The Huffington Post Anna Lappe Like hundreds of others across the country, my neighborhood in Brooklyn got a farmers market a few years ago. Now, with summer in full swing, I can spend any Saturday morning wandering in fresh-food bliss. But I am certainly not taking a single Bing cherry for granted. I know that… Read more »
Origins of Our Food
The New York Times Editorial \ Opinion With imports of agricultural products rising sharply and sporadic scares about their safety, Americans surely have a right to know what country their food has come from. Unfortunately, they have little chance of finding out, due to the intransigence of meat importers and grocery retailers. Lobbyists for both… Read more »
A Eulogy Written on a Country Pasture
Rest in Peace Vander Eyk Organic Dairy Amanda G. Rose, Ph.D. I live in the dairy capital of the world, Tulare County, California. I have become obsessed with all things dairy as you can see from my Milk Shenanigans posts. In my obsession, I have spent many hours this spring taking photos and video footage… Read more »
The Organic Divide
Corporate Executives and Organic Community Hold “Dueling” Summits Below, please find an open letter from the participants in the Organic Community Summit. The letter grew from a discussion by approximately 100 diverse organic stakeholders and participants during a conference call this past Monday. This open letter has been sent to the organizers of an event… Read more »
Keeping an Eye on Transgenic Crops
Rocky Mountain Outlook By David Suzuki Did you know that genetically modified, or “transgenic” crops are now commonplace on North American farms? According to a recent survey in the United States, the majority of Americans have no idea just how pervasive this technology has become. In fact, North Americans have been eating transgenic foods and… Read more »
New Organization Formed to Help Small Farms and Consumers
David G. Cox A new organization is being formed to help small farmers and growers throughout the country make their products directly available to the private consumer. Called the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF), the organization will be launched on July 4th in order to “protect the constitutional right of the nation’s family… Read more »
Ethanol Booms, Farmers Bust
Alternet Lisa M. Hamilton From the news these days you’d think farmers have never had a better friend than ethanol. Headlines holler that corn prices are soaring and that at this moment farmers are planting more acres of corn than they have in the last 50 years. Reporters writing about the ethanol boom are throwing… Read more »
The Wal-Mart Effect on Food Safety
FoodProcessing.com By Dave Fusaro, Editor in Chief “We’re rolling back prices — on food safety.” Two serious food contamination incidents have bowed the food industry over the past couple of months. The ConAgra and Menu Foods incidents are as far apart as peanut butter and pet food — which in many ways are not that… Read more »
Organic Animal Agriculture Threatened by Genetically Engineered Alfalfa
by Jim Munsch The Cornucopia Institute By now many farmers producing organic milk or meat from ruminants have seen the news about the federal court ruling that the USDA violated the law by failing to conduct a full Environmental Impact Study before approving Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa trademarked Roundup Ready®. The judge’s latest ruling in… Read more »
You Are What You Grow
The New York Times By Michael Pollan A few years ago, an obesity researcher at the University of Washington named Adam Drewnowski ventured into the supermarket to solve a mystery. He wanted to figure out why it is that the most reliable predictor of obesity in America today is a person’s wealth. For most of… Read more »