Regulations Not Being Enforced—Watchdog Asks for USDA to Remove Program Management In what has been called one of the largest fraud investigations in the history of the organic industry, The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group, announced filing formal legal complaints against 14 industrial livestock operations producing milk, meat and eggs being marketed, allegedly… Read more »
Powerful Organic Trade/Lobby Group Recruiting Family Farmers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2042 OTA/Corporate Interests Creating “Trojan Horse” to Soften Image, Increase Influence CORNUCOPIA, WIS: In a move that would look just as cynical as if General Motors decided to create their own workers-union, the powerful Organic Trade Association (OTA) has created their own Farmer Advisory Council and is now discounting… Read more »
Biotech and Agribusinesses Spending Heavily to Defeat State GMO Food Labeling Votes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2042 Biotech and Agribusinesses Spending Heavily to Defeat State GMO Food Labeling Votes The Cornucopia Institute releases red-flagging pro/con food brands involved with Colorado and Oregon Initiatives https://www.cornucopia.org/2014/10/biotech-agribusinesses-spending-heavily-defeat-state-gmo-food-labeling-votes/ Cornucopia, WI: Citizen initiatives on the November 4 ballots in both Colorado and Oregon would mandate clear labeling of genetically engineered (GE)… Read more »
Cornucopia: USDA Maintains Pattern of Corporate Appointments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2042 Will Fantle, 715-839-7731 Organic Governance Undermined by Cozy Relationship with Agribusiness Lobbyists One of the nation’s preeminent organic industry watchdogs, The Cornucopia Institute, expressed renewed criticism of the process used for the selection of four new appointees to the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The NOSB is… Read more »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2042 Corporate Lobbyists/Influence Peddlers Eroding Organic Standards Analysis Illustrates USDA/Agribusiness Collusion National Organic Standards Board Voting Scorecard Released CORNUCOPIA, WIS: A comprehensive voting analysis of members of the National Organic Standards Board, an expert body formed by Congress to insulate the governance of the industry from undue corporate influence,… Read more »
USDA Clips Wings of Misleading Organic Marketers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2042 USDA Clips Wings of Misleading Organic Marketers CORNUCOPIA, WIS: The USDA, today, announced to industry stakeholders that it would rein-in misleading language on organic packaging that all too often has been suspected of confusing consumers. Specifically, the agency addressed companies marketing food products that have the word “organic” or “organics” in… Read more »
Trying to Convince Chickens to Vote for Colonel Sanders: OTA Knows What’s Best for Producers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2000 Robo-calls Bother Organic Farmers During Spring Planting: Latest Push for Check-off by Powerful Organic Lobby Group https://www.cornucopia.org/2014/06/robo-calls-bother-organic-farmers-during-spring-planting Cornucopia, WI – The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has launched the next phase of its push for an organic check-off program. The industry lobby group, funded by the likes of General… Read more »
Citizen Groups Challenge USDA’s Power Grab “Threatening” Organic Integrity
Contact: Aimee Simpson, 202-543-5450 [email protected], www.beyondpesticides.org Abigail Seiler, 443-854-4368 [email protected], www.centerforfoodsafety.org Will Fantle, 715-839-7713 [email protected], www.cornucopia.org Citizen Groups Challenge USDA’s Power Grab “Threatening” Organic Integrity Legal Petition Filed to Restore Organic Board’s Independent Authority Set by Congress (June 17, 2014 – Washington, DC) Today, 20 organic farm and consumer groups filed a legal petition with… Read more »
Turmoil Shakes National Organics Standards Board Meeting in Texas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Will Fantle, 715-839-7731 Board Decision Making Colored by Restrictions to Authority and Governance Imposed by USDA CORNUCOPIA, WI – Protests, an arrest and parliamentary maneuvers marked the beginning of the semi-annual meeting of the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). After the initial turmoil subsided its members wrestled with the implications… Read more »
Organic Activists Charge USDA Regulators Capitulating to Corporate Interests
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark A. Kastel, 608-625-2042 “Undermining Congressional Protections” Results in Threats of Lawsuits and Protests SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: When the organic industry gathers in this central Texas city next week sparks are predicted to fly when farmers and consumer activists face off with government regulators who they have accused of a “power… Read more »