FarmandDairy.com By Alan Guebert Four days before the seventh and final “listening session” June 1 to gather producer comments on NAIS, the National Animal Identification System, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced USDA would host six additional meetings for the public “to voice their concerns about the current NAIS system and offer potential solutions.” The extra meetings are either a master stroke by a shrewd political operator or a bureaucratic blunder by a Washington rookie.

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By Institute for Responsible Technology LOS ANGELES -- This week, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on “Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks.” They called for a moratorium on GM foods, long-term independent studies, and labeling. AAEM’s position paper stated, “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. They conclude, “There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation,” as defined by recognized scientific criteria. “The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies.”

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As a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity The Cornucopia Institute is stridently nonpartisan and does not take positions in electoral races. However, we wanted to make this announcement public because of a high regard we hold Dr. Thicke in. Francis Thicke is widely regarded in the organic dairy community is an expert in grass-based livestock production and direct marketing. Contact: Francis Thicke Tel. 641/472-8554 Cell Phone: 641/919-8554 Email: fthicke@iowatelecom.net THICKE FORMS EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE FOR IOWA SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE Francis Thicke (Tic-kee) announced today that he has formed an exploratory committee to advise him on the possibility of running for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in the 2010 election. Thicke and his wife, Susan, are owners and operators of an organic, grass-based dairy farm near Fairfield. They process their milk on the farm and market it locally through grocery stores and restaurants. Citing estimates that more than 80% of the $8 billion worth of food consumed in Iowa comes from out of state, Thicke said “Growing more of our food in Iowa represents a multi-billion dollar economic development opportunity.”

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Mexico swine flu outbreak should alert us to a highly globalised industry with global political clout Mike Davis guardian.co.uk The Mexican swine flu, a genetic chimera probably conceived in the faecal mire of an industrial pigsty, suddenly threatens to give the whole world a fever. The initial outbreaks across North America reveal an infection already travelling at higher velocity than did the last official pandemic strain, the 1968 Hong Kong flu. Stealing the limelight from our officially appointed assassin, H5N1, this porcine virus is a threat of unknown magnitude. It seems less lethal than Sars in 2003, but as an influenza it may be more durable than Sars.

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Market researchers seem to have decided that promoting the "green" attributes of your company or products will resonate with consumers. There was certainly an overabundance of promotions in the lead-up to Earth Day this year. And, in terms of marketing, Earth Day alone is not enough. We now celebrate "Earth Week!" You might think that a big-box retailer, calling itself “sustainable,” or “green,” hawking consumer goods that are mostly imported from distant third world nations, would be an oxymoron. But the folks at the Target Corporation, and other sophisticated merchants, apparently don't think so.

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