Mark Kastel’s recent radio/video interview with Michael James, host of the live radio show broadcast from Chicago’s venerable Heartland Cafe provides a glimpse into the fight against the corporate takeover of organic agriculture.  Kastel was in Chicago for a speech at the annual Green Festival with 20,000 participants at Navy Pier.  Michael James is a long-time political activist in Chicago.  Many luminaries have appeared at the Heartland including our current president.

Read Full Article »

Posted in Video Gallery

IdahoStatesman
Author: JOHN MILLER,Associated Press Writer

BOISE, IDAHO — Federal regulators said Thursday an Idaho mine that Monsanto Co. depends on to make its Roundup weed killer has violated federal and state water quality laws almost since it opened, sending selenium and other heavy metals into the region’s waterways.

The Environmental Protection Agency said problems at the St. Louis-based company’s South Rasmussen Mine near the Idaho-Wyoming border were first documented in April 2002. That’s just 15 months after the mine won Bureau of Land Management approval, according to documents released by the EPA to The Associated Press.

More recently, the mine has been unable to stop discharges Read Full Article »

Posted in Media/News

View the Organic Soy Scorecard: Find your favorite organic soy food brands and see how they rate

Posted in Cornucopia News

The Associated Press
By Rick Callahan

The organic dairy industry was thriving when Allen and Jean Moody bought a 200-acre Wisconsin dairy farm in 2006 and joined the ranks of farmers churning out milk raised without growth hormones, pesticides or other chemicals.

Three years later, the good days are gone and the Moodys aren’t alone in wanting out.

A growing number of farmers who went all-natural in the years when organic food sales were growing at a double-digit pace are giving up their organic certifications. Organic farming is costly and labor-intensive, and many consumers are no longer willing to pay the price in a recession. Read Full Article »

Posted in Media/News

Used in yards, farms and parks throughout the world, Roundup has long been a top-selling weed killer. But now researchers have found that one of Roundup’s inert ingredients can kill human cells, particularly embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells. The new findings intensify a debate about so-called “inerts” the solvents, preservatives, surfactants and other substances that manufacturers add to pesticides. Nearly 4,000 inert ingredients are approved for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

By Crystal Gammon
Environmental Health News Read Full Article »

Posted in Media/News