San Francisco Chronicle By Carolyn Lochhead, Washington Bureau Washington — Could strawberry ice cream disappear from our lives? What about vanilla Swiss almond? The folks at Haagen-Dazs are worried enough that they and others have mounted a campaign to halt the shocking decline of honeybees and other pollinators of strawberry plants, almond trees and the… Read more »
Search Results for: national organic program
Poultry Processing Chemicals Make Workers Sick
Cornucopia’s Take: The story below details the medical horrors visited on poultry plant workers subjected to dangerous antimicrobial sprays at work. The sprays include peracetic acid (PAA), which is used to kill bacteria, like salmonella and campylobacter, commonly found on birds raised in factory farm conditions across the U.S. Many undocumented immigrants work at poultry… Read more »
23 Organizations Issue Joint Report Critiquing Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Initiatives
Human rights, labor and environmental groups find Wal-Mart’s “green” initiatives lack real impact on global warming, employee health and welfare Washington, DC – As Wal-Mart prepares to release its long-anticipated sustainability progress report, 23 environmental, farm, labor, and human rights groups have released their own report, “Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Initiative: A Civil Society Critique.” The report, prepared… Read more »
Frack Water Considered for Irrigation and Drinking in New Mexico
Cornucopia’s Take: Fracking wastewater is notoriously polluted with radiation and numerous chemicals, many of which remain under the cloak of industry secrecy. In New Mexico, where water is scarce while oil and gas provide a significant part of the state’s funding, state officials are considering recycling frack water for use on crops and even in… Read more »
Bees Exposed to Lethal Doses of Neonics During Corn Planting
Cornucopia’s Take: Scientists at Purdue University found that corn seeds coated in neonics release dust containing the poisons into areas bees frequent during pollinating season. They further found that the neonic seed coating had no effect on crop yields. Neonics are not allowed in organic agriculture. More Neonic Buzz: New Study Shows Bees Encounter Neonics… Read more »
Glyphosate May Be Linked to Shorter Pregnancies and Lower Birth Weight
Cornucopia’s Take: As scientists continue to look at potential links between glyphosate and human health problems, more issues are coming to light. As always, glyphosate can be largely avoided by eating an organic diet. Moms Exposed to Monsanto Weed Killer Means Bad Outcomes for Babies HuffPost by Carey Gillam Researchers tested and tracked 69 expectant… Read more »
A Farmer’s Thoughts on 100% Grass Fed Dairying
by Jack Lazor Butterworks Farm in Westfield, Vermont Source: Butterworks Farm One hundred per cent grass fed dairy products (aka “grass milk”) has been a relatively recent arrival to the dairy section of most natural foods outlets. The health benefits of 100% grass fed dairy have long been espoused by The Weston A. Price Foundation and… Read more »
A Safer Food Future, Now
Consumer Reports by Eric Schlosser Source: USDA During our 80th-anniversary year, Consumer Reports is introducing a series of provocative opinion essays by leading thinkers on urgent consumer issues. We hope you’ll join the conversation with us. Severely obese schoolchildren, E. coli outbreaks, salmonella in ground beef, arsenic in apple juice and rice, poultry sickened by… Read more »
Activists Grill Producers of Modified Corn
Monsanto’s engineered crop hits stores unlabeled, but Wal-Mart isn’t worried Chicago Tribune By Monica Eng As the Midwest crunches into sweet corn season, a new type will be appearing on grocery store shelves — even though shoppers have no way to recognize it. It’s genetically modified sweet corn from the biotech giant Monsanto, engineered to… Read more »
Farming the Future
We’ve been waiting 32 years for the state to map and protect Hawai‘i’s Important Agricultural Lands. The moment may be at hand. Honolulu Weekly By Ragnar Carlson Hawaii ‘78 The 1978 Constitutional Convention was the most significant moment in Hawaii politics since statehood. Among other sweeping reforms–the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the… Read more »
