Produced by IATP

The 2008 Farm Bill and the Doha Agenda

The U.S. Congress voted a new Farm Bill into law on May 22, 2008. The legislation was greeted with a resounding thumbs down in Geneva, where the WTO has its headquarters. The negotiators reaction echoed that of President Bush, who promptly vetoed the legislation, saying the Farm Bill would impede a conclusion to negotiations on the Doha Agenda at the WTO.

Test Biomass Harvests Yield Important Lessons

A series of test forest biomass harvests from the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota indicate that such harvests could reduce the cost of fire prevention management while providing work for loggers and fuel for renewable energy facilities.

10 Myths from the Mainstream Media About U.S. Farm Policy

U.S. China Agreement on Food Safety: Terms and Enforcement Capacity

A review of the U.S. China food safety agreement summarizing the views of U.S. Congressional investigators who doubted that the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) could effectively implement and enforce the hundreds of pages of new food safety rules.

Bush Administration Prioritizes Trade Over Food Safety

The Bush Administration's Interagency Working Group (IWG) is pushing a flawed food safety system that prioritizes trade considerations over public health. Many of the IWG's recommendations and actions are designed to reduce import inspection and testing and instead emphasize safety certification of foreign import facilities.

Comment to FDA on Third Party Certification Programs

IATP submitted this comment to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about Third Party Certification programs in other countries to ensure food safety. We identified problems in both concept and in relation to other food safety programs, particularly in relation to import re-inspection and product testing.

Import Food Safety in the Twilight of the Bush Administration

In 2007, 30 million pounds of ground beef was pulled off the U.S. market in a series of twenty recalls because of contamination concerns. The recalls highlight serious concerns in our deregulated food safety system. Over the last decade we've reduced the number of food safety inspectors and instead rely more on the food industry to regulate itself.