ORGANIC DEBATE: Cornucopia’s Kastel Goes Toe-to-Toe with Mischa Popoff

After hearing from scores of concerned organic stakeholders about his scheduled show with Mischa Popoff, radio host Michael Olson of the syndicated show Food Chain Radio asked Mark Kastel to join Popoff in the interest of providing balance. The result was an impromptu debate challenging Popoff’s credibility and his scheme for replacing certification with wholesale testing.Mischa Popoff is a self-published author and ideologue who has spent the last few years attempting to undermine the credibility of the organic label.

Kastel is the Codirector and Senior Farm Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute. The national organization, based in Wisconsin, acts as a corporate and governmental watchdog in the organic industry.Michael Olson’s hour-long show, Food Chain Radio, airs live and is syndicated on a number of commercial stations nationwide. A podcast, just over a half hour long without most of the advertising, is available at http://metrofarm.com/mf_Food_Chain_Radio.php. (Please note that you should not click on this link if you have iTunes installed on your device. It has caused problems for iTunes users only.)

For many years, The Cornucopia Institute has monitored and responded to attacks on organics by a handful of “think tanks” that have received funding from corporate agribusiness and biotechnology (Monsanto, DuPont and others). These groups include the Hudson Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Hoover Institution and the Heartland Institute, which Mr. Popoff is presently affiliated with.