[NOTE: The Cornucopia Institute is also part of the lawsuit challenging Monsanto's patenting of life.]

Bangor Daily News
By Kathrynn Ohmstead

I have wanted to catch up with Bridgewater organic farmer Jim Gerritsen ever since he was named in October to the 2011 list of 25 visionaries who are changing the world by the national magazine Utne Reader. When I finally succeeded last weekend, he was on his way to New York City to give a speech and participate in the Dec. 4 rally and “Farmers’ March” to Zuccotti Park organized by the Food Justice Committee of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Gerritsen, 56, who with his wife, Megan, and their family has operated Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater since 1976, is on a mission that has put him in the national — and international — spotlight. As president of Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, the trade organization for the organic seed industry, he is the lead plaintiff in a suit to protect growers and consumers of organic foods. Read Full Article »

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U.S. Department of Justice

Defendant Sold 4.2 Million Pounds of Conventional Corn Falsely Labeled As Organic

Eugene, Ore. – Harold Chase, 54, of Springfield, Oregon, has pleaded guilty to
wire fraud for selling more than 4.2 million pounds of corn falsely labeled as organically grown. By falsely labeling the corn as organic, defendant doubled his profits, selling the corn for more than $450,000. Much of the corn was purchased by Oregon companies as organic feed for livestock.

According to the plea agreement and court documents, Chase sold Grain Millers, Inc.,
a company based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, more than 4.2 million pounds of corn falsely
labeled as organically grown. Read Full Article »

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Agricultural Marketing Service – USDA
Soo Kim

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2011 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture appointed five new members to the National Organic Standards Board today, adding significant depth of experience and a wide range of perspectives to the advisory organization.

“As the board serves a critical role in the direction of the USDA National Organic Program, we are pleased to welcome these individuals, chosen for their expertise and familiarity with organic issues,” said Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan.

The following representative seats, whose five-year terms begin Jan. 24, 2012, will be filled by qualified members of the organic industry, as listed: Read Full Article »

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El Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (Puerto Rico)
Written by Eliván Martínez

The largest producer of transgenic seeds in the world is leasing some of the best agricultural lands on the Island with a pattern of questionable legality, while receiving incentives from the Fortuño administration.

When environmentalist Juan Rosario traveled to an Amish religious community in Iowa, to learn to make compost, he was surprised that they had a laboratory and the services of an expert in chemistry. What was a scientist doing in a place where people live far from technology and practice ecological farming with the simplest of methods?

An Amish dressed in their style, with a wide-brimmed black hat, white shirt, and black pants and black jacket, pointed toward a large cornfield on a nearby farm. “The scientist helps us verify that pollen from genetically modified corn does not contaminate our crops,” he told Juan Rosario. “It’s the same corn that you develop in Salinas.” Read Full Article »

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Bangor Daily News (Maine)
By Kevin Miller, BDN Staff

BLUE HILL, Maine — Small-scale farmers and Mainers who buy directly from them held a boisterous rally Friday to support a Hancock County man sparring with agriculture officials over his right to sell “raw milk” and other products from his farm without a license.

Farmer Dan Brown admitted to the crowd of 150-plus people gathered outside Blue Hill’s Town Hall Friday that he has become a reluctant spokesman for his side in the potential legal fight emerging over Maine’s vibrant “local foods” movement.

“I would like to be nowhere else than on my farm,” said Brown, clearly uncomfortable in front of a large group and a microphone.

But Brown has, indeed, become the public face in a court case that could test the legality of a “local food” ordinance that seeks to exempt him and other farmers from state or federal inspections and licensing. Read Full Article »

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