Remarks of Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman  National Consumers League
Washington, D.C.   May 18, 1999
                                                               
                                                               
                                            Release No. 0219.99

Remarks
          As Prepared for Delivery
                               of
                                
             Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman 
                   National Consumers League
                Washington, D.C.   May 18, 1999

     "Thank you Lee (Swenson) for that kind introduction.  I want to thank
Linda Golodner (President) and all the folks at the National Consumers League
for inviting me to share in your 100th anniversary celebration, and most of
all, for the hard work you do day in and day out here in Washington on behalf
of American consumers and workers.  

     "With me today from USDA is Cathy Woteki, Under Secretary for Food
Safety who does a terrific job ensuring that our food supply meets the highest
standards of safety.

     "I'm here today to talk to you about the nation's food supply   keeping
it safe while maintaining its abundance and rich variety.  Food safety is not
a new issue.  People have always been concerned about what they eat.  Even Eve
was cautious about that first apple.  And Jonathan Swift observed, "He was a
bold man that first ate an oyster."  

     "The National Consumers League has a lot to be proud of over these past
100 years.   You've been at the forefront of the fight to protect the nation's
food supply since before Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle.  You've been there
fighting for important legislation -- whether it was the ground-breaking Pure
Food and Drug Act or Meat Inspection Act in 1906, or the more recent Nutrition
Labeling and Education Act.   

     "USDA and the National Consumers League have a long and positive history
together.  In the early 1900s a USDA scientist, Dr. Harvey Wiley, launched a
campaign aimed at keeping harmful chemicals out of the food supply and for
providing clear labeling for consumers.  The League was right there with Dr.
Wiley, striving to publicize his work and get his message out to the American
people. 

     "People like Dr. Wiley and the founders of the National Consumers League
were trailblazers.  They believed that, to ensure the safety of the nation's
food supply, government must play a leading role.    

     "And even though today we live in an era where we hear so much about
making government less intrusive, there are certain things we've come to
expect of our government.  No one would ever question government's role in
ensuring our planes are safe or protecting our national security, or seeing to
it that the banks that hold our life savings are solvent.

     "The American people feel as strongly about food safety.  Everywhere I
go, it's the first question on people's minds.  Is my food safe?  Is my family
at risk at the dinner table or a restaurant?  How can I be sure?  

     "People look to their government to protect them in ways they cannot
protect themselves.
Ask people about the safety of their food, and unanimously they say they want
a strong government. This Administration believes that where government can
make a difference, government should make a difference.  

     "That's why in his budget for 2000, the President asked for a $107
million increase to build on his Food Safety Initiative.  There will be more
money for inspections, for responding to outbreaks, for getting information to
the people who need it  -- especially consumers -- and most of all for
research.  In fact, the President's budget includes a 1/3 increase in funding
for USDA food safety research.

     "Research is a key theme in the President's vision of the future.   From
exploring the outer reaches of space, to the inner workings of the human
genome, to a continued assurance that the food we eat is safe, our investment
in science will make a difference in the kind of lives our children lead.  

     "An excellent example of how research has helped improve public health
is our new science-based  meat and poultry inspection program HACCP   Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Program.  And I want to thank you for the part
you played in bringing about this revolutionary food safety system.  After one
year, I'm proud to report that our scientific approach is making a difference. 
 Compared to surveys taken before HACCP came on line, the prevalence of
salmonella found in meat and poultry plants has gone down considerably. For
hogs and ground turkey the decline is over 25% -- for ground beef the decline
is over 1/3 -- and for poultry the reduction is nearly 50%. 
 
     "Thanks to this giant step forward, we now have regular tests for
generic E. coli and salmonella. We also require plants and processors to not
just find contamination, but to take specific steps to close the safety gaps
that invite it. 
 
     "But there remain a lot of tough questions to be answered.  Why are we
seeing new, more virulent and resistant strains of pathogens?  Why has
campylobacter emerged as the number one cause of food-borne illness?  Can we
move quickly to detect it and prevent it?  Why are we seeing more and more
cases of listeria?   Shortly, we will be issuing new guidelines for dealing
with listeria in meat processing plants. There are also on-farm questions: Why
do pathogens appear in some animals and not others? Can we stop pathogens from
showing up in the first place? 

     "Lately we've been hearing more and more about the role biotechnology is
playing in our lives.  In agriculture the giant leaps in biotechnology and the
speed at which new technologies enter the mainstream is continually presenting
us with new challenges.    

     "It's important to note that biotechnology can be an indispensable tool
in meeting global agricultural demand in a sustainable manner.  The world is
growing, and it's growing in developing nations, which have experienced the
greatest food insecurity.  We have more and more people to feed more and more
fiber to produce...and a limited amount of arable land to put into production
at a time when water is becoming a more and more precious commodity. 
Biotechnology can help us generate higher yields, while lessening the strain
on our natural resources.  It can also help farmers produce a new generation
of specialty products, which the market may demand in the future.

     "I remember visiting the wheat research center in Mexico where some of
the research was done on the wheat gene Norin 10, which helped developing
countries like India and Pakistan increase their wheat harvests by 60 percent. 
At the center, there is an inscription on the wall that reads: "A single gene
has saved 100 million lives."  

     "That's a powerful notion.  Nevertheless, those of us in government, the
private sector, the academic community, the farm community and the consuming
public can't be afraid to ask the difficult questions.  We cannot be science's
blind servant.  We have to understand its ethical, safety and environmental
implications.  Our testing has to be rigorous.  We have to be as vigilant as
ever.  And we have to make sure that those involved in determining the safety
of genetically-engineered products are staying at arms length from the people
who stand to profit from them.  

     "We also can't force these new genetically engineered food products down
consumers' throats.  My belief is that farmers and consumers will eventually
come to see the economic and health benefits of these products.  But
dismissing the skepticism that's out there is not only arrogant, it's also a
bad business strategy.  My confidence in biotech -- or industry's confidence
in biotech -- is ultimately irrelevant.  Only when consumers have confidence -
- and when they express that confidence at the grocery-store checkout line --
will we be able to see the return on the enormous public and private
investments we've made in biotechnology. 

     "But ensuring the safety and adequacy of the food supply also means
looking out for the people who produce our food.  The National Consumers
League does a lot of work on behalf of workers and for the cause of child
labor, so you know where I'm coming from.

     "Of particular concern in agriculture are farm laborers who are among
the lowest paid workers in the country, and often the most vulnerable.  For
example, recent frosts in California wiped out a citrus crop threatening the
livelihood of 30,000 farmworkers.  While the farmers have many USDA programs
to turn to, the farmworkers and their families are threatened with literally
being left out in the cold.  We've worked closely with Senator Diane Feinstein
who pushed for $20 million in disaster assistance to the supplemental funding
bill now working its way through Congress to help farmworkers get through this
crisis.  If successful, this will be only the second time in history that USDA
has provided farmworkers and their families with disaster assistance.  

     "And, for the first time, USDA has hired a full time Farm Worker
Coordinator.  Juan Marinez, who began in January, is actively helping USDA
become more responsive to the needs of farmworkers   whether it's health care,
housing or just giving farmworkers a stronger voice in Washington.

     "Last year, Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman and I had the opportunity
to meet with farmworkers and their advocates in Florida.  We were able to hear
first hand of the unique problems faced by farmworkers and their families --
such as moving from one job location to the next.  

     "One of those issues, which is unique to farmworkers because of their
circumstances, is that farmworkers often take their very young children into
the fields where they work.  Their choices are limited.  Either they cannot
afford child care or their mothers are forced to stay at home, limiting
economic opportunities for their families.   In some instances, children as
young as six have been put to work.  Their youth, and their capacity to grow,
is swept out from under them.  We are working to get those children out of the
fields and into day care facilities and schools.

     "Through the USDA financed  Farm Labor Housing and Community Facilities
loan and grant programs many owners of Farm Labor Housing complexes have taken
advantage of the opportunity to provide their tenants with child care or
educational services such as Head Start.  This allows farmworkers to do their
work with the full knowledge that their children are being cared for, and more
-- they're getting a decent start in life with good nutrition and good
education.   We must ensure that farmworker families who need housing get
housing; and that permanent child care facilities are provided.   That's why
President Clinton has proposed $40 million in funding for Farm Labor housing
for the coming fiscal year. 

     "But housing and child care are only the beginning.  We're also working
with the Department of Health and Human Services to provide needed health care
services to farmworkers.  And, through efforts such as our Women's Infants and
Children program, Food Stamps and our School Meals Program, we are making sure
that children of farmworkers in need don't go hungry and that they get proper
nutrition.

     "If children are to get a fair start in life, then they need a decent
education.  No one believes this more or works harder for children's
educational rights than President Clinton and Vice President Gore.  And to get
a proper education, children need to be in classrooms not workrooms or
orchards.  They need to be doing homework, not field work.  

     "Through this administration's America Reads program we are instituting
a pilot effort in four states to provide tutoring to children of farm workers
in Farm Labor Housing complexes.    
Whether it's building decent, affordable housing, providing children with a
safe nurturing environment in which to grow, providing a nutritional
foundation so they are prepared to learn, 
or enforcing the child labor laws of our nation, we have a responsibility to
our children, and we have a moral obligation to all children.

     "As we work to eliminate abusive child labor, one thing is abundantly
clear:  The American people regard the rights of children not to be exploited
and abused as basic and fundamental.  Our children are our future.  How we
treat our children -- what we teach them, how we guide them, how we prepare
them for what lies ahead -- that, is the surest measure of any society.  

     "For one hundred years the National Consumers League has kept government
and industry's feet to the fire.  With the new century will come new
challenges.  I am confident that you will continue to make sure that the
voices of consumers, workers and children are heard in Washington and in every
board room around the country.  I commend you on your past and exhort you to
remain strong in your commitment as you begin your next 100 years.  

     "Thank you."

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