Search Results for: GMO

The “Organic Pasture Rule”: How the Law Sets Minimum Standards for Grazing

by Kestrel Burcham, JD Farm and Food Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute Introduction to Organic Livestock and Grazing Requirements How organic livestock are produced is covered by specific regulations—the only such federal regulations concerning a food product that address how the animal was raised and not just the qualities of the final product. The… Read more »

Over Half the Fruit and One Third of the Vegetables We Eat are Imported

Cornucopia’s Take: Since 1975, the United States has seen shocking increases in produce imports from other countries, detailed in the article below. In order to accept produce from places that are home to invasive pests and disease, the USDA has increased pesticide applications at the border. The FDA reports that nearly 10% of imported produce,… Read more »

A Farmer’s View of the NOSB Meeting in Denver

Cornucopia’s Take: Dave Chapman of Long Wind Farm in Vermont attended the recent National Organic Standards Board meeting. We share his thoughts on events there, and the history leading to them, below. Is healthy soil important? by Dave Chapman Dave Chapman testifies at the NOSB meeting in Denver “Finally, the soul of organics is at… Read more »

More Than Honey: Honeybees and Our Food System

Fix by Tafline Laylin Source: Brad Smith The importance of bees to humanity’s long-term survival is impossible to overstate, yet their numbers are plummeting. In the past five years alone, the United States has lost 31 percent of its total bee population.1Each year – because of climate change, mites, pesticides, colony collapse disorder (CCD), and… Read more »

Q&A: Dr. Pedro Sanchez Discusses Cuba

UC Food Observer by Rose Hayden-Smith, PhD Dr. Pedro Sanchez Source: Columbia University Dr. Pedro Sanchez currently serves as director of the Agriculture and Food Security Center at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Sanchez left his native Cuba at age 18 to study at Cornell University, where he received B.S., M.S. and PhD degrees in soil science…. Read more »

Largest Corporate Dairy, Biotech Firm and USDA Accused of Conspiring to Corrupt Rulemaking and Pollute Organics

Watchdog Requests Federal Investigation, Files Ethics Charges WASHINGTON, DC: The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry research and watchdog organization, announced it has formally requested the USDA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate corruption at its National Organic Program resulting in the use of illegal synthetics in organic food and then allowing powerful corporations to… Read more »

Doctors Take Aim At Antibiotic Resistance From Factory Farming

Huffington Post by Lynne Peeples “Here’s the big secret that no one wants to talk about: We’re not very good at keeping what’s inside a cow’s intestines out of the meat.” The roomful of young doctors at Oakland Children’s Hospital chuckled as retired cardiologist Jeff Ritterman whispered audibly, his hand hiding his mouth. He went… Read more »

Comments on Draft Environmental Impact Statement Glyphosate-Tolerant Alfalfa

The following comments concern the potential deregulation of Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa. They are provided by Jim Munsch, a certified organic beef farmer and The Cornucopia Institute’s key advisor on this important issue. We are posting these as an aide to others still composing comments to the USDA and for those who seek to know… Read more »

Is The Way We Raise Our Food Giving Us MRSA?

The antibiotics fed to the farm animals we eat may have helped to create superbugs like the drug-resistant staph bacteria known as MRSA. Salon.com By Alex Koppelman You may want to put down your BLT before reading this, because there’s a chance that the most delicious part of your sandwich — the bacon, of course… Read more »

Farmer in Chief

The New York Times Magazine By MICHAEL POLLAN Dear Mr. President-Elect, It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food. Food policy is not something American presidents have had to give much thought to,… Read more »