Federal Organic Panel Meets This Week to Vote on Controversial Topics Agribusiness industry interests have been working for years to woo organic influencers: NOP Staff Director Miles McEvoy touring a hydroponic greenhouse in California, Archi’s Acres, owned by one of the principal hydroponic activist/lobbyists. Image Source: USDA When the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meets… Read more »
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Controversial USDA National Organic Standards Board to Meet in Tucson
Possibly the Least Consequential Meeting in Its 26-Year History When members of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) assemble in Tucson later this week, it will be the first meeting since it has become painfully obvious to the organic community that their power, created by an act of Congress, has been almost entirely stripped away…. Read more »
Organic Policy Wonks Square Off in Stowe, Vermont
Fight Over Organic Integrity Pits Corporate Agribusiness Lobbyists Against Farmers/Consumers Scorecard of Votes by Organic Policymakers on the NOSB Released Stakeholders in the organic industry will descend on the small resort community of Stowe, Vermont next week in a ritual that has taken place for two decades. The focus will be on the semiannual meeting of… Read more »
Is Your Pet’s Food as Safe as You Think?
5 Tips to Keeping Your Furry Friend Healthy and Well Fed By Linley Dixon, PhD In recent years, anecdotal reports by veterinarians suggest there has been a spike in serious intestinal maladies in pets. Americans spend about $22 billion on pet food each year. Source: DollarPhotoClub.com Pet food quality varies significantly and all too often includes dangerous… Read more »
Follow the National Organic Standards Board Meeting in Jacksonville, FL #NOSB
Last Updated: November 2, 2017 at 3:12PM CT Join The Cornucopia Institute as we live tweet from the National Organic Standards Board meeting in Jacksonville, Florida. We will be sharing the play by play with our Twitter followers under #NOSB or simply follow our stream. For background on issues up for discussion at the meeting,… Read more »
Organic Industry in Turmoil: Pioneering Farmers Threatening to Jump Ship
Focal Point of First USDA Regulatory Meeting Since Crisis: Hydroponics Former NOP director Miles McEvoy, before exiting under an ethical cloud from the USDA, visiting with Karen Archipley at her hydroponic operation. Archipley is a spokesperson for Coalition for Sustainable Organics, an astroturf group funded by hydroponic industry interests. Image source: USDA When organic stakeholders… Read more »
Report Finds Toxins/Carcinogens in Popular Brands of Toothpaste
Scorecard Identifies the “Dirtiest” and Safest, Even Organic, Alternatives The latest report by The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog, uncovers serious problems in cosmetics industry regulations. Regulatory weaknesses and loopholes allow for the use of questionable, even harmful ingredients in personal care products, such as toothpastes, that could negatively impact the health of the… Read more »
The Canary in the Organic Coal Mine
Organic Crops and Gardens Increasingly Contaminated by Persistent Herbicides by Linley Dixon, PhD This sunflower shows the leaf curl characteristic of poisoning by aminopyralid herbicide. In this case, the herbicide contamination came from horse manure. Photo by John Mason, www.geologywales.co.uk Nothing is more infuriating than first-hand accounts of “Big Ag” putting sustainable organic farmers out of business. Herbicide… Read more »
National Organic Standards Board Meetings
Cornucopia is the most vocal and engaged watchdog of The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The 15-member NOSB is an expert citizen panel created by Congress, charged with advising the Secretary of Agriculture on organic policy. Cornucopia closely monitors the NOSB’s biannual meetings and activities. One of the NOSB’s most important tasks is to determine… Read more »
New York Times Ramps up Pressure on NOSB as Meeting Opens
On the eve of the National Organic Standards Board Meeting, The New York Times published a story focusing on the debate between traditional organic farmers, growing in soil, and high-tech “organic” corporate interests hydroponically producing fruits and vegetables in water/liquid fertilizer. The Times story should ramp up the pressure on the USDA’s National Organic Standards… Read more »
