05/22/08 Vetoed & Flood Visit

Vetoed & Flood Visit plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. As expected the President has vetoed the 2007 Farm Bill that both Houses passed overwhelmingly last week. The White House has said all along that the bill was not what they wanted and according to White House Budget Chief Jim Nussle, it is bloated and full of wasteful spending. NUSSLE: Congress sent us a bloated bill, too much spending, not enough reform, budget gimmicks and even more earmarks and so today the President has vetoed the farm bill as he has promised. We sent the Congress our farm bill proposal over 16 months ago because the President recognized that during a time of record farm income that American's deserved a reform minded farm bill. The House and Senate had the margins to override the President's veto in last week's votes they're expected to work quickly to hold override votes but the Senate must wait until the House vote is successful. Flood waters are rising in Northern Idaho and Governor Butch Otter wanted a first hand look yesterday. The Coeur d'Alene River has risen to its highest flood stage since 1996 and other rivers in the area are cresting well above usual stages. Emergency services are reporting that a number of homes are being threatened but so far there has not been any major damage. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. With the world population expecting to double in the next 50 years genetically modified food is quickly moving to the forefront. Genetically modified foods have actually been a topic of political fodder for the last several years. While environmental organizations and public interest groups have been actively protesting against GM foods for months, at least thirteen countries have been growing genetically-engineered crops commercially, and of these, the U.S. produced the majority. Genetic engineering can isolate plant genes responsible for drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance and nutritional values and insert those genes into different plants. These genetically modified foods have the capability to provide a solution for world hunger and offer numerous other benefits but as with everything new and unknown it should be approached with caution. Safety testing and regulating should be a top most priority for this technology that offers such great potential. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.