Anxious over the ability to secure contracts for their
product, organic cotton growers have cut acres harvested
to about half the peak 36,000 in 1994. Organic cotton
production in the United States shrank from 7,500 tons
in 1995 to an estimated 3,500 in 1996. With the shrink
in the demand for organic cotton, many growers are not
seeing a great enough return on their investments --
machinery, extra labor -- to justify planting the crop
again next year without an improvement in the market
price. California's largest growers of organic cotton,
Claude and Linda Sheppard, told the CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
MONITOR this month that they will go back to using
herbicides and defoliants on their 1,070 acres of cotton
if the market does not improve next year.
There is reason to hope, however, that the market for
organic cotton will improve in the coming years.
Patagonia's switch to organic cotton in their clothing
line this year holds great possibility for expanded use
of the good in the huge retail clothing market.
Patagonia is currently the largest purchaser of organic
cotton fabric, passing along the increased cost of using
organic cotton to consumers at a $2 to $10 increase for
items previously made with conventional cotton. The
company also lowered its profit margin on those same
items. According to Patagonia's founder and owner, Yvon
Chouinard, the switch to organic cotton has so far had
no effect -- positive or negative -- on sales.
Other clothing manufacturers are less eager to venture
into using organic cotton in their products. Levi
Strauss and Esprit saw their organic clothing lines
quickly fade after some initial interest. Levi Strauss
has expressed concern over organic cotton lines, saying
that the company had invested millions of dollars in
marketing and development on their line of organic
clothing (Elements) but consumers "were simply not
interested in purchasing these products." Further, the
company maintains that there is not enough supply of
organic cotton to make using it a feasible option for
them in large scale production, and that current prices
are prohibitive (about $0.30/lb U.S. above conventional
cotton prices).
The Gap is currently looking into a cost-effective way
of integrating organic cotton into their clothing
manufacturing. The company recently commissioned a
study examining pesticide reduction in cotton production
and the ability of the industry to increase the supply
of organic cotton and subsequently bring the price down.
The goal is to structure an expansion of the organic
cotton market so that no one entity (farmer, miller,
manufacturer) pays the price for their pesticide
reduction efforts.
Brenda Biondo, "Tough Terrain for Organic Cotton
Growers," CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, November 5, 1996.
Bt COTTON UPDATE
Bollgard cotton users in five southern states were
forced to apply pesticides to their fields despite their
hopes that Monsanto's product would hold up against
bollworm infestation. In an effort to reduce pesticide
use on their fields, farmers had planted 648,000
hectares of Monsanto's Bollgard cotton, genetically
engineered with DNA from the soil microbe Bacillus
thuringiensis to produce toxins poisonous to the
bollworm. Bollgard is billed by the company as a
substitute for using in-season sprays. In some areas,
bollworm levels this year were especially severe,
proving too much for the transgenic cotton to withstand
and thus forcing farmers to spray pesticides.
Monsanto stated that "You can never guarantee 100%
control 100% of the time," and that the cotton "is
performing as well as we expected...this year." The
company claims that only a small portion of the total
acres planted of the product required spraying.
Additionally, Monsanto maintains that bollworm levels in
some areas were higher than they have been in 20 years,
and that testing of Bollgard before release was
conducted at a lower level. The company claims that the
product is probably killing the same proportion of
bollworms as it did during testing but that given the
extremely severe bollworm problem this year, surviving
bollworms are more noticeable. The company also pointed
out that Bollgard is still highly effective against the
tobacco budworm and so farmers who planted Bt cotton are
likely to come out ahead.
The Union of Concerned Scientists has asked the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend sales
of Bollgard cotton. Saying that the bollworms invasion
into Bollgard cotton fields shows that Monsanto's
resistance management plan, which it accepted as a
condition for approval of the product by the EPA, has
failed. The EPA has indicated that they don't see
suspension of Bollgard cotton as necessary, although the
EPA has suspended sales of a new high Bt-producing corn
to states that do not produce cotton, hoping to stem Bt
resistance among migrating pests. The suspension
prohibits sales of the Bt corn, distributed by Northup-
King, in nine southern states and parts of four others.
Farmers who planted Bollgard this year paid a
$79/hectare licensing or "technology" fee for the right
to plant Bollgard. Lest farmers think they might
replant Bollgard cotton seed and recoup their losses
from also having to apply expensive pesticides,
Monsanto is clear in its licensing agreement that the
company "is only licensing growers to use seed
containing the patented Bollgard gene for one crop.
Saving or selling the seed for replanting will violate
the limited license and infringe upon the patent rights
of Monsanto. This may subject you to prosecution under
federal law."
In a related story, Australian cotton growers threatened
to boycott Monsanto products amid the company's decision
to charge $245 Australian ($196 U.S.)/hectare for its
insect resistant transgenic cotton, Ingard. Growers
protested that the price was two and a half times what
U.S. growers were charged. Monsanto has agreed to
rebate the farmers $25 Australian ($20 U.S.)/hectare if
they have to spray their crops more than twice.
Tim Beardsley, "Picking on Cotton," SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN,
October 1996; Rural Advancement Foundation
International-USA Communique, July/August 1996;
"Monsanto Offers Aussie Growers Rebate on Ingard," DAILY
NEWS RECORD, October 10, 1996.
MISSISSIPPI HOMES ACCIDENTALLY SPRAYED WITH COTTON
PESTICIDE
Hundreds of homes in southeastern Mississippi were
accidentally sprayed with the highly toxic cotton
pesticide methyl parathion. Several people have reported
becoming ill after their homes were sprayed by an
unlicensed extermination company. The pesticide stays
toxic for months or years when applied indoors. No
deaths or hospitalizations have been reported.
The exterminator had used methyl parathion as a long-
term pest killer in local Pascagoula homes and
businesses. The co-operators of the firm were arrested
in mid-November on misdemeanor charges of operating an
unlicensed pest-control business, with additional
charges pending. In a statement made after his arrest,
one of the operators commented that "If I had known
[that the chemical was deadly], I wouldn't have sprayed
my house." There is no word yet as to the extent of
contamination.
"Some Mississippi Houses Sprayed With Highly Toxic
Cotton Pesticide," MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE, November
21, 1996.
ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD RULES ON GENETICALLY ENGINEERED
FOOD
The National Organics Standards Board (NOSB) ruled in
late September that genetically engineered food cannot
be labeled as organic. Specifically, the NOSB
unanimously approved a statement declaring that "The
National Organics Standards Board recommends that
genetically engineered organisms and their derivatives
be prohibited in organic production and handling
systems. Genetically engineered is defined as: Made
with techniques that alter the molecular or cell biology
of an organism by means that are not possible under
normal conditions or processes. Genetic engineering
includes recumbent DNA, cell fusion, micro- and macro-
encapsulation, gene deletion and doubling, introducing a
foreign gene, and changing the positions of genes. It
shall not include breeding, conjugation, fermentation,
hybridization, in-vitro fertilization and tissue
culture."
The National Organics Standards Board is a 15 member
body established by the 1990 Farm Bill to develop a
single national organic standard to replace varying
state organic accreditation programs.
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY & BIODIVERSITY NEWS, October 10, 1996.
USDA CREATES NEW POSITIONS TO FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE
AGRICULTURE
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary
Dan Glickman announced at the end of October that new
positions would be created effective immediately to help
forward the department's sustainable agriculture goals.
The appointments stem from recommendations made by the
President's Council on Sustainable Development in its
March 1996 report "Sustainable America -- A New
Consensus for Prosperity, Opportunity and a Healthy
Environment for the Future." The report recommended
that the USDA step up its sustainable development
initiatives. To wit, the USDA created the position of
Director of Sustainable Development, reporting to the
Chief Economist, who will represent the USDA both
domestically and internationally regarding matters of
sustainable development. The Director of Sustainable
Development will also chair the newly created USDA
Council on Sustainable Development. The Director and
Council are charged with incorporating principles and
concepts of sustainable development into USDA
regulations, policies and programs -- emphasizing the
balancing of environmental quality, economic development
and vitality of rural communities.
Secretary's Memorandum on Sustainable Development,
November 1, 1996.
RESOURCES/EVENTS
Proceedings of the Second International IFOAM Conference
on Organic Textiles, 1996. Contains 180 pages of
presentations on organic fiber production,
manufacturing, marketing, labeling and certification
from the 1996 conference. IFOAM is also offering the
International Organic Textile Directory, an
international listing of participants in the organic
textile sector. Both publications are available for $50
U.S. ($75 DM), plus postage. Order from the
International Federation of Organic Agriculture
Movements (IFOAM), Okozentrum Imsbach, D66636 Tholey-
Theley (FRG). Phone: 49/6853/5190, Fax: 49/6853/30110.
The 12th IFOAM International Scientific and Technical
Conference will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
November 15-19, 1998. The theme will be "Organic
Agriculture Credibility for the 21st Century," focusing
on four central topics: Organic agriculture
credibility, productive systems credibility, guarantees
credibility and trade credibility. For more information
contact the Argentina Movement for Organic Agriculture
(MAPO), Diagonal Roque Pena 1110, 5th Floor, Of. 5
(1035), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Phone/fax:
54/1/382/3221.
Proceedings of the European Seminar on Organic Farming
in the European Union, June 1996. The seminar covered
policies, marketing and farm conversion case studies.
The proceedings include information on the current
situation of organic farming in Europe. Order from
CEPFAR, Rue de la Science 23-25 (Box 10), B-1040
Brussels, Belgium. Phone: 32/0/2/230/32/63, Fax:
32/0/2/231/18/45.
1996 National Organic Directory. Contains 1000+ cross-
listed references of commodities bought and sold,
contact information for growers, wholesalers, and
suppliers. Includes updated summary on state and
federal organic laws. Order from Community Alliance with
Family Farmers, PO Box 464, Davis, CA 95617. Phone: 1-
800-852-3832. $34.95 (U.S.) plus $6 postage and
handling.
_______________________________________________________
Produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade
Policy, Mark Ritchie, President. Editor: Judy Brienza.
E-mail versions are available electronically free of charge. For
information about fax or mail subscriptions or for a list
of other IATP publications, contact the Institute for
Agriculture and Trade Policy, 2105 1st Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN
55404; 612-870-0453; fax: 612-870-4846, e-mail <iatp@iatp.org>.
For information about IATP's contract research services, contact Dale
Wiehoff at IATP <dwiehoff@iatp.org>.