in this analysis than others. The term rural is generally made up of a range of non-urban categories including many small towns and outlying areas. But I will have to be on the look out for data that either supports or dispels my suspicion. I fear that perhaps our intensive, industrialized model of agriculture has diminished the connection between farm and food and activity that I grew up with.

More later . . .

2007 Census of Agriculture Released

Headlines

Ice Storms and Rural Power

Things are pretty tough right now in rural Northwest Arkansas, and it turns out that what we are experiencing may be in part related to a rural infrastructure issue.

As Rebecca Smith of the Wall Street Journal reported on January 30 in the article, States Set to Examine Maintenance Budgets as Millions Face Cold With No Power, the recent ice storm "knocked out power to more than 1.3 million homes and businesses from Arkansas to Ohio" and the power outages are "likely to increase state inquiries into utilities' maintenance practices.

Here in Arkansas, the storm was the worst recorded ice storm in history; it closed the University of Arkansas for an unprecedented four days, and many (us included) are still without electricity. We may not have power restored for weeks.

A record number - 9700 - power poles went down and the devastation of our beautiful trees is truly astounding. I am not quick to blame the rural utilities that serve us, as we have always had remarkable service. Seeing the power lines snake up and down the rugged, tree-covered Ozark mountains makes one appreciate the difficulty in servicing such an area.

However, reading the Wall Street Journal article it makes me wonder about the fact that it has been a long time since anyone has trimmed the trees along our stretch of the line. As the Journal reports:

The severe weather has cast a spotlight on maintenance at a time when utilities across the U.S. have been responding to higher costs and reduced energy sales by trimming capital spending. The tricky part is cutting spending without degrading companies' ability to maintain service.

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In Ohio, the leading consumer advocate on utility issues renewed a call this week for the state to conduct a broad probe into utility spending plans to make sure tree trimming, pole replacement and equipment upgrades are adequate.

Perhaps this is another example, similar to our delayed bridge repair and rural road repair where efforts to cut costs and lower taxes have consequences that "come home to roost." Let's hope that the stimulus funds targeted for rural American are used wisely.