U.S. House Moves to Allow Prescription Imports

If you live near the Canadian border and experience a financial burden from expensive pharmaceuticals, this is great news.

The measure was included in H.R. 3161, which the President already said he would veto on the basis of cost.

The Globe and Mail reports today that the President will veto the bill, which passed by a 237 to 18 vote. The statement from the administration expresses concern over consumer safety.
Curiously, the same bill bans import of meat and poultry grown or processed in China, but according to Reuters:

The White House said China's poultry inspection system "is equivalent to the system in the United States."

One hopes it is at least better than China's toy inspection system or pet food inspection system.

Michigan's own Mike Rogers is quoted in the Globe and Mail piece:

“I understand the intention to lower drug prices to the seniors, that is critically important,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. “What we're doing is throwing open the gates to every [drug] counterfeiter in the world.”

Supporters of the legislation want to provide consumers access to affordable medication. The pharmaceutical industry tried to block the measure.
No surprises really.

Michigan Ranks 19th Nationally for Annual Agricultural Exports

The upside of global economy?

Michigan's Department of Agriculture announced this good news today (press release).
According to the USDA Michigan’s agricultural exports generated more than $1 billion and supported nearly 13,000 jobs.

Michigan's top five agricultural exports in 2006 were:

* Soybeans & Products - $233 million
* Feed & Grains - $216.6 million
* Vegetables - $114.3 million
* Fruit - $97.6 million
* Dairy - $70.9 million

“Through MDA’s International Marketing program, the state not only has been able to maintain its top three export markets, but is looking to grow and expand to other areas,” said MDA Director Mitch Irwin. “We are currently exploring emerging markets in Central America, Africa, India, China and elsewhere to increase Michigan’s visibility in the international arena.”

Well, just don't send all the tart cherries abroad. Okay?

UM Study: Organic Farming Can Feed the World

Lookout Monsanto, ADM, Cargill, ConAgra...a new UM study reports that "organic farming can yield up to three times as much food as conventional farming on the same amount of land—according to new findings which refute the long-standing assumption that organic farming methods cannot produce enough food to feed the global population."

From the press release:

According to lead researcher Ivetta Perfecto,"Corporate interest in agriculture and the way agriculture research has been conducted in land grant institutions, with a lot of influence by the chemical companies and pesticide companies as well as fertilizer companies—all have been playing an important role in convincing the public that you need to have these inputs to produce food."

"Organic farming is important because conventional agriculture—which involves high-yielding plants, mechanized tillage, synthetic fertilizers and biocides—is so detrimental to the environment, Perfecto said. For instance, fertilizer runoff from conventional agriculture is the chief culprit in creating dead zones—low oxygen areas where marine life cannot survive. Proponents of organic farming argue that conventional farming also causes soil erosion, greenhouse gas emission, increased pest resistance and loss of biodiversity."