Cornucopia’s Take: Many large, primarily conventional corporations have bought organic brands, and Hain Celestial is no exception. Consumers committed to supporting independent brands with a true commitment to organic values can use Cornucopia’s scorecards to help make choices at the market.

Organic food giant under SEC investigation
Sustainable Food News

Hain Celestial’s stock drops to lowest level since June 2013 after agency subpoenas documents

Shares of the Hain Celestial Group, Inc. plunged more than 15 percent to a new low Monday morning after the organic and natural food giant manufacturer said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has placed it under investigation and subpoenaed it for documents related to its previously reported accounting errors.

The Lake Success, N.Y.-based company (NASDAQ: HAIN), which owns the Earth’s Best organic baby food and BluePrint cold-pressed juice brands, among others, said in a securities filing late Friday that it “is in the process of responding to the SEC’s requests for information and intends to cooperate fully” with the agency’s investigation. Read Full Article »

Cornucopia’s Take: While we are pleased that some improvements are occurring in conventional agriculture, Cornucopia recommends only certified organic food. For instance, the label Certified Humane does not limit flock size, prohibit beak trimming, or require outdoor access in laying hens.

The US is making a big shift away from factory farming
Business Insider
by Gus Lubin

Hens in battery cagesSource: Farm Sanctuary

The US is quietly making historic progress on farm animal welfare, with ten states and hundreds of brands coming out against the most notorious kinds of factory farming.

“You’re seeing almost every major retailer, almost every major fast food producer and restaurant chain committing to phasing out the use of battery cages and/or gestation crates,” ASPCA Farm Welfare director Daisy Freund tells Business Insider. “We are going beyond our dreams here, and yet we’re really just getting started.” Read Full Article »

Cornucopia’s Take: The National Organic Program should respect organic law which clearly requires good soil stewardship. They could begin by listening to other experts in the field like long-time organic pioneering growers at Keep the Soil in Organic and government scientists at the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Profile in Soil Health: Chris Roehm
YouTube
by USDA NRCS

“Investing in soil health is fundamental to good organic growing. I think they are essentially one in the same.”
– Chris Roehm, organic farmer Read Full Article »

Purple Sage Farms’ Quest for Success

[This article was previously published in the winter issue of The Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.]

by Rachel Zegerius
Communications and Development Associate at The Cornucopia Institute

Photo courtesy of Arlie Sommer

Organic farmers Tim Sommer and Tamara Sloviaczek are deeply connected to their family, their community, their customers, and to the many ecological systems with which they interact daily.

For many organic farmers, such connections are the lifeblood of a successful business. For Tim and Tamara, the founders of Purple Sage Farms, many of these connections did not exist in 1988, when the pair of corporate marketing professionals returned home to Idaho to pursue a love of farming.

At that time, there was no organic certification program in their state, there was no cooperative marketing infrastructure, and the local food movement had yet to take hold.

Since then, not only has this duo developed a successful herb farm, but through years of advocacy, organizing, and hard work, they have helped spark the good food movement in southwestern Idaho. Read Full Article »

Cornucopia’s Take: After five years of study, the EPA found that the commonly used pesticide chlorpyrifos is likely causing lasting harm to our children, in utero. With President Trump’s planned regulatory cuts, it is unclear whether chlorpyrifos manufacturers, Dow Chemical, may be able to override science and continue to peddle their lucrative toxic chemical.

Protect Our Children’s Brains
The New York Times
by Sharon Lerner

Source: Naomi Pincher

In the fall, I began to research an article that I gave the working title “The Last Days of Chlorpyrifos.” A widely used pesticide, chlorpyrifos affects humans as well as the bugs it kills. Back in the halcyon days before the election, the optimism of the title seemed warranted. After years of study, the Environmental Protection Agency had announced in October 2015 that it could no longer vouch for the safety of chlorpyrifos on food.

The agency had acknowledged for decades that chlorpyrifos can cause acute poisoning and in the early 2000s it had prohibited its use in most home products and reduced the amounts that could be used on some crops. But the 2015 announcement stemmed from the agency’s recognition of mounting evidence that prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos could have lasting effects on children’s brains. Read Full Article »