Category:Cornucopia News

Investment in Factory Farms Questioned NEW YORK: Socially concerned investors have filed a shareholder proposal asking Dean Foods to report to shareholders how it is responding to widespread concern that industrial-scale organic dairies, supplying milk for its Horizon brand, violate consumer trust, seriously jeopardizing share value. The shareholder proposal is a by-product of a five-year… Read more »

For those members who recently received our February newsletter, we would like to note two corrections. The profile of Cornucopia board member Helen Kees incorrectly identified her secondary market for beef cattle as the Coulee Region Organic Produce Pool. After the cooperative expanded its scope a few years ago to include farmers nationwide, its membership… Read more »

Groups Challenge USDA Approval of First Perennial Gene Altered Crop CONTACT: Will Rostov, Center for Food Safety, Charles Margulis, Center for Food Safety, Kevin Dowling, Western Organization of Resource Councils, Jim Munsch, The Cornucopia Institute San Francisco, Calif. – Shortly after a government report cited problems with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) oversight of… Read more »

Legislation Could Ban Small Scale/Humane Production FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2000 Joel Salatin, 540-885-3590 The Cornucopia Institute has announced their support for family farmers in their opposition to a legislative proposal in the state of Virginia that could eliminate the ability of the state’s residents to raise chickens and other fowl in the… Read more »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2000 CORNUCOPIA, WI: The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is seeking to suppress the release of a new report rating the nation’s organic dairy brands and products. The report will soon be issued by The Cornucopia Institute, an agricultural policy research group that supports family-scale farmers. The OTA’s “campaign of… Read more »

Just on the heels of Dean Foods’ announcement that they will invest $10 million to build a second factory-scale company-owned farm in the desert-like conditions of at Idaho, we’ve learned of another proposed 10 million-dollar investment, adding 2000 cows, to the cachet of “organic” industrial farms producing milk for Dean/Horizon. Besides for eating byproducts from… Read more »

The Greenbergs of Stratford, Wisconsin Most organic dairy farms are relatively small operations, averaging about 50 cows. However, a handful of exemplary producers are proving that you can farm on a larger scale without compromising on environmental stewardship, humane animal husbandry, or organic ethics. The Greenberg farm, in Stratford, Wisconsin, is just one of those… Read more »

Organic Farming by Press Release? FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2000, kastel(at)cornucopia.org Harry Lewis, 903-885-9150 CORNUCOPIA: Dean Foods, the $11 billion giant that controls the leading market position in conventional milk, is taking a controversial and risky gamble by attempting to turn their 4000 cow plus confinement dairy, in the desert-like West, into what… Read more »

More than 100 groups and businesses have jointly signed a letter to USDA Secretary Mike Johanns asking him to intervene on the organic pasture issue. Those signing the letter represent a range of organic businesses and food cooperatives as well as farm, consumer, animal rights, social justice and environmental organizations. Another 50 individual signers, mostly… Read more »