NIFA & H1N1 Death

NIFA & H1N1 Death plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has launched the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. NIFA will be the Ag Department's extramural research enterprise. The Secretary explained the intent behind the newly establish position of USDA Chief Scientist and newly established NIFA.

VILSACK: NIFA has many responsibilities. NIFA will integrate planning of science across USDA with its partners and beneficiaries of science. It will enhance education and create opportunities for the brightest and best scientists to establish careers in food and agricultural science. It will also improve processes for engaging traditional and non-traditional stakeholders throughout the realm of research, education and outreach activities. And it should enable us to aggressively partner with our other federal science agencies.

Idaho public health officials say the swine flu virus has contributed to a second death in the state, this time a teenage boy from eastern Idaho. Although swine flu -- referred by scientists as the H1N1 virus -- was a factor in the death, the victim also had one or more conditions that created an elevated risk for the virus. Conditions that heighten risk for children, teens and people under age 24 include asthma, diabetes or chronic neural conditions such as cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

Why is it the powers that be in Washington seem to have an overwhelming need to lend aide, comfort and money to foreign governments and yet with the same wave of their mighty “fix it wand” manage to hurt American farmers, workers and taxpayers. Nothing is quite as blaringly obvious of this fact as the Andean Trade Preferences Act of 1991 in which good old Uncle Sam decided to help Andean farmers grow something other than illegal drugs. The crop they came up with, asparagus! This was supposed to solve two problems at once; slow down illicit drug trade and teach farmers in Peru to grow their own produce, when in fact it created a greater third problem. American asparagus farmers, mainly in Washington and California have seen their once successful and prosperous industry slowly dry up and blow away on the Peruvian wind. And did outsourcing asparagus production to Peru have any effect on the drug crop and farmers in Peru? Yes, now they have a very lucrative illicit drug crop and asparagus crop, an asparagus crop that while abundant is of much lower quality than any U.S. asparagus.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.