Cows running through a pasture
March 30, 2022

Origin of Livestock: A Step Toward Organic Integrity

After decades of pressure from Cornucopia and its colleagues in organics, USDA is moving forward with the long-overdue final rule on Origin of Livestock. The final rule underscores a key value of authentic organic dairy: the cost and care necessary to raise organic calves on farms. Unbeknownst to many...

Large Danone sign atop a building
March 16, 2022

Hope and Hypocrisy: An Update on Northeast Organic Dairy

Pointing to a decade’s loss of 100,000 small family farms, Organic Valley recently announced a plan that will hopefully distance 80 Northeast organic dairy farms from that bleak statistic. Organic Valley is offering those 80 farms, most of which were deserted by Danone in its quest for improved financial...

cattle grazing in tall grass
January 15, 2022

Behind the Scenes of the Policy Desk

An update from Policy Director Kestrel Burcham, JD Even though it is not always front and center, policy undergirds Cornucopia’s work. Policies steer legislative outcomes, and we carefully follow the agricultural strategies of each administration. Climate Policy President Biden’s Executive Order, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,...

December 23, 2021

The Cultivator – Winter 2021

The Winter 2021 Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly print showcase, is off the press. Featuring independent journalism and stories you won’t read anywhere else; the Cultivator is mailed to supporters as a benefit of their gift. For a look at what supporters receive, download the PDF here. Highlights of this issue...

chart explaining how to change the food system
December 22, 2021

Our Actions Add Up

Step #1: Know Your Farmer Your food has a story to tell — your food’s packaging has a story to sell. Shoppers who look beyond marketing gimmicks to seek out the whole story behind their food can meaningfully impact their food system. Chipping away at Big Ag starts by...

October 25, 2021

The Cultivator – Fall 2021

The Fall 2021 Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter, is now available. Download the PDF. In it you’ll find: Heartbreak and Hope: The diagnostic story of California Cloverleaf Farms Dairy Growing a Fresh Start at Rockside Ranch Savannah Stalwart & The Nonagenarian Farmer Why Breeds Matter A 40-Year Soil Study

Upcoming rules
October 22, 2021

Report from the Fall 2021 NOSB Meeting 

This week’s National Organic Standards Board meeting was lively. Dr. Jennifer Tucker, Deputy Director of the National Organic Program, announced encouraging news: The NOP will hopefully publish the final Origin of Livestock and Strengthening Organic Enforcement rules in spring 2022, with the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices Rule to follow on their heels.  Dr. Tucker asked that oral comments avoid...

October 13, 2021

Follow Cornucopia’s NOSB Coverage

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) fall proceedings kick off at noon ET October 13 with a public comment session continuing through October 14, followed by the public meeting October 19-21. Cornucopia supplies NOSB members with independent analyses of agenda items, relying on publicly funded research and input from...

Milk truck driving down two lane highway toward a farm
September 9, 2021

Danone Continues to Dump Horizon Farmers

The news that Danone is terminating 89 milk contracts with its Horizon brand farmers in the Northeast underscores a food system that prioritizes efficiency over resilience. Danone claims that this move will help the company meet its goal of becoming carbon positive by 2025. This is a farce. Danone...

August 11, 2021

A Spirit of Resilience at Mitchell’s Organic Blueberry Farm

By Rachel Zegerius This past Memorial Day marked the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Riots. Generally known as the single worst incident of racial violence in American history, the massacre decimated the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma — once the wealthiest Black community in the United States, referred...

August 11, 2021

This Little Farm Went to the (New Moon) Market

A trip to New Moon Natural Foods in Lake Tahoe, California yields some of the best produce in a 200-mile radius. It’s also a small act of resistance. New Moon’s two locations stock their shelves with certified organic produce, exclusively. They refuse to carry Driscoll’s or other industrial organic...

July 8, 2021

The Cultivator – Summer 2021

The Summer 2021 Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter, is now available online. Download the PDF. In it you’ll find: A Portrait of Better Beef Celebrating Berry Season The New Editor of the Cultivator The Living Soil Campaign A Spirit of Resilience Hot on the Tracks of Organic Beef Fraud

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