[compost_tea] Re: press release

From: Titel Ryzhomer <thegoodjob_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 21:21:08 -0000
Scary...Oh the horror that there might be some germs in my food!

--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "Steve Bridges" <steve@t...>
wrote:
> If it's not bad enough that we are having to deal with little boy
Bush as the President that couldn't, now we've also got a second
round of the Avery family to contend with. Many of you are familiar
with Dennis Avery, of the right-wing think tank Hudson Institute's
Center for Global Food Issues. His son, Alex Avery, is part of CFGI
and is quoted in the press release below. It's the last line of the
article that kills me.
>
> **Dennis Avery wrote the book called Saving the World with
Plastics and Pesticides, to give you some feel for this guy.
> **The Hudson Institute is funded, in part, by Monsanto, Dow
Chemical, Archers Daniel Midland, Ciba-Geigy,,,,,,basically all the
big chemical companies.
>
> Just passing on the info on a study that we need to be aware
of......
> Steve Bridges
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
>
>
> Quote taken from a speech by Dennis Avery:
(http://www.monsanto.co.uk/news/ukshowlib.phtml?uid=6814)
> "Some tout organic farming as the answer, yet scientific data show
that if organic farming practices were employed on a global basis,
the consequences would be an environmental catastrophe," claims
Avery. "Additionally, organic practices even on a limited scale are
challenged by groups like the Scottish Crop Research Institute as
being ecologically unsound."
>
> Links to information about the Hudson Institute and CGFI:
> http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Hudson_Institute -
Info on the makeup of the Hudson Institute
> http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?
title=Center_for_Global_Food_Issues - CGFI, A project of the Hudson
Institute
> http://www.earthfarmfriendly.com/about.htm - A label that CGFI is
trying to establish for conventional farmers called "Earth Friendly,
Farm Friendly" (gag!)
> http://www.cgfi.org/ - Center for Global Food Issues main website.
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
>
> Organic Food Has 'Significantly Higher' Contamination, Study Finds
> By Marc Morano
> CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
> June 14, 2004
>
> (CNSNews.com) - A new study on food safety reveals that organic
produce may contain a significantly higher risk of fecal
contamination than conventionally grown produce.
>
> A recent comparative analysis
<http://www.ingenta.com/isis/searching/ExpandTOC/ingenta;jsessionid=4
k177waqmd6tg.circus?
issue=pubinfobike://iafp/jfp/2004/00000067/00000005&amp;index=6>  of
organic produce versus conventional produce from the University of
Minnesota shows that the organically grown produce had 9.7 percent
positive samples for the presence of generic E. coli bacteria versus
only 1.6 percent for conventional produce on farms in Minnesota.
>
> The study, which was published in May in the Journal of Food
Protection, concluded, "the observation that the prevalence of E.
coli was significantly higher in organic produce supports the idea
that organic produce is more susceptible to fecal contamination."
>
> In addition, the study found the food-borne disease pathogen
salmonella only on the organic produce samples. There was no
evidence found of the deadly strain of bacteria, E. coli O157:H7, in
either type of produce tested. The study looked at fruits and
vegetables at the "preharvest" stage, not at the retail store level.
>
> The principle investigator of the University of Minnesota study,
Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, told CNSNews.com that "organic agriculture
was more susceptible to carry fecal indicators."
>
> "In many ways it is confirming what is believed, indeed, if you
are using animal manure for fertilizer, the chances that you are
going to get fecal bacteria on the product are greater," Diez-
Gonzalez said.
>
> The higher incidences of fecal contamination in organic foods were
linked to heavy reliance on composted animal manure for fertilizer.
While conventionally grown produce may use some manure, it chiefly
relies on chemical fertilizers. Past research has shown that Animal
manure is the principal source of pathogens such as salmonella,
campylobacter, and E. coli 0157:H7
>
> But Diez-Gonzalez cautioned that his study does not show organic
produce to be a higher risk food choice. "What the data is telling
organic agriculture is there is some room for improvement," Diez-
Gonzalez said.
>
> "I don't think we need to be more concerned about organic
vegetables. Based on the epidemiological evidence, we can say that
both organic and conventional vegetables would pose the same [food
borne pathogen] risk for consumers," he added.
>
> But Diez-Gonzalez did acknowledge that a higher presence of
generic E. coli could mean higher risk for deadly pathogens."We use
E. coli as indicator that the potential could be there [for food
borne pathogens]," Diez-Gonzalez explained.
>
> Asked about how consumers -- who buy organic food for health
reasons -- will react to his study showing higher fecal
contamination, Diez-Gonzalez responded, "The consumer perception may
not be very favorable and that is a potential consequence."
>
> 'Facade is crumbling'
>
> Alex Avery, director of research and education at the free-market
Hudson Institute's Center for Global Food Issues, says the latest
scientific study confirms years of research that organic produce may
pose a higher risk for food-borne illness.
>
> "Organic food activists, which include many activist researchers
entrenched in liberal university halls, have claimed organic food
superiority for years in their efforts to mold society and scare
consumers into buying their politically correct fare. Now their
farcical facade is crumbling," Avery told CNSNews.com.
>
> Avery was particularly concerned about a possibly elevated risk
for pathogens such as salmonella and the deadly E. coli O157:H7 in
organic produce. E. coli O157:H7 can attack the kidneys and liver,
causing severe internal damage and even death, especially among the
elderly and young children.
>
> Avery called the risk of contracting salmonella from organic food
a "crap shoot," with the pay off being "diarrhea, typhoid fever, and
Reiter's Syndrome that causes joint pain and painful urination that
can last for years after the initial salmonella infection."
>
> The University of Minnesota study found salmonella in one sample
of organic lettuce and one sample of organic green peppers. The
researchers collected 476 Minnesota produce samples from 32 organic
farms and 129 samples from eight conventional farms. The produce
analyzed included unwashed tomatoes, lettuce, green peppers,
cucumbers, broccoli, apples, and strawberries.
>
> The study reported that "an increasing number of gastrointestinal
disease outbreaks have been linked to the consumption of fresh
fruits and vegetables," accounting for a total of 148 outbreaks
between 1990 and 2001.
>
> The study found organic lettuce had the highest rate of fecal
contamination, with a rate of over 22 percent. And Avery says
consumers can't assume they can simply "wash off" the fecal matter
from the lettuce.
>
> "Past research shows that E. coli 0157 can enter into the lettuce
through the roots and be inside the lettuce, meaning you can't wash
it off," Avery said.
>
> Organic: 'Most especially at risk'
>
> The controversy over the safety of organic food began in 1997,
when Robert Tauxe, chief of the food-borne illness division of the
Centers for Disease Control, addressed pathogens that thrive in
manure. Tauxe was quoted in the Journal of the American Medical
Association as saying, "Organic means a food was grown in animal
manure."
>
> The article in the 1997 Journal of the American Medical
Association implicated "organically grown, unprocessed foods
produced without... pesticides or preservatives" as an increasing
source of food-borne illness.
>
> The nationally syndicated television news program American
Investigator also quoted the Food and Drug Administration's Virlie
Walker as warning Americans that, "Most especially at risk [for food
borne pathogens] are your organic products because they could be
fertilized with manure."
>
> Walker, the spokesperson for the FDA's Denver district, told the
news program  <http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/?
id=FDPOISON.USN> in June 1998, "We do encourage folks to pay special
attention to cleaning their organic products."
>
> In 2000, ABC's John Stossel, followed up with a similar television
report on 20/20 about the potential bacterial dangers of organic
produce.
>
> Diez-Gonzalez believes his findings of increased fecal
contamination in organic food will not surprise consumers "if they
have been following the media [reports]."
>
> "Most likely, [our study] is going to serve to prove that some in
media were right in terms of the E. coli, the fecal contamination,
but not in terms of pathogens," Diez-Gonzalez said.
>
> 'Lightening rod for public officials'
>
> Avery sees the issue of organic food politics as being too hot to
handle for most food regulators.
>
> "Organic food production has become a lightening rod for public
officials. The CDC does not want to touch this with a ten foot
pole," Avery said.
>
> Referring to the CDC's Tauxe -- and his comments about organic
food in 1997 -- Avery said the organic lobby "went ballistic and
inundated the CDC with phone calls."
>
> "This research continues to raise the red flags that have been
raised in the past by credible food safety experts like Tauxe at the
CDC. How many red flags have to be raised in order to get stricter
manure regulations?" Avery asked.
>
> Avery also believes that the driving force behind organic produce,
the fear of chemical pesticides, is completely unwarranted.
>
> "The National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of
Sciences, found in 1999 that the cancer risk from pesticide residue
is theoretically lower than the risk from naturally occurring
carcinogens. Both types are too low to be appreciable cancer risks,"
Avery explained.
>
> "We are still looking for the first cancer death victim from
pesticide residues. But we have several examples of children killed
by pathogenic bacteria on organic produce," he added.


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Received on Thu Jun 17 2004 - 17:48:09 EDT

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