Washington Friends of Farms & Forests educates the public and decision makers about the science and technology necessary to produce safe, abundant, economical food, fiber and landscaping and to maintain a healthy, productive and safe environment for our agricultural and urban communities.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
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">Crystal Feldman,
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">Spencer Pederson or
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">Jill Strait
Subcommittee to Hold Washington State Field Hearing on Failed Federal Forest Policies
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, May 21st, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands will hold an oversight field hearing in Longview, Washington entitled “Failed Federal Forest Policies: Endangering Jobs, Forests and Species.” The hearing will examine how federal administering of the Northwest Forest Plan and Endangered Species Act has affected local economies, forest health and the Northern Spotted Owl.
In 1990, the Northern Spotted Owl was listed under the Endangered Species Act and as a result, the Northwest federal forest management regime was established. Still in effect, the Northwest Forest Plan has proven to be been a failure. The management plan has been driven by lawsuits as opposed to sound science, caused active forest management to plummet, failed in its mission of protecting the Northern Spotted Owl, and contributed to the deterioration of forest health. The Obama administration recently released a new critical habitat proposal for the Northern Spotted Owl that would replace the current management plan. It would place huge portions Washington, Oregon and California off limits to economic development and could indirectly impact over 19,000 Northwest jobs tied to private lands. The proposed plan also fails to adequately address the most serious threat to the Spotted Owl – the Barred Owl.
“The Obama administration’s proposed Northwest recovery plan would increase burdensome regulations, cost thousands of jobs, and place more public land off limits, all while failing to address the Spotted Owl’s top predator – the Barred Owl. I look forward to hearing from expert witnesses on how we can replace this flawed plan with one that will not only protect the Spotted Owl, but will also protect private property and help restore active forest management so that local communities can prosper and forest health can be restored,” said Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04).
“For 20 years now, Southwest Washington has witnessed the damage inflicted by flawed federal forest management policies. These policies have caused rural community and manufacturing jobs to disappear. They have failed to protect our forests that are becoming increasingly vulnerable after years of insufficient management. And they have failed to protect our native wildlife. I’m grateful to Chairman Hastings and the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee for hosting this hearing in a region that believes responsible forest management and sustainable, family-wage jobs can go together. I look forward to hearing from experts and local community stakeholders about the need for a better, more science-based approach to managing our forests,” said Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03).
Visit the Committee Calendar for testimony and additional information, once it is made available. The hearing is open to the public and a live video stream will be broadcast at http://naturalresources.house.gov/live.
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By: Rachel Torbet
Recently, you may have heard about an article published in the May issue of O: The Oprah Magazine. The article, which 'discusses the use of GMO crops in the food supply and how they affect health, wasn't exactly fair and balanced. Given Oprah's history with agriculture, this isn't exactly surprising. That's why Iowa farmer and Truth About Trade and Technology Board Member Tim Burrack decided to write an open letter to Oprah, inviting her to see his farm and why GMO crops are important to agriculture - and feeding the world.
Tim's letter was so good, we thought we would publish it here for you all to see. Feel free to head over to The Truth About Trade and Technology's website to learn more about the organization and leave your comments for Tim.
An Open Letter to Oprah: Come to My Farm and See Why Biotech Crops Make Sense
By Tim Burrack: Arlington, Iowa
Dear Oprah,
Come to my farm. Visit the land that I’ve worked since I was a boy. See this place so that you’ll never again let bad articles on agriculture tarnish the pages of your magazine or the pixels on your website.
If you accept this invitation to have a firsthand look at how an Iowa farmer produces healthy food in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, you’ll perform an important service to your readers and viewers--because right now, they’re receiving a very mistaken impression about what we grow and what everyone eats.
In the May issue of O: The Oprah Magazine, writer Rachel Mount discusses genetically modified food. She asks a fair question: “What impact do GM foods have on our health?” But her answer--“no one really knows”--is absurd.
No one really knows?
That’s not what a number of globally respected organizations say: The American Dietetic Association, the American Medical Association, the Research Council of the National Academies of Science, and the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization all agree that GM foods are safe and nutritious.
Yet Mount doesn’t look to any of these authorities. Instead, she runs straight for the anti-GM busybodies who have made it their profession to protest mainstream American farming. One source compares GM crops to DDT and “countless other harmful chemicals.” Another suggests that we won’t know for another 30 years what science has to say about food with GM ingredients.
This is nonsense on stilts. It’s like saying we shouldn’t heat our food with electromagnetic radiation because we just can’t be certain about the long-term health effects of microwave ovens. Many of us didn’t grow up with these tools in our kitchens, but they aren’t exactly an unproven technology.
Neither are GM crops. We’ve been growing them for almost a generation, all over the world. Farmers have harvested billions of acres of them. People have eaten trillions of servings of food derived from these sources. Although they haven’t caused a single health problem anywhere, Mount hints darkly at “the possibility of creating brand-new allergens.”
If she’s going to say that, she should also inform her readers that no scientist has ever shown GM food to make anybody so much as sneeze.
Mount even claims that one study shows that hamsters lose their reproductive abilities when they’re fed a diet of GM soy. This is junk science: Dozens of other animal studies contradict this finding and show that biotech food is safe to eat.
But I didn’t start this note with the intention of issuing a point-by-point rebuttal of a willfully ignorant article. I recognize that you don’t copy edit everything that goes into your magazine.
Instead, I mean to invite you to my farm.
If you come here, you’ll see why biotech crops make so much sense. Farmers are able to grow more food than ever before--more food on less land, compared to just a few years ago. This is good for the environment. Because GM plants have a built-in resistance to bugs and weeds, we’re using fewer chemical sprays. This is good for everyone.
As a result, our food is abundant, affordable, and nutritious. Yet even in the United States we continue to struggle with feeding everyone. More than 16 million American children suffer from food insecurity, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Given this harsh reality, does it make sense to demonize GM crops? In their absence, food would become less available and more expensive.
On my farm, you’d see these realities with your own eyes. Or you could visit the farms of several friends. In Hawaii, Ken Kamiya can show you how biotechnology saved the papaya industry from a deadly virus. In the Philippines, Rosalie Ellasus can describe how GM crops helped her put three sons through college after she was widowed. In Kenya, Gilbert Bor can discuss why he thinks biotechnology is so important to feed the people of Africa.
And if you don’t have time to visit with us, would you please send a memo to Rachel Mount? If she writes on GM food in the future, she should give us a call.
Tim Burrack raises corn, soybeans and pork on a NE Iowa family farm. He volunteers as a Board Member of Truth About Trade and Technology. www.truthabouttrade.org
Thank you to the growers and registrants who provided information to help with these comments.
Read Comments here.
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PO Box 7644, Olympia WA 98507 Phone 360-705-2040