politics

The FDA has just proposed rules which would allow the sale of gene-altered milk or meat without requiring any labeling.

Genetically modified plants and animals have genes spliced into their DNA with the goal of producing some particular trait.

In contrast to selective breeding, this method allows scientists to cross species in ways that would not occur naturally (e.g., the splicing of a gene from a flounder into a tomato to make it more frost resistant, or genetic manipulation of cows to cause their cells to produce antibiotics and negate the need to inject them with these same substances).

The safety of these plants and animals for human consumption has not been determined, as appropriate studies have not yet been conducted.

Although the FDA itself admits that they should be tested for health risks, astonishingly they are now proposing that labels not be required on such foods.
 

“One of the key strategies of the large corporate interests has been to refuse to label products that contain GM [Genetically Modified, or Genetically Manipulated] materials, for they know that if people had the choice many would choose to avoid the manipulated foods. But without the choice, consumers have considerably less power. And without labeling, if something goes wrong, it will be hard to put the companies responsible on the legal hook.”^[1]

 
The FDA is still considering the safety of milk from cows genetically engineered to produce antibiotics, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration now wants to let GM meat and milk from such animals be sold to you without your knowledge.

Whether your concern is over the health risks of consuming gene-altered food, the potential for ecological damage or contamination of the world’s food supply, or the ethics of animal research, you and consumers everywhere have the right to know what you are purchasing and eating.

Demand Labeling of Gene-Altered Food!

Sign the petition to the FDA demanding that the agency label genetically engineered food.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/314188001?z00m=17539690

Please note: This is a time sensitive issue. Please sign the petition today!
Consumers’ Union needs to receive all responses today in order to have them in time to present to the FDA.^[*]

The 2008 Wild Horse and Burro Summit is to be held this weekend in Nevada. (Want to attend? Click here.)

The gathering of wild horse advocates hosted by the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, a non-profit group, will meet to discuss what can be done to prevent horses and burros from being killed by lethal injections.

The summit is intended to be a learning experience and will bring together leading experts in the world of equine behavior, genetics, research, and range management. Equine scientists, range experts, and wild horse advocacy groups will discuss and bring forth proposed solutions to the problems facing wild horses in America. Focus will be on the current crisis facing America’s wild horses’ threatened existence on public lands.

However, the main goal is to address solutions for the present and
very urgent wild horse emergency - the impending euthanasia of approximately 33,000 wild horses now in federal holding facilities.

Officials from the BLM will also be attending the summit.

During the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting this June, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced its potential inability to financially support over 30,000 wild horses the agency currently has in its short- and long-term holding facilities due to a “budget crisis”. The BLM proposed a plan to “euthanize” many of these horses as a “solution”.

If a viable plan is not found and implemented soon, this situation could result in the euthanasia of thousands of wild horses.

or contact Karen Sussman (president of the ISPMB) at (605) 964-6866.
 

See our post “Save the Wild Mustangs - important petition” for more information and please sign the petition to stop the BLM’s outrageous plan to kill these wild beauties.

Majestic wild mustangs have roamed the American West with a history that predates modern land use. They are part of our national heritage symbolizing our country’s freedom and independent spirit. Today, there are less than 30,000 wild horses on the range.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced an outrageous plan to kill these wild horses, potentially driving them to extinction, claiming that it can no longer afford to round up wild horses and confine them until it finds people to adopt them. The government agency wants to euthanize or sell these wild beauties to the highest bidder “without limitation” - i.e., sell them to anyone, even if the bidder also plans to kill these horses.

Why do they need to round them up in the first place? Good question. The BLM states that it can’t “allow horses to multiply unchecked on the range without causing an environmental disaster.” But, there are at least 3 million grazing cattle vs. 30,000 wild horses.

These wild horses have a right to inhabit the public lands they have roamed for centuries. The BLM should manage the land effectively to preserve these free-roaming beauties, rather than killing them. Instead, the BLM would seemingly rather placate corporate cattle ranchers who view these horses as foraging competition - despite the environmental damage being caused by cattle overgrazing.

Please oppose this outrageous plan and stand up for our wild horses today. Remind the government to abide by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act of 1971.

- You can make a difference. -

Send a comment to the BLM today, call or write your government representatives, &
« Sign the petition to save our wild horses! »^*

[*] - Thus far, Care2’s petition has garnered 7,141 35,443 signatures with a goal of 50,000.

Related links:

Animal Welfare Institute Press Release
Willie Nelson’s Peace Research Institute
WildHorsePreservation.org
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign Petition
The Cloud Foundation
The American Horse Defense Fund
The Humane Society of the United States
The BLM’s feedback form

Related Posts:

Wild Horses & The BLM - a selection of videos about wild horses and the current crisis.

Read the rest of this entry »

By a vote of 272-155, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation this Wednesday affirming the “reality” of climate change and putting an end to the debate (legislatively, at least) over whether it exists. The legislation will increase federal funding of basic research on climate change and create a commission to review scientific questions on the matter.

The White House has threatened to veto the $27.6 billion dollar bill because it exceeds President Bush’s request to cap spending by about $2 billion. This bill has yet to be debated in the Senate.

The bill’s aim is to move Congress past debate over whether global warming is really occurring and begin to act on it causes and prepare for its effects.

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a $76 billion Farm Bill at the end of July. In the bill’s current form less than 1% of the $76 billion in farm subsidies would go to organic farmers.

(To see the previous post on this bill visit this permalink. - Interested in who is getting all that money? We recommend you visit the Farm Subsidy Database.)

The Environmental Working Group’s Action Fund has created a petition asking Congress to include fair funding for organics in the Farm Bill. They aim to “level the playing field for organic farmers and expand access to safe, healthy organic food”. They’re seeking 30,000 signatures by July 15th, and, on July 17th, will deliver the petition to Congress to let them know that we want them to vote for organics.

This is important legislation and will have a large impact on organic farming. (Farm bills generally last 5 years.) It is especially significant to those farmers who are currently in the process of or considering transitioning to organic methods.

Please sign the petition! You can also help by spreading the word and inviting friends and family to sign as well. If so inclined, writing, e-mailing, or otherwise contacting your Congressman couldn’t hurt either!

buzz about the Farm Bill
Environmental Defense’s blog updates on the Farm Bill debates

Arnold Schwarzenegger traveled to London to visit Prime Minister Tony Blair this Tuesday on his last full day in office. The California governor praised Blair for having “proven to the world that you can do both… protect the Earth and protect the economy” during his time in office.

Blair had visited Schwarzenegger in late July of last year at a roundtable hosted by The Climate Group where they signed a groundbreaking agreement to form a partnership between California and the U.K. to aggressively address climate change and promote energy diversity.

That partnership specifically committed California and the United Kingdom to:

• evaluate and implement market-based mechanisms that spur innovation

• share results on ongoing and emerging studies to deepen understanding of the economics of climate change

• collaborate on technology research for clean energy, energy efficiency, and renewable energy technologies, as well as efforts to reduce emissions from the transportation sector including California’s emission standards and hydrogen highway and Britain’s renewable fuel standards and clean coal technologies.

• enhance coordination between their scientific communities.

Schwarzenegger claimed “international partnerships are needed in the fight against global warming and California has a responsibility and a profound role to play to protect not only our environment, but to be a world leader on this issue as well”. He had further stated that “California will not wait for our federal government to take strong action on global warming”.

Schwarzenegger also signed legislation last year creating the the nation’s first statewide cap on greenhouse gas emissions. California is the 12th biggest emitter of carbons in the world, despite leading the nation in energy efficiency standards and taking a lead role in protecting its environment.

Schwarzenegger says “It’s not us vs. Washington… We can show leadership.” and hopes his state’s moves will be an example for the federal government demonstrating that it can address environmental issues without damaging the economy.

A few weeks ago, at the G-8 (Group of Eight [industrialized nations]) a declaration on climate change was agreed upon outlining the basic principles for a new global deal on climate change. This represents a major step for the U.S. The G-8 is calling for global emissions reductions and has set a goal of 2050 for a 50% reduction, although no mandatory cuts have been agreed upon to date.

Blair credits Schwarzenegger with influencing President Bush’s decision to join in the declaration:
“The fact that the state of California was making such a determined effort and setting out a new direction on climate change - I think this played enormous part.”

Both Blair and Schwarzenegger point to an urgent need to replace the Kyoto Treaty, which expires in 2012 and which the U.S. had refused to sign, with a new international agreement which they say must significantly reduce emissions and be signed by the nations with the biggest emissions including China, the U.S., and India.

The president of Ecuador, Rafeal Correa, declared yesterday (June 22, 2007) that the Galápagos are at high risk and should be considered a national conservation priority. He claims that the islands are suffering an environmental crisis and is seeking restrictions on tourism. He has also asked that the habitat be added to UNESCO’s Endangered List - a request which will be considered at a week-long meeting of the UN agency’s World Heritage Committee being held in New Zealand beginning this Saturday.

The Galápagos lie in the Pacific Ocean some 600 miles west of Ecuador at the confluence of several ocean currents and are comprised of some 19 islands. The isolation of these striking volcanic isles has produced one of the highest concentrations of endemic species in the world, and the archipelago is considered “a natural museum of geological, ecological and evolutionary processes”. The seismic and volcanic activities that formed the islands are still going on today.

The habitat’s unusual animals, including the land iguana and giant tortoises, helped to inspire Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. (He visited the islands in 1835 on the HMS Beagle.) 30% of the marine life in the surrounding seas are endemic, as are roughly 1/3 of the island’s vascular land plants, all of the reptiles with the exception of two species of marine turtle, and almost half of its bird species. Among its unique species is the marine iguana, Amblyrhynchus cristatus - the only sea-going iguana in the world.

As a place of “outstanding universal value”, the Galápagos Islands were added to UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) list of Protected Areas and World Heritage Sites in 1978 and designated as a Biosphere Reserve in 1984.

This extraordinary archipelago of unrivaled beauty is an “almost pristine” treasure trove of biodiversity, but is being threatened today by large-scale tourism and unsustainable fishing practices by mainland fishermen whose activities are financed by foreign companies. Visitation by tourists has increased three-fold in the past 15 years with an annual growth rate of about 14% for the tourism economy. The consequences of this growth include threats to endemic species by introduction of non-native invasive species, pollution, over-harvesting, and greater pressure on valuable marine resources. Partially as a result of these changes, 24% of the endemic plant species and 50% of the vertebrate species are considered endangered.

Click here for an image of the Galápagos Penguins on Bartolomé Island.

The islands are subject to the 1998 Special Law for Galápagos but have been neglected by previous management, and the rapid economic growth of the islands, coupled with increased immigration, has taxed the capacity of the Galápagos’ management authorities. The president’s solutions will focus on the proper implementation of this special law and will include strengthening Galápagos management authorities, ensuring the development of sustainable businesses, strengthening the work of the Galápagos National Park Service and CDF (Charles Darwin Foundation) to manage endangered species and control invasives, and educational reform.

The declaration of the Ecuadorian president addresses concerns that have been held for many years regarding the future of this fragile ecosystem.

For more detailed information on the Galápagos, visit UNEP’s (United Nations Environment Programme) World Conservation Monitoring Centre page at http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/galapago.html
or the Charles Darwin Foundation at http://www.darwinfoundation.org