Cornucopia files formal legal complaint, encourages consumers to rebuke the false marketing of factory organic brands [Read Cornucopia’s formal legal complaint to the USDA.] Natural Prairie Dairy operation Image from Cornucopia’s 2014 Flyover Investigation Natural Prairie Dairy, one of the first “organic” dairies to employ industrial stocking practices, recently made headlines again. The Animal Recovery… Read more »
The Crisis in Organic Dairy
Consumers Unite! [This article was previously published in the summer issue of The Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.] by Kestrel Burcham, JD, Director of Domestic Policy at The Cornucopia Institute and Melody Morrell, Operations Director Source: AdobeStock Family-scale organic dairies are struggling to make ends meet. Many have already lost their farms and businesses, some of… Read more »
Cornucopia is Seeking an Executive Director
The Cornucopia Institute is is seeking candidates for its Executive Director position. Cornucopia acts as an organic industry watchdog protecting organics and alternative marketing mechanisms allowing farmers and consumers to connect. We seek to defend the integrity of the organic food label from governmental regulatory indifference as well as from agribusinesses profiteering from unethical and… Read more »
GMO-Friendly USDA Ogling Organic
Under Secretary’s Testimony Opens Discussion to “Enhance Organic Production” USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach recently made comments before the House Agriculture Subcommittee suggesting it is time to discuss the possible allowance of gene editing methods within organic production. USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach Source: USDA, Flickr Ibach’s words are in line with the Trump administration’s… Read more »
Add-On Label Identifies Real Organic Food
The USDA’s National Organic Program has failed consumers and true organic farmers by refusing to enforce pasture requirements for organic livestock and by allowing hydroponic produce to bear the organic label. As such, add-on labels are emerging to help consumers differentiate between industrial and authentic organic. Cornucopia supports the efforts of the Real Organic Project… Read more »
Alchemy by USDA and Certifiers
Conventional Cattle on Organic Dairy Farms [This article was previously published in the spring issue of The Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.] by Kestrel Burcham, JD Director of Domestic Policy at The Cornucopia Institute The organic dairy industry is in a state of crisis. A glut of organic milk in the market is putting economic strain on… Read more »
Why Don’t You See Organically Labeled Fish?
The Complicated Industry May Be Incompatible with Organic Principles [This article was previously published in the spring issue of The Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.] by Kestrel Burcham, JD Director of Domestic Policy at The Cornucopia Institute Consumers often note that they do not see fish with the USDA organic seal at their grocery store or fishmonger…. Read more »
What is My Certifier Hiding?
A Farmer’s Plea for Certifier Transparency [This article was previously published in the spring issue of The Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.] Source: AdobeStock Neal Laferriere, owner of Blackberry Botanicals, walks his organic farm in rural West Virginia. When Laferriere walks, he thinks. As he strolls along the rolling hills, he thinks about his family, their farm,… Read more »
The Cornucopia Institute Examines Plant-Based Beverages
Advertising Promotes Them as a Health Food—But Are They? Cornucopia’s new report, “Pouring” Over Plant-Based Beverages, takes an in-depth look at what these beverages really offer consumers, how they are marketed, and how they compare to cow’s milk. Amid health concerns and dire climate crisis predictions, more consumers are buying plant-based beverages than ever before…. Read more »
National Organic Program Releases Clarification Regarding Glyphosate in “Organic” Hydroponic Production
Recent discussions surrounding “organic” hydroponic operations have had the organic community in an uproar. Serious questions first raised by the Real Organic Project were raised again at the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting this past April regarding rumors of hydroponic operations spraying glyphosate or other pesticides on the land just prior to erecting a… Read more »
