Investment in Factory Farms Questioned BOSTON: Socially concerned investors for the second year in a row have filed a shareholder proposal asking Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) to report to shareholders how it is responding to widespread concern that industrial-scale organic dairies, supplying milk for its Horizon Organic brand,...
If organic food is so popular, why are so few farms transitioning their land? Grist By Tom Philpott On a recent trip to Austin, I visited the flagship Whole Foods — a vast space where people gather en masse to render financial sacrifice to that new god, organic food....
Bt cotton spells doom for cattle? The Hindu Andhra Pradesh ADILABAD: Grazing on residual Bt cotton crop seems to have resulted in the death of over 200 animals in various mandals of the district in the last two months. The Animal Husbandry Department has sounded an alarm as the...
USDA approval of genetically engineered alfalfa is vacated, seed sales halted San Francisco, CA: A Federal judge ruled today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) 2005 approval of genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa is vacated and ordered an immediate halt to sales of the GE seed. The ruling follows...
Cattle Antibiotic Moves Forward Despite Fears of Human Risk Washington Post By Rick Weiss The government is on track to approve a new antibiotic to treat a pneumonia-like disease in cattle, despite warnings from health groups and a majority of the agency’s own expert advisers that the decision will...
Washington Post By Rick Weiss The Agriculture Department has given a preliminary green light for the first commercial production of a food crop engineered to contain human genes, reigniting fears that biomedically potent substances in high-tech plants could escape and turn up in other foods. The plan, confirmed yesterday...
Secrecy of National Organic Program Successfully Challenged MADISON, WI: Sometimes the dismissal of a lawsuit against the government can still be viewed as a victory for the plaintiffs. That was the case earlier this month in federal district court in Madison, Wisconsin, when Judge Barbara Crabb dismissed a lawsuit...
Country of Origin Labeling needed for food WASHINGTON — National Farmers Union, along with more than 200 organizations representing a broad cross-section of groups including consumers, urged members of Congress to support mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL). This is the largest coalition letter ever sent on COOL. (The Cornucopia Institute...
Alert Net Ruth Gidley Fans of biofuels give the impression we could soon be running cars on maize, producing electricity with sugar, and getting power from palm oil. Using plants to feed our fuel needs sounds like a great idea, and it could be a moneyspinner for some poor...
Check Biotech By Kristen Philipkoski Organic cotton growers could face increased risk of crop contamination if a merger between the world’s largest seed company and the nation’s largest cottonseed seller is allowed to proceed, an influential agriculture watchdog group warned Thursday. Biotech giant Monsanto agreed to purchase Delta and...
KTIC 840 Rural Radio Nebraska WASHINGTON (AP) – Milk from cloned cows is no longer welcome at the nation’s biggest milk company. Although the government has approved meat and milk from cloned animals while it conducts further studies, Dean Foods Co. of Dallas said Thursday that its customers and...
Agency Accused of Refusing to Enforce Law CORNUCOPIA, WI: In a letter sent today, the Cornucopia Institute informed the USDA of their intention to file a complaint in federal district court accusing the agency of ignoring the organic regulations, and the intent of Congress, by their failure to enforce...
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.
