ST. PAUL, Minn. - The outbreak of avian influenza that has decimated hundreds of turkey and chicken operations in Minnesota and a dozen other states was a surprise to many, but one expert says it was destined to happen.
The production model in the commercial poultry industry is a prime target for these types of outbreaks and must be changed to take into account that the birds grown are imbedded into an ecology, said Rob Wallace, a visiting scholar at the University of Minnesota's Institute for Global Studies who has served as a consultant for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on avian influenza.
"When you organize mono-cultures of poultry, 50,000 birds in a barn, that is all just food for influenza," he said. "And if you develop diverse strains and stock of birds, that will provide the immunological diversity necessary to resist any pathogen that comes through."
Wallace said another key to preventing such outbreaks is through the restoration of wetlands, which would help keep infected wild birds from intermingling with commercial poultry flocks.
While the number of new cases of avian influenza in the region appears to be waning, it is cyclical in nature, said Wallace, who expects to see an increase again in the fall and winter. He also noted that there is a possible danger to human health, as the CDC recently warned.
"Now, I'm not saying it's going to happen because there are plenty of avian influenzas that have emerged and that have not gone to going to human to human," he said. "However, there are many examples in which that has indeed happened within the last 10 years."
Wallace will speak more on the avian influenza outbreak on Thursday evening at the offices of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis.
More information is online at iatp.org. CDC guidance is at cdc.gov.
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Advocates for a fair, sustainable, and healthy food system have released a report showing that nearly all of the corn seed in Iowa is controlled by just four companies.
Economists say concentrations that large can lead to market manipulation.
Farm Action's report shows nearly 90% of the corn seed in Iowa is controlled by Corteva and Bayer. AgReliant and Syngenta control the rest.
Farm Action President Angela Huffman said that kind of control and concentration is happening all the way from seeds to the consumer's plate, and she warns it makes market conditions ripe for abuse.
"This is the scenario in almost every sector of the food supply chain," said Huffman. "Seeds, fertilizer, farm equipment - beef, pork, and poultry processing - and retail groceries. Every one of those sectors I just named has upwards of 60%, to even 85%, of those markets controlled by four corporations."
The same type of consolidation is happening in ag operations where livestock are raised in large confinements - and manure runoff is known to damage the air, ground, and surface water in rural Iowa.
Operators have said they're always looking for more efficient and environmentally friendly ways to raise livestock.
Huffman argued that monopolies like this can lead to collusion, price fixing, and other types of market manipulation.
She and other advocates have called on lawmakers in Congress to address the issue in the pending Farm Bill.
"We're calling on the government to reclaim its role as an enforcer of our antitrust laws, and break up these dominant corporations," said Huffman, "in order to free our economy to start working for the people who are producing, processing and distributing our food."
The current Farm Bill, which was supposed to expire in September of last year, has been extended - but debate still hasn't started on a new version.
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A federal bill could spell trouble for New York farmers.
The Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act would remove local and state governments' power to enact policies affecting farms. Studies show it could spell the end for more than 1,000 public health, safety and welfare laws.
Michael Chameides, a member of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, said farmers do not want such vital farm laws terminated.
"There's a real urgency to pass a robust Farm Bill that really does support rural communities and support farmers and support people all around the country to get healthy, safe and affordable food," Chameides contended. "There's lots of reasons for Congress to take action to support farmers and the EATS Act is not it."
The measure began as a way to counter the animal welfare laws enacted through California's Proposition 12. The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court about Proposition 12. After the court rejected it, several Republican governors sent a letter to Congressional lawmakers urging the reintroduction of the act.
Recently, the Columbia County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution opposing the EATS Act.
Some lawmakers want to put elements of the act into the Farm Bill. But Chameides noted what farmers really need is access to land, loans and support from the federal government through the Farm Bill. He argued the bill's effects on New York would mean repealing laws ranging from controlling invasive species to animal welfare.
"Rolling those laws back you might see the spread of either diseases or invasive species which are going to have both public health impacts," Chameides pointed out. "But also that it could impact the viability of certain kinds of farming."
Chameides noted regional response laws are important because of the rapid and often unpredictable nature of certain invasive species and the spread of disease. He added passing the act could upend states' rights.
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The growing season is winding down in New Mexico and experts want to make sure the people preserving green chile for the colder months are doing it right.
Amber Benson, Bernalillo County extension agent, said four food preservation techniques will be highlighted during online training workshops next month for the native New Mexico chile. They include drying, freezing, freeze-drying and pressure-cooking. She noted the presentations are free and participants may attend one or all.
"There's an increasing interest in home food preservation, with the cost of food, and during COVID we learned that our food supply chain obviously had some weak points," Benson recounted. "It's just a really great way for people to empower themselves over their own food."
She explained freeze-drying dehydrates food by freezing it and is different from older methods of food preservation. New Mexico State University will hold online training workshops on four Tuesday mornings in October. Capacity is limited to 50 people per session and advance registration is required.
Benson noted green chile can refer both to a plant and a prepared dish, which can vary in consistency from a thick, pork-laden stew to salsa. The series of classes on green chile preservation is the first of its kind, with extension agents in five different counties participating.
"Particularly in New Mexico, we're buying roasted green chile most of the time," Benson observed. "People need to know, 'Oh, do we take the tops off? Do we keep the seeds in? Will it get hotter over time?' People have tons of questions about freezing and drying, so we'll definitely cover both of those."
She added several extension offices across the state have freeze dryers available for the public to use. Last year, New Mexico lawmakers and the governor attracted loads of national attention for approving legislation that declared the smell of roasting green chile the state's aroma, the first state in the nation to adopt an official aroma.
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