Long overdue rule underscores the cost and care of raising organic calves [This article was previously published in the summer issue of the Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter. Donate today to protect organic integrity and receive our fall issue in print.] For years after they purchased their land, and before they even welcomed their first calf,… Read more »
Cornucopia’s Take: This study reports that between 25 and 41% of the smog-producing nitrogen oxide in California’s Central Valley comes from crop fertilizers. This is largely due to indiscriminate fertilization of large fields, without regard for what the soil and plants can take in. Nitrogen oxide, by weight, has 300 times more impact on the… Read more »
The Westerly Sun (RI) By Leslie Rovetti/ Sun Staff Writer CHARLESTOWN — On West Beach Road, a local organic farmer, Maxson Hence of Westerly, has established a nonprofit foundation that teaches local teenagers about agriculture and fills their stomach with fresh produce. Among the goals of the AYERSfoundation, newly founded by Hence and his wife,… Read more »
Sustainable Business Oregon By Christina Williams Oregon has long been on the forefront of the local food movement but what started as a trend on Portland menus has grown into a global economic shift that has the attention of creative entrepreneurs and top-shelf investors. Oregon’s head start in thinking about local food, sustainable agriculture and… Read more »
We must resist seed monopolies of corporates, they harm us all, writes biodiversity campaigner Vandana Shiva The Guardian What happens to the seed affects the web of life. When seed is living, regenerative and diverse, it feeds pollinators, soil organisms and animals – including humans. When seed is non-renewable, bred for chemicals, or genetically engineered… Read more »
One Seat on the National Organic Standards Board at a Time Nominations for True Organic Representatives to NOSB by May 15 When Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 it included an important buffer assuring the organic community that we would never lose control over the true meaning of the organic label: a… Read more »
Finding a Way of Life on Windy Acres Farm [This article was previously published in the winter issue of The Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.] by Jason Cole, Research Associate at The Cornucopia Institute Photo courtesy of Windy Acres Farm What is the meaning and purpose of work? Is it simply a means of making a… Read more »
SustainableBusiness.com A report from GRAIN discusses how agriculture can put back much of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into the soil. Soils contain enormous amounts of carbon, mostly in the form of organic matter. The report shows that industrial agriculture, and thus the global food system, has spewed large amounts of this carbon… Read more »
Cornucopia’s Take: The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition notes in the article below, “reforms to conservation, research and the farm safety net present an enormous opportunity to improve the health of our soils.” Cornucopia agrees that changes to the 2018 Farm Bill could go a long way toward healing agricultural lands, now some of the biggest… Read more »
Cornucopia’s Take: While financial uncertainty hangs over Puerto Rico, small farms are popping up, providing jobs and food. The Puerto Rican government is supporting agriculture of all types. With GMO trial fields in place since 2011, Bayer has announced intentions to open two large biotech facilities there. Puerto Rico finds unexpected source of growth in… Read more »
