Citizens Call for Mandatory Labeling of GMO Foods CORNUCOPIA, WIS.—The Cornucopia Institute has submitted a petition signed by more than 14,000 individuals to President Obama calling for a slow down in the approval process for Dow AgroSciences’ new genetically engineered (GE) corn variety that is resistant to the herbicide 2,4-D. The herbicide was a key… Read more »
Newsletter – Spring 2012
Our hardcopy newsletter for Spring 2012 is now available online. Download it at: www.cornucopia.org/CultivatorSpring2012.pdf. In it you’ll find:
Farmers Determined to Defend Right to Grow Food
Appeal Filed in Family Farmers V. Monsanto Case NEW YORK – Family farmers have filed a Notice of Appeal challenging Judge Naomi Buchwald’s February 24th ruling dismissing Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al v. Monsanto. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Manhattan will hear the farmers’ appeal, seeking… Read more »
Sustainable Farming Can Feed the World?
The New York Times, Opinion By MARK BITTMAN The oldest and most common dig against organic agriculture is that it cannot feed the world’s citizens; this, however, is a supposition, not a fact. And industrial agriculture isn’t working perfectly, either: the global food price index is at a record high, and our agricultural system is… Read more »
About Food Forward
PBS Food Forward: Urban Agriculture Across America is a half-hour, character-driven survey of urban farming across the country. The pilot episode for a 13-part series greenlit for PBS starting 2012, we meet the food rebels who are growing food right where we live–in cities. Lively animation starts us off asking some tough questions of industrial… Read more »
FDA Must Act to Remove Antibiotics From Animal Feed: Judge
Reuters New York – A federal judge on Thursday ordered regulators to start proceedings to withdraw approval for the use of common antibiotics in animal feed, citing concerns that overuse is endangering human health by creating antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”. U.S. Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin proceedings unless makers… Read more »
Got Omega-3? Not So Much
USA Today By Kim Painter Getting plenty of heart-healthy omega-3 fats used to mean eating fish or taking supplements. But grocery aisles these days are packed with food labels boasting of omega-3 content. You can buy milk, eggs, yogurt, cereal, orange juice, butter substitutes, mayonnaise and other products that carry the claim. Behind the boom:… Read more »
Can Reforming the Farm Bill Help Change U.S. Agriculture?
Yale Environment 360 by Jim Robbins For decades, farm bills in the U.S. Congress have supported large-scale agriculture. But with the 2012 Farm Bill now up for debate, advocates say seismic shifts in the way the nation views food production may lead to new policies that tilt more toward local, sustainable agriculture. More than ever,… Read more »
Dairy Farmers Increasingly Taking Advantage of Cross-Breeding
Farmers Guardian By Chloe Palmer Cross-breeding has become something of a trend in the dairy industry. But what does it involve and what is the best way to go about it? Chloe Palmer takes an in-depth look at the issue. Those farmers who champion the merits of a grass-based seasonal calving system are increasingly taking… Read more »
Changes to Chicken Inspections Pose Threat to Quality Control, Public Safety, Union Says
Let Them Eat Chicken . com (this link no longer available) On January 27, 2012, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) proposed a new inspection system for young poultry slaughter plants. The proposed rule places emphasis on quantity and quickness over quality. The current poultry inspection process allows for a line speed of 91 chickens… Read more »
