How about a tiny enclosed concrete porch, accessible by only 3%-5% of the tens of thousands of birds inside a henhouse. Does that pass as outdoor access as required by federal organic law?

Industrial-scale egg producers are gaming the system, producing “organic” eggs in huge factory farms, crowding tens of thousands of chickens in two-story buildings with small porches passing as “outdoor access.” Read Full Article »

Posted in Completed Action Alerts

Call your Senators TODAY — Urge their support for the Tester Amendment

The Cornucopia Institute

We have learned that the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) may be voted on in the Senate on Thursday, September 16.

This bill, as we have noted before, would impose extremely burdensome and unnecessary requirements on the thousands of small farmers and food processors who are producing safe, nutrient-dense foods for their local communities – it may force some of these producers out of business.

A key amendment sponsored by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) would exempt small farm and small food processing facilities as well as small and mid-sized farmers who primarily direct market their products to consumers, stores or restaurants within their region from the most burdensome and onerous paperwork and reporting requirements.

Please call your Senators today and ask them to support the Tester Amendment on the Food Safety bill. Read Full Article »

Posted in Completed Action Alerts

Still Time for you to Act

Cornucopia, the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, and other groups have sent out several alerts regarding the food safety bills in Congress. We are continuing to monitor the situation with S. 510, the Senate’s version of the bill.

As written, this bill would impose extremely burdensome and unnecessary requirements on the thousands of small farmers and food processors who are producing safe, nutrient-dense foods for their local communities. It’s critical that the bill be amended or stopped!

The bill’s progress has been slowed by controversial proposed amendments. The first controversy is over Senator Tester’s (D-MT) proposed amendment, that we strongly support, and that would exempt small-scale processors and direct-marketing farmers from the most onerous requirements. Read Full Article »

Posted in Completed Action Alerts

Support New Three-Tiered Label System — Comments due April 19th, 2010

Should organic ruminants such as a dairy cows and beef cattle — which have evolved to eat grass — be permitted to be kept in feedlots or should they be required by USDA organic regulations to obtain at least a portion of their feed directly from pasture?

According to the USDA’s new organic pasture rule, released in February 2010, pasture grazing is required in organic dairy production, but organic beef cattle may be exempt from obtaining any of their feed from pasture during the last four months of their lives. Read Full Article »

Posted in Completed Action Alerts

Urgent — Call Your Senator Today

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote soon on a sweeping overhaul of federal food safety law – S. 510. The House food safety bill passed last year (HR 2749) included several measures that threaten small-scale organic producers, including a registration fee of $500 and blanket application of complicated monitoring and traceability standards — regardless of one’s farm size.

There’s no doubt that industrial agriculture needs better oversight. But, family-scale local and organic farms are probably the safest in the nation –they are part of the solution, not part of the problem — and need to be protected!

Now is your chance, as a supporter of sustainable family farming, to help fix these problems! Senator John Tester (D-MT), a certified organic farmer himself, is proposing an amendment to S. 510 that would exempt small-scale farmers and food processors from the most burdensome regulations. Read Full Article »

Posted in Completed Action Alerts