2000 Resolutions Adopted by the National Environmental Health Association.

Introduction

One of NEHAs responsibilities is to speak up on issues of concern to our members. Adopting resolutions is one way of fulfilling that responsibility. At NEHA's 2000 Annual Educational Conference in Denver, Colorado, the council of delegates (upon recommendation of your board of directors) voted officially to adopt resolutions on the following issues:

* the use of antibiotics in livestock feed,

* labeling of genetically modified organisms in food,

* indoor air quality, and

* food safety.

The resolutions on indoor air quality and food safety were originally adopted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). Because NEHA supports these resolutions in principle, its council of delegates voted to adopt them along with the others.

By publishing NEHA resolutions in your Journal, we are striving to keep you informed about where we stand as your association on issues critical to environmental health. We welcome all comments, whether for or against the resolutions, and encourage readers with opinions on these issues to express them in letters to the editor.

Resolution on Antibiotics in Animal Feed and Human Health

Purpose: To address scientific studies indicating that antibiotics in livestock feed may be endangering human health.

Whereas:

* Antibiotics were discovered over 50 years ago;

* for more than 30 years, antibiotics have been added to animal feed;

* nearly one-half of the 50 million pounds of antibiotics produced in the United States are used in animals, mostly as feed additives to promote growth;

* human-medicine antibiotics currently used in livestock and poultry food include arsanilic acid, avoparcin, bacitracin, bam bermycin, chlortetracycline, erythromycin, furazolidone, glycopeptides, lincomycin, neomycin sulfate, nitrofurazone, 3-nitro-4-hydroxy phenylarsonic acid, oleandomycin, oxytetracycline, penicillin, procaine penicillin, sodium arsanilate, streptogramin, streptomycin, sulfamethazine, sulfaquinox-aline, sulfathiazole, tetracycline, tylosin, vancomycin, and virginiamycin;

* scientific research has demonstrated that adding antibiotics to livestock and poultry feed contributes to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance among foodborne and other pathogens;

* antibiotic-resistant bacteria can transfer their resistance genes to disease-causing bacteria, resulting in antibiotic-resistant infections in people;

* there is a concern that feeding antibiotics to farm animals endangers the value of those drugs for treating life-threatening diseases in humans;

* the subtherapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock feed jeopardizes new human-use antibiotics and jeopardizes human health;

* a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to "Ban the Use of Certain Antibiotics in Livestock Feed" was submitted and endorsed by over 50 scientists and 41 health and consumer groups; and

* leading health authorities, including the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Academy of Sciences have called for a ban on subtherapeutic use of certain antibiotics in agriculture0;

Therefore, be it resolved that NEHA requests that FDA ban subtherapeutic uses of antibiotics in livestock and poultry feed for those antibiotics that may be used in (or that are related to those used in) human medicine.

Be it further resolved that FDA should rescind already approved uses of medically important antibiotics in livestock and poultry feed in order to protect those invaluable drugs.

Resolution on Genetically Modified Organisms

Whereas:

* in 1998, the European Union ruled that food manufacturers must state on a label when genetically modified ingredients have been used;

* labeling regulations for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are now (as of 1999) in effect in Europe;

* NEHA's counterpart in the United Kingdom, the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health, has adopted a policy position that supports a five-year freeze on GMOs;

* the British Medical Association has recommended that genetically engineered foods (GEFs) be labeled;

* Australia, New Zealand, and Japan have required mandatory GEF labels;

* an estimated 60 percent of processed food now contains some GEFs;

* legislation has now been introduced into the U.S. Congress that calls for the labeling of products that contain genetically engineered crops;

* opposition to labeling based on findings that genetically modified food products are safe discounts issues of consumer sovereignty and bioethical concerns;

* labeling both upholds and is consistent with the environmental "right to know" value that is core to environmental programs in this country;

* legitimate consumer interests ranging from a desire to avoid allergic reactions to the opportunity to exercise informed buying decisions are made possible by labeling;

* a 1992 interim report on a survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Extension Service revealed that 85 percent of the American public surveyed feel it is important to label foods if biotechnology is used; and

* in a 1999 Time Magazine poll, 81 percent of respondents wanted genetically engineered food labeled;

Therefore, be it resolved that NEHA declares its support for the "understandable" labeling of any food product that contains GMOs.

Be it further resolved that any labeling program should not exempt soy oil and soy derivatives such as lecithin.

Be it further resolved that NEHA make public this position.

Be it further resolved that NEHA lend its support to the passage of H.R. 3883, the Genetically Engineered Food Safety Act, which calls for the labeling of food products that include GMOs.

Resolution on Indoor Air Quality

Whereas:

* the public stays indoors an average of 90 percent of the time with 65 percent of the time spent in the home [1];

* indoor-air-pollutant levels can exceed outdoor levels by two to five times, and exposures to indoor air pollutants can cause or contribute to lung disease, including respiratory-tract infections, asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and lung cancer;

* asthma cases totaled 15 million in 1994, reflecting a 75 percent increase since 1980 and a 160 percent increase for very young children, and asthma disproportionately affects African-American children [2]; and

* many indoor air quality (IAQ)--related health problems can be prevented through regular maintenance of facilities and implementation of best practices;

Therefore, be it resolved that NEHA advocate for national, state, and local policies, regulations, research, and resources that will enhance local public health agencies' ability to address IAQ through

* promotion of best practices such as preventive maintenance and cleaning, control of allergens, integrated pest management, and use of low- or no-toxic materials in the office and home;

* implementation of IAQ prevention management programs in school and daycare facilities;

* elimination of involuntary exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and radon through education, legislation, and regulation;

* development of asthma control and prevention programs targeting children, particularly minorities, in partnership with hospitals, community groups, and other stakeholders;

* tracking of asthma morbidity and mortality rates among children and adults, particularly among minority populations; and

* promotion of policies and programs to eliminate conditions that cause IAQ--related health disparities.

Resolution on Food Safety

Whereas:

* foodborne illness in the United States is estimated to cause 76 million cases of illness and 5,000 deaths a year [3];

* children, individuals who are immuno-compromised, and the elderly have a greater susceptibility to foodborne infections; and

* state and local governments conduct more than 80 percent of food establishment inspections, investigate the majority of foodborne illnesses, and sample the majority of food products for bacteriological or chemical contamination [4];

Therefore be it resolved that NEHA, building on the National Academy of Science's National Food Safety Plan, support creation of a national science-based food safety system linking all levels of government, the food industry, and consumers, which will

* integrate and fund federal, state, and local food safety activities;

* provide support for training, education, and research to

-- monitor changes in risk or potential hazards from changes in the food supply or consumption patterns;

-- improve the capability to predict and avoid new hazards; and

-- increase monitoring and surveillance efforts to improve knowledge of the incidence, seriousness, and cause of foodborne illness and related hazards;

* address the additional and distinctive efforts required to ensure the safety of imported foods;

* provide support for state and local authorities who have primary front-line responsibility for the inspection and compliance of food service establishments; and

* address consumers' behavior related to safe food-handling practices.

Be it further resolved that NEHA continue to work to enhance the effectiveness of local public health agencies' food protection activities.

(1.) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1992), Orientation to Indoor Air Quality.

(2.) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1998), "Surveillance for Asthma--United States, 1960-1995," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 47(SS-1).

(3.) Mead, P.S., L. Slutsker, V. Dietz, L.F. McCaig, J.S. Bresee, C. Shapiro, P.M. Griffin, and R.V. Tauxe (1999), "Food-Related Illness and Death in the United States," Emerging Infectious Diseases, 5(5), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(4.) Association of Food and Drug Officials (1999), An AFDO Vision: Integrating the Food Safety System.