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Hospitals Adding Fresh, Organic Food to the Menu

More hospitals in the U.S. are offering organic produce and hormone- and antibiotic-free meats and dairy foods in response to a trend toward healthier eating habits. Los Angeles Times By Elena Conis The days of bland chicken, reconstituted potatoes, frozen peas and a side of syrupy, canned peaches appear to be coming to a close […]

Peanut scare could cost growers $1 billion

Farm Press – Editorial Staff By Paul L. Hollis The impact of the nationwide peanut butter recall has been far reaching and could ultimately cost America’s peanut producers up to $1 billion in lost production and sales, said Don Koehler, executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission, testifying before Congress last month. “Farmers, as small […]

The Swine Flu Crisis Lays Bare the Meat Industry’s Monstrous Power

Mexico swine flu outbreak should alert us to a highly globalized industry with global political clout Mike Davis guardian.co.uk The Mexican swine flu, a genetic chimera probably conceived in the faecal mire of an industrial pigsty, suddenly threatens to give the whole world a fever. The initial outbreaks across North America reveal an infection already […]

Mexico Outbreak Traced to ‘Manure Lagoons’ at Pig Farm

The London Times Chris Ayres in Mexico City The first known case of swine flu emerged a fortnight earlier than previously thought in a village where residents have long complained about the smell and flies from a nearby pig farm, it emerged last night. The Mexican Government said it initially thought that the victim, Edgar […]

Paint It Green with Recycled, Phony Rhetoric

Market researchers seem to have decided that promoting the “green” attributes of your company or products will resonate with consumers. There was certainly an overabundance of promotions in the lead-up to Earth Day this year. And, in terms of marketing, Earth Day alone is not enough. We now celebrate “Earth Week!” You might think that […]

TWITTER: Follow the Cornucopia Crew Protecting Truth, Justice and the Organic Way

Hello – In the battle between the generations at our organization, we want you to know that the hip, edgy and creative folks at Cornucopia won. The Cornucopia Institute is now on Twitter. You can expect to receive alerts, observations, and breaking news , where food and social/economic justice intersect – with emphasis on the […]

Ten Organic Wines Worth A Try

Forbes by Alyssa Rapp Do organic grapes make for a better-tasting drink, or are they just a fad? Earth Day, coming up next week, was created to heighten environmental awareness. Each year, inevitably, the distinction draws consumers’ attention to organic foods. And some of this focus also shifts to wine, an industry perennially laden with […]

Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops

Union of Concerned Scientists: Food and Agriculture For years the biotechnology industry has trumpeted that it will feed the world, promising that its genetically engineered crops will produce higher yields. That promise has proven to be empty, according to Failure to Yield, a report by UCS expert Doug Gurian-Sherman released in March 2009. Despite 20 […]

Farmer in US Wants Less Food Waste and More Urban Farming

Finding the way to a more efficient food network: Farmer in US wants less food waste and more urban farming Kentucky Kernel By Brian Shlonsky Will Allen wants to see the development of community food systems that produce healthy, organic and affordable food to urban areas. More than 130 people gathered at the Lexington Public […]

New Tool Reveals Benefits of Organic Milk Production

The Organic Center (link no longer available) New calculator estimates the quantity of pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals absent from organic dairy farming BOULDER, Colo. – A calculator has been developed to help consumers, dairy farmers, and food companies estimate the avoided environmental, public health, and animal welfare impacts associated with shifting dairy cows from conventional […]

Pesticides Blamed for Some Childhood Brain Cancers

Shim Y, SP Mlynarek and Evan Wijngaarden. Parental exposure to pesticides and childhood brain cancer: United States Atlantic Coast Childhood Brain Cancer Study. Environmental Health Perspectives doi:10.1289/ehp.0800209. Environmental Health News Synopsis by Heather Hamlin Little is known conclusively about what causes brain cancer in children, but research studies are consistently finding links to prebirth pesticide […]