By Kimberly Kindy and Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writers

Three years ago, U.S. Department of Agriculture employees determined that synthetic additives in organic baby formula violated federal standards and should be banned from a product carrying the federal organic label. Today the same additives, purported to boost brainpower and vision, can be found in 90 percent of organic baby formula.

The government’s turnaround, from prohibition to permission, came after a USDA program manager was lobbied by the formula makers and overruled her staff. That decision and others by a handful of USDA employees, along with an advisory board’s approval of a growing list of non-organic ingredients, have helped numerous companies win a coveted green-and-white “USDA Organic” seal on an array of products. Read Full Article »

Dean Foods Creates “Natural” Dairy Products Using Conventional Milk

BOULDER, CO: A division of Dean Foods, the organic industry’s largest namebrand manufacturer, rocked the organic world this week when it was reported that the agribusiness giant intended to create an entirely new, lower-priced, product category, “natural dairy,” aimed squarely at pirating away organic customers. If successful Dean, the largest milk processor in the United States, will add to the pain many organic farmers are feeling due to slowing sales caused by the economic downturn.

For the first time the Horizon namebrand will market products that are not certified organic. Horizon has had the highest dollar volume of any organic industry brand. Read Full Article »

Daily Globe

GIBBON, Minn (AP)- It has all the markings of a working farm — 70 milk cows, crop fields, tractors, hay baler, combine.

But there is so much more on the Martin and Loretta Jaus farm northwest of Gibbon. Marshes are humming with the spring nesting activity of wood ducks, teal and mallards, while toads make loud mating croaks.

In the prairie-plant pastures and stands of trees, there’s a constant flitting of bobolinks, bluebirds, swallows, yellowthroat warblers and mourning doves.

“When we first moved back here (in 1980), we had maybe a dozen species of birds,” Loretta said. “Now we have about 200 species that either migrate through or live here.” Read Full Article »