09/07/06 Election hold up & Biotech Test

Elections hold up & Biotech Testing. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. With a self-proclaimed focus on national security - leaders in the ag industry aren`t expecting much Congressional action on agricultural issues in the coming month. And European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson says he expects that will be the case with World Trade Organization talks as well. Mandelson has consistently pointed the finger at the U.S. - stating that Washington hasn`t sacrificed enough of its domestic support for farmers in the Doha Round of talks. He`s said that`s kept other nations from making more ambitious offers. And according to Mandelson - it will require the political will of certain WTO members to move past the current deadlock. Well before the latest situation with genetically modified rice, the USDA office in charge of regulating biotech testing was making major improvements to its procedures. Cindy Smith, Deputy Administrator of USDA´s Office of Biotechnology Regulatory Services, saying that her office is already doing advanced planning for how to regulate future experiments and advances in biotech. SMITH: We actually have a forecasting function that is scanning the horizon, looking down the road at trends and helping us think about how we need to respond to that. We also have an office of science whose responsibility is to be looking at the technology and how the technology advances. Some of the changes you'll be seeing us make in our regulatory revision are focused very much on changes, ways we can strengthen the system based on advances we are aware of now but we are also putting a number of flexible approaches into the system to give us the flexibility to regulate well, advances in technology we can't currently predict. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. What is it about the UN, they never seem to get anything right! Just when countries are commencing towards a green future growing biofuels the UN wants to try to spoil the party. A new report from a senior UN official states that biofuels could complicate the UN goals of ending hunger in developing countries. The UN fears that if biofuels reach their expected growth level and account for 6 percent of the world energy use by 2050, water supplies could be strained harming human health . I would think that the implications of green energy, cleaner air and water in say China and India would be a tangible health benefit in countries choking on smog. If South America can produce their own green fuel they could then create more jobs and more income for farmers. IN typical UN fashion, the UN desperately wants to rain on the biofuel parade by trumping up unwarranted fear. The Director General of the U.N. Food and Ag Organization called biofuels an emerging issue with no clear figures. He's right! I guess the dollar signs aren't as obvious as they were in the oil for food scandal. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.