[BCNnet] FW: [BCAlist] Alarming move by food processors to promote "Clean Farming"and elimiate habitat

Fri Jan 26 13:03:28 CST 2007

From: bcalist-bounces at lists.abcbirds.org 
[mailto:bcalist-bounces at lists.abcbirds.org] On Behalf Of Michael Fry
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 11:45 AM
To: bcalist at lists.abcbirds.org; npcline at lists.abcbirds.org
Subject: [BCAlist] Alarming move by food processors to promote "Clean 
Farming"and elimiate habitat

The following article in the San Francisco Chronicle has food processors 
blaming wildlife for the recent e. coli 0157 poisonings on spinach and 
lettuce, and contracts with growers are now requiring removal of hedgerows 
and cover crops and requiring rat poisons as condition of contracts.  This 
misguided attitude could destroy decades of conservation on farms in 
California.  The real causes of the poisonings were from dairy wastes into 
agricultural irrigation water.

Michael Fry

San Francisco Chronicle December 19, 2006

Farms may cut habitat renewal over E. coli fears

<mailto:glenmartin at sfchronicle.com>Glen Martin, Chronicle Environment Writer

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

The recent scares over deadly bacteria in California produce may hurt farm 
programs aimed at restoring wildlife habitat and cutting water pollution.

Such environmental programs could be at odds with "clean farming 
techniques" promoted by food processors. Those techniques encourage growers 
to remove grassy areas that are planted to reduce erosion and trap 
pesticides before they reach waterways. The practices also discourage 
habitat zones that might attract animals that carry bacteria like E. coli 
or salmonella.

Some farmers say they must opt out of wildlife habitat and water-quality 
programs: If they don't follow processor guidelines, they won't be able to 
sell their crops.

"The processors have been putting some pressure on growers for the past 
couple of years over vegetated corridors because of worries that they may 
be sources of animal contamination," said John Anderson, a Yolo County 
farmer who grows native grass seed for use in restoration projects.

"But then the E. coli thing happened, and they went from concerned to 
panic," he said.

Right now, the trend mainly has implications for produce growers in Central 
California -- where E. coli is the worry -- and for the almond industry in 
the Central Valley, where concerns over salmonella contamination are high.

E. coli-tainted spinach from Central California was blamed for killing 
three people and sickening about 200 others in late August and September. 
Most recently, about 70 people became ill with the bacteria after eating at 
East Coast Taco Bell restaurants.

Animal feces can contain the bacteria, which is difficult to wash off produce.

A Salinas Valley grower who requested anonymity because of contract 
negotiations with processors called the current situation "extremely 
touchy, with the people who put their names on produce bags having the most 
to lose. One association with a pathogen and they can lose their brand."

The grower said that even if processors allow some wildlife habitat near 
cropland, they now require farmers to put out large quantities of poisoned 
bait to kill rodents.

"When we plant hedgerows now, we have to use the bait stations or we lose 
our contracts," he said. "Later, you see birds of prey perched over the 
bait. They eat mice sluggish from the poison and get poisoned themselves. 
It kind of defeats the whole purpose of putting in the habitat."

Trevor Suslow, an agricultural extension research specialist with UC Davis, 
said food-safety field audits also can have a chilling effect on habitat 
programs.

A processor representative "will come out and look at a field and possibly 
give a certain (area) a negative score because environmental projects such 
as wetlands or filter strips were nearby," Suslow said. "So the message is, 
if you want to sell to Company X, you'll take out the projects."

Natural Selection Foods, which markets Earthbound Farm produce and other 
brands, sold tainted spinach involved in the September E. coli cases. 
Spokeswoman Samantha Cabaluna said the company is re-evaluating all 
production guidelines.

"One thing we are implementing is a program that will test every truckload 
of produce that comes in," Cabaluna said. "That way, if we find a problem, 
we'll be able to isolate it. That might allow us to preserve wildlife 
habitat because we could identify specific trouble spots rather than 
applying a blanket solution."

But Anderson said the emphasis on "clean farming" is increasing throughout 
the state, especially in the almond-growing regions of the Central Valley. 
The Almond Board of California promotes farming techniques that encourage 
clean, bare earth in and around almond orchards.

A pamphlet on "good agricultural practices" from the Almond Board is 
specific about contamination concerns: "All animals, wild and domestic, 
including mammals, birds, reptiles and insects, are potential sources of 
contamination. ... It is important to minimize attraction, harborage and 
potential for contamination."

Anderson said a farmer reading those words comes away with one message: Rip 
out anything that can attract wild creatures.

Merle Jacobs, an associate director with the Almond Board, said his 
organization's advisories are suggestions, not directives.

"We are not saying 'Thou shalt not,' " Jacobs said. "But there is a certain 
level of risk with a hedgerow. We know animals increase the risk of 
contamination. We're just saying if you decide to have hedgerows, you may 
have to adjust to the additional risk, such as putting out more bait."

Suslow said it's unclear whether the threat is real.

"But in the absence of data, I'm inclined to think the benefits of 
restoration outweigh risk from additional contamination sources," he said.

Fields are never sterile -- even clean-farmed cropland can support abundant 
populations of wild animals, Suslow said.

"Even if you do nothing in terms of habitat, the potential for 
contamination remains," he said.

Preliminary research indicates concerns about wildlife as vectors for 
pathogens may be misdirected. An analysis from UC Santa Cruz concludes that 
the strain of bacterium associated with the recent spinach poisonings -- E. 
coli 0157:H7 -- is rare in wild birds and mammals, and resides most 
abundantly in the digestive tracts of grain-fed cattle.

Farmers shouldn't be cast as villains in the dispute, said Kay Mercer, a 
coordinator with the Agricultural Watershed Coalition.

"If the marketplace demands food with a risk tolerance of zero, it's going 
to be very hard for farmers to maintain wildlife programs," she said.

But some experts think habitat programs will weather the current 
controversy. Water-quality regulations require growers to minimize field 
runoff, and vegetative strips remain the most effective means of control. 
Also, many farmers are philosophically committed to their habitat programs.

"It's true that growers are scared, and there is increased scrutiny from 
processors," said Sam Earnshaw, a Salinas Valley program coordinator with 
the Community Alliance With Family Farmers, a group that helps growers 
establish hedgerows.

"We don't know how this emphasis on 'good agricultural practices' will pan 
out," he said. "But I do know I'm still busy. I have 40 hedgerow projects 
scheduled over the next two years."

E-mail Glen Martin at 
<mailto:glenmartin at sfchronicle.com>glenmartin at sfchronicle.com.

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