Mark Kastel and Jim Goodman with Jim’s Cows Cornucopia’s Take: I’m proud to call Jim Goodman a valued friend. We met 25 years ago, when I worked as a lobbyist for the Farmers Union and Jim was an activist with Family Farm Defenders. He’s a good man. Intellectually powerful, as you can tell by his writing,… Read more »
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National Organic Standards Board Meeting Report — Tucson, April 2018
Expert Advisory Panel Addresses Imports Fraud and Biodiversity Conservation Fraudulent organic imports and the industrial model of production under the organic seal is hurting the profitability of organic family farmers. Two panels focused on options for better oversight. Despite increased documentation of fraud, the National Organic Program is still lacking systems to monitor imports. The… Read more »
Congress to Consider Doubling National Organic Program Funding
Cornucopia’s Take: The reputation of “USDA Organic” has suffered enormously this year. The Washington Post has run a series of investigative stories, detailing the fraud, lack of enforcement, and conflicts of interest at the National Organic Program (NOP). Cornucopia has shared insight into these issues with organic stakeholders for almost 15 years, conducting investigations and publishing reports… Read more »
Midwestern Farmers Not Lining Up to Stop Algae Bloom
Cornucopia’s Take: Lake Erie is forecasted to suffer from severe algae bloom this year, and the Gulf of Mexico will likely see its third-largest dead zone in the 32 years of measurement. One of the largest contributors to algae blooms is agricultural fertilizer runoff. Farmers have been offered grants and other voluntary programs to stop… Read more »
Washington Post Investigative Report Documents Rampant Corruption at USDA Organic Program
[View Cornucopia’s formal legal complaints against Aurora Dairy and the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and the letter to USDA Secretary Perdue.] Industry watchdog calls for removal of organic program manager One of Aurora’s feedlot dairies Based on a scathing front-page exposé in The Washington Post presenting strong evidence that the largest organic milk producer in the… Read more »
DNA Nip and Tuck Likely to Escape Labeling
Cornucopia’s Take: Although CRISPR technology is more precise than previous attempts at gene modification, scientists still do not have enough knowledge to determine whether there will be unintended consequences within the organism or the ecosystem it inhabits. It is shockingly easy to wield the power of gene editing: the equipment to perform CRISPR edits is… Read more »
“Organic” Hens Locked Wing-to-Wing in Giant Barns
Cornucopia’s Take: Herbruck’s and many other industrial organic egg producers claim to “strictly adhere to the current National Organic Program [NOP] standards.” It may be more accurate to say that these operations adhere to the standards the NOP is willing to enforce. It should be noted that the standards, currently, clearly state that “all” organic… Read more »
National Organic Standards Board Meeting Report
Economic Power/Corporate Lobbyists Manipulate the System The National Organic Standards Board November meeting in Savannah, GA, held Nov. 29 to Dec. 2, revealed the deep divide that exists in the organic industry between public interest groups (like Cornucopia), farmers and consumers fighting for a strong and meaningful organic label and corporate executives and their paid… Read more »
‘Enough’ Misleading Ads on Antibiotics in Meat
Cornucopia’s Take: A social media campaign, “Enough,” is working hard to confuse consumers about the dangers of widespread antibiotic use in livestock, among other things. The ads reassure us that there is no antibiotic residue in our food, that organic isn’t “worth it,” and that “innovation” is needed to produce enough meat to feed the… Read more »
USDA-Backed “Factory Farm” Takeover of Organic Milk Production Crushing Family-Scale Farmers and Forcing Them Out of Business
Newly Released Report, and Associated Organic Dairy Brand Scorecard, Enables Defrauded Consumers and Wholesale Buyers to “Vote with Their Pocketbooks” When commercialized in the 1980s, the organic dairy movement was viewed by many farmers as opting out of a rapacious agricultural marketing system that had already driven the majority of dairy farm families off the… Read more »
