Pessimistic View of FTA's & Mouth To Beak Rescue

Pessimistic View of FTA’s & Mouth To Beak Rescue plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Ag groups are anxiously awaiting the passage of three pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. But House Ag Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson isn't too optimistic the agreements will be approved due to a couple of hang-ups.

PETERSON: The Republican’s don’t want to fund the TAA, they want it separated off which was not the deal originally, they were going to go as a package. That’s causing trouble. In Columbia there was a labor agreement that was struck. We were told that that was going to become part of the Columbian agreement, now they’re trying to keep it separate. That’s causing trouble with the Columbia situation so things are still not worked out.

We’ve all wondered what if we someday would have to use a life-saving measure like mouth-to-mouth on someone. But a Bend, Ore., veterinarian has done so on an injured bald eagle that was under anesthesia during physical therapy. Veterinarian Jeff Cooney performed the therapy, during which the bald eagle nicknamed "Patriot" stopped breathing. Cooney's "mouth to beak" resuscitation got the eagle breathing again. It's uncertain whether he will be able to return the bird to the wild.

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

In what parallel universe does the act of terrorism through bombings equal being beneficial for the environment? Extreme environmentalists and animal rights activists have both used this form of cowardly and destructive type of attack on facilities where biotechnology and nanotechnology are being researched in a supposed attempt at “protecting the environment”. Three such eco-terrorists are currently on trial for their plotting of bombings in order to save the earth. Sadly groups such as the Earth Liberation Front give very real and worthy environmental activism a bad name. ELF’s extreme acts of eco-terrorism do far more harm to the environment than those they target, such as the attack on the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture because of their research in genetic engineering; the fire resulting from ELF’s incendiary device destroyed a vast number of endangered plant life. This is a very scary trend in today’s world of extreme activism; where if you don’t agree with someone or something, you don’t open a dialogue, or pose peaceful rallies, instead you resort to wanton acts of violence and destruction.

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