Food Safety News by Dan Flynn When tests for the deadly E. coli O157:H7 pathogen come back with positive results, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) makes sure the product does not reach consumers, but that's about it. Nobody tracks down the source of contamination or figures out if there might be additional meat that is contaminated and making its way to consumers. "Why are they doing these investigations if they're not doing them to put their arms around all the product and finding out what went wrong?" Donna Rosenbaum asked the Chicago Tribune.

Posted in Media/News

Madison Daily Leader PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Maine dairy farmers hope their new organic milk, called MOOMilk, becomes as popular among natural-food buffs as Maine lobster is among seafood lovers. Ten dairy farmers formed Maine's Own Organic Milk Co., MOOMilk for short, last year after their contracts weren't renewed by large milk distributor H.P. Hood LLC. A year later, the first half-gallon cartons of MOOMilk have reached dairy cases in scores of supermarkets and natural-food stores in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. MOOMilk gives consumers a new locally produced organic milk while offering farmers a glimmer of hope when the dairy industry is struggling, said dairy farmer Richard Lary, of Windy Acres Farm, in Clinton. In Maine, 200 dairy farms have gone out of business in the past decade, with 300 still in operation.

Posted in Media/News

The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia GMOs, Health & Disease -- by Dr. Brian Applicant's dossiers contained wide-ranging fraudulent research For the first time, a GM multinational has pulled two GM corn varieties from the regulatory and assessment process at the eleventh hour (1), after planning for a future income of several billion dollars per year from global sales (2). Monsanto has abandoned its ambitious plans for a so-called "second generation GM crop" rather than accede to a request from European regulators for additional research and safety data (3). Under conditions of great secrecy, Monsanto has informed EFSA that it no longer wishes to pursue its application for approval of GM maize LY038 and the stacked variety LY038 x MON810. Both of these varieties were designed to accelerate the growth rate of animals. Two letters were sent to EFSA from the Monsanto subsidiary company Renessen at the end of April this year confirming the withdrawal of its applications originally submitted in 2005 and 2006. The letters cite "decreased commercial value worldwide" and state that the high-lysene varieties "will no longer be a part of the Renessen business strategy in the near future." (4) There has been no announcement of these decisions on the Monsanto web site, and there are no mentions on EFSA or European Commission web sites either. In other words, there is a conspiracy of silence involving both the applicants and the regulators.

Posted in Media/News

Farm and Dairy by Other News WASHINGTON -- After hearing public outcry about the proposed national animal identification system, United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has decided a more flexible path is needed in the plan. New plan Vilsack announced Feb. 5 that USDA will develop a new, flexible framework for animal disease traceability in the U.S., and undertake several other actions to further strengthen its disease prevention and response capabilities.

Posted in Media/News

e! Science News In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in Chicago, researchers will unveil findings that demonstrate a link between the birth defect gastroschisis and the agricultural chemical atrazine. Gastroschisis is a type of inherited congenital abdominal wall defect in which the intestines, and sometimes other organs, develop outside the fetal abdomen through an opening in the abdominal wall. The incidence of gastroschisis is on the rise, increasing two to four times in the last 30 years.

Posted in Media/News