No More Exposés in North Carolina

The New York Times by The Editorial Board Source: Mike Licht Factory farm operators believe that the less Americans know about what goes on behind their closed doors, the better for the industry. That’s because the animals sent through those factories often endure an unimaginable amount of mistreatment and abuse. Cows too sick to walk… Read more »

Going Back to the Future: Is Biodynamic Agriculture the “Newest” Trend in Organic?

by Elizabeth Candelario, Demeter Co-Director Source: Harmony Farm in Tipp City, OH In the early 1920’s a growing group of European farmers were increasingly concerned about what they were witnessing on their farms.  Their soil was depleted, their seeds weren’t germinating, their crops’ quality was declining, and their animals were suffering.  The overall life and… Read more »

Why is Cornell University Hosting a GMO Propaganda Campaign?

The Ecologist by Stacy Malkan Source: Erik Jaeger Cornell, one of the world’s leading academic institutions, has abandoned scientific objectivity, writes Stacy Malkan – and instead made itself a global hub for the promotion of GM crops and food. Working with selected journalists and industry-supported academics, Cornell’s so-called ‘Alliance for Science’ is an aggressive propaganda… Read more »

The Facts About The USDA’s AMS Grassfed Marketing Claim Recission

American Grassfed Association On January 12, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service rescinded the standards for the grassfed marketing claim. These were the minimal standards behind the grassfed label found on meat sold wholesale or retail. The reasons for the rescission are somewhat unclear, but according to AMS representatives, they have reinterpreted their authority and decided that… Read more »

Final NOP’s Natural Resources and Biodiversity Conservation Guidance is Raising the Bar to a Higher Level, but Did Not Go Far Enough

Wild Farm Alliance by Jo Ann Baumgartner NOP guidance did not clearly stop degradation of lands with Conservation Reserve Program improvements when converted to organic crop production, although there is an example of best practices regarding this issue. Image source: Penn State On January 15, 2016 the National Organic Program (NOP) released the final version of their… Read more »

Biotechnology Proponent’s Recipe to Defend GMOs Produces a Stew Blending Orwellian Rhetoric with Sheer Demagoguery

by Mark A. Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute Mark Kastel A commentary in the December 29 edition of the Wall Street Journal, by Julie Kelly, a prolific defender of the biotechnology industry and a self-identified suburban mom, cooking instructor, and accidental activist, claimed that in 2015 genetically engineered food made great progress despite… Read more »

Are You Eating Frankenfish?

The New York Times by Tom Colicchio Source: Danielle Helm This month, Congress may decide whether consumers are smart enough to be trusted with their own food choices. Some lawmakers are trying to insert language into must-pass spending legislation that would block states from giving consumers the right to know whether their food contains genetically… Read more »

A Secret Weapon to Fight Climate Change: Dirt

The Washington Post by Debbie Barker and Michael Pollan Cover crops in small grain stubble Source: NRCS, South Dakota Debbie Barker is the international programs director at the Center for Food Safety. Michael Pollan is the John S. and James L. Knight professor of journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. When Will Allen is asked… Read more »

Tell Consumers What They Are Eating

The New York Times by the Editorial Board Source: Prachatai In approving genetically engineered salmon as safe to eat and safe for the environment, the Food and Drug Administration rejected petitions from environmental and food safety groups asking that companies selling this salmon be required to label it as genetically engineered. Congress should overturn that… Read more »

Owner of Vermont Organic Dairy Farm and Harvard Biology Graduate Educates the NOSB on the Meaning of “Organic”

Greg Jackmauh holds a Harvard degree in biology and owns a Vermont organic dairy farm. He’s a longtime member of The Cornucopia Institute. Greg Jackmauh My name is Gregory Jackmauh. I am a resident of Barnet, Vermont and live on an Organic pasture-based, intensive rotational grazing dairy farm that has been certified since 2003. I… Read more »