St. Louis Public Radio by Véronique LaCapra East Collegiate rooftop garden in Toronto Source: Karen Stintz St. Louis will soon have its first rooftop farm. Urban Harvest STL signed a lease for the space this week on the roof of a two-story building a couple of blocks east of the City Museum. The non-profit’s founding… Read more »
How “Extreme Levels” of Roundup in Food Became the Industry Norm
Independent Science News by Thomas Bøhn and Marek Cuhra Soybeans Credit: USDA NRCS Food and feed quality are crucial to human and animal health. Quality can be defined as sufficiency of appropriate minerals, vitamins and fats, etc. but it also includes the absence of toxins, whether man-made or from other sources. Surprisingly, almost no data exist… Read more »
Pollution Rising, Chinese Fear for Soil and Food
The New York Times by Edward Wong CHENJIAWAN, China — The farm-to-table process in China starts in villages like this one in the agricultural heartland. Food from the fields of Ge Songqing and her neighbors ends up in their kitchens or in the local market, and from there goes to other provinces. The foods are… Read more »
Daunting Calculus for Maine Shrimpers as Entire Season Is Lost
The New York Times by Jess Bidgood Northern Shrimp Catch in 2008 Credit: NOAA FishWatch PORT CLYDE, Me. — Shrimping in the Gulf of Maine was so bad last season that Randy Cushman, a longtime fisherman, wondered if there was any point in going out at all. “I can honestly say it was the worst… Read more »
Big Organic Cries “Foul!” in Wake of Weekly Story on Earthbound Sale to WhiteWave.
Monterey County Weekly By Mark C. Anderson First born-in-Carmel Valley mom-and-pop Earthbound Farm sold to WhiteWave for $600 million. That was last Monday. I promptly wondered if that was good (organic for everyone!), bad (corporate control of organic giants can’t be healthy) or a bit of both. “Organic going big business and mainstream is bittersweet… Read more »
Nation’s Largest Organic Seed Conference to Take Place in Corvallis, Oregon
Organic Seed Alliance By Cathleen McCluskey Organic Seed Alliance (OSA), with co-hosts Washington State University, Oregon State University, and eOrganic, will hold its 7th Organic Seed Growers Conference in Corvallis, OR, from January 30 – February 1, 2014. The conference begins with a full-day tour of seed enterprises in the Willamette Valley, home to a… Read more »
Gene-Altered Food Fight Rages On as Oregon Takes Lead
Bloomberg.com By Alison Vekshin The battle over genetically modified food labeling that’s drawn almost $85 million in campaign donations in little more than a year is moving to Oregon after industry opponents defeated drives in California and all but certainly in Washington state. Oregon advocates are pushing ahead with a pair of labeling initiatives for the 2014… Read more »
Los Angeles May Become Largest GMO-Free Area in the US
RT.com Los Angeles is considering a ban on the cultivation, sale and distribution of genetically modified organisms, which would make the city the largest GMO-free zone in the US. Los Angeles City Councilmen Paul Koretz and Mitch O’Farrell introduced Friday a motion to curb growth and proliferation of GMO seeds and plants within the city…. Read more »
Combining Education and Agriculture
The Westerly Sun (RI) By Leslie Rovetti/ Sun Staff Writer CHARLESTOWN — On West Beach Road, a local organic farmer, Maxson Hence of Westerly, has established a nonprofit foundation that teaches local teenagers about agriculture and fills their stomach with fresh produce. Among the goals of the AYERSfoundation, newly founded by Hence and his wife,… Read more »
NOTICE: USDA Keeps Organic Stakeholders in the Dark — Incompetence or Corruption?
Dear organic advocates, The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), the governing board created by Congress that serves as a protective buffer and reviews all synthetic and non-organic materials proposed by corporate agribusiness and food processing interests before they can be used in organic farming or food production, meets twice a year. For 30 days before… Read more »