A coalition of organic farmers, certifiers, and NGOs recently sued the USDA for denying a 2019 petition to prohibit hydroponic operations from organic certification. Plaintiffs include the Center for Food Safety (CFS), OneCert, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, and some of the longest-standing organic farms in the...
A recently released white paper written by George Boody of the Land Stewardship Project, Farming to Capture Carbon and Address Climate Change through Building Soil, unearths the ways agriculture can help address climate issues. Studying farmer experiences and reviewing literature, Boody concluded that well-managed grazing systems for ruminant livestock...
How Industrial Poultry Made the Cornish Cross a Consumer Staple by Rachel Zegerius, Co-Director of Development and Communications at The Cornucopia Institute Ferreting through my family’s old photos, cards, and keepsakes this holiday, I exhumed...
Cornucopia staff is packing our bags, mapping our routes, and combing through the conference schedule in anticipation of this year’s MOSES Organic Farming Conference. The country’s largest gathering of organic and sustainable farmers draws more than 3,000 people to La Crosse, Wisconsin for educational workshops, inspiring speakers, a two-floor...
Cornucopia’s director of international policy Anne Ross continues to gain recognition for her investigation into fraudulent organic imports on behalf of organic farmers and consumers. Before and during her presentation at the 40th anniversary EcoFarm Conference, Ross participated in two podcasts that amplified her cogent, accessible voice to listeners...
What Consumers Need To Know Regenerative is the new sustainable. It’s a word that’s simultaneously powerful and completely meaningless—a signifier of innovation employed by truly organic farmers and a ploy to deceive consumers concerned about agriculture’s ecological footprint. The Cornucopia Institute is particularly concerned with messaging on regenerative practices...
New report uncovers empty assurances of big organic poultry brands and implores consumers to buy from authentic organic farmers A newly published report by The Cornucopia Institute uncovers troubling poultry farming and production practices represented as organic under the USDA seal. For the Birds: How to Recognize Authentic Organic...
The winter 2019 Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter, is now available online.
The economic impact of fraudulent organic imports is profound. Cornucopia’s director of international policy Anne Ross is focused on ways to reform and strengthen domestic organic regulations, while increasing oversight of organic products originating overseas. An advocate for organic farmers and consumers, she is also actively engaged in promoting...
Comment by December 2 Under pressure from organic dairy farmers, farmer and consumer groups, and Congress, the National Organic Program (NOP) recently re-opened the comment period for the 2015 proposed rule on Origin of Livestock. Despite overwhelming support in 2015 for closing this loophole...
Dean Foods, the largest domestic milk producer, announced on November 12 that it was filing for bankruptcy. The company’s organic portfolio is anemic after packaging its former branded products division as WhiteWave Foods in 2013. In 2017, Organic Valley controversially partnered with Dean Foods on a joint bottling venture....
Fueled by organic Equal Exchange coffee and chocolate, the board and staff of The Cornucopia Institute gathered in Minneapolis for three energizing days of staff and board meetings. Led by Jonathan Rosenthal, Cornucopia’s new interim executive director, the retreat marked a new chapter for the organization, as well as...
The Cornucopia Institute, through research and investigations on agriculture and food issues, provides needed information to family farmers, consumers and other stakeholders in the good food movement and to the media.
