Since founding The Cornucopia Institute in 2004, one of our prime messages has been that the USDA's National Organic Program needed new competent leadership with deep experience in the organic community. We have been highly critical of the past leadership and its lack of understanding of organics and reluctance to stand for integrity and ethics in organics. We have also suggested that new leadership would probably best be found outside the agency. We repeated that message as part of our Change@USDA campaign, launched earlier this year, hoping to convince the new administration in Washington that an overhaul was needed at the National Organic Program (NOP). We are delighted to note that a new administrator for the NOP has been hired.

Posted in Cornucopia News

Family Dairy Farmers Appeal to Obama Administration for Swift Enforcement WASHINGTON, DC: Aurora Dairy, based in Boulder, Colorado, the nation's largest organic dairy producer, is once again facing allegations of improprieties. Aurora had previously been found in "willful" violation of multiple federal organic standards by USDA investigators in 2007. This week an organic industry watchdog, The Cornucopia Institute, filed a formal legal complaint with the USDA in Washington alleging that one of the five industrial-scale dairies operated by Aurora, its High Plains dairy near Kersey, Colorado, is failing to graze their dairy cattle as required by the federal organic standards.

Posted in Aurora Factory Farm Operations, Cornucopia News

Staff at The Cornucopia Institute had previously learned, through a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, that Dean Foods, owner of the Horizon Organic dairy label, was leasing an organic dairy in New Mexico. Then, in 2008, as the industry began to suffer from a surplus of milk, driving down prices for family farmers, we learned that Dean Foods/Horizon was helping finance the building of a second massive industrial dairy in New Mexico. In 2009 they moved thousands of cows (mostly bred heifers) from their corporate-owned 8000-head dairy in Idaho to New Mexico. We received intelligence reports of many cows giving birth and dying in the trailers during the long and arduous trip. The photos, like this one, have been posted in a new photo gallery on our web page.

Posted in Cornucopia News

The lawsuit seeking repeal of the controversial raw almond pasteurization mandate is continuing. Cornucopia is helping the farmers fighting the almond mandate and actively fundraising for the legal effort. Currently a legal appeal is being readied that will likely be filed in the next month. You can help, too, and if you do, we can offer a gift from a dedicated almond enthusiast and supporter. Elana Amsterdam, of elanaspantry.com, will provide copy of The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook to the first ten people donating $200 or more.

Posted in Cornucopia News

Bottled water at four times the price of milk??? Witness organic dairy farmers, sometimes tearfully, pleading their case to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack …. and the Secretary appears at the rally and directly responds. Powerful! The rally took place on July 16 at the La Crosse County Fairgrounds in West Salem, Wisconsin.

Posted in Cornucopia News, Video Gallery