Protect our organic food future
July 31, 2026
Building capacity for change at Kalamazoo People’s Food Co-op An iconic mural in downtown Kalamazoo paints the picture of community: food, farming, music, intergenerational work and play. The artist was commissioned to create a scene that would proudly display the vision and values of the People’s Food Co-op (PFC), housed ...
Authentic organic farmer and former NOSB member Francis Thicke appeared before the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) during the public comments webinar on Thursday, April 22 to share concerns regarding the integrity of the national organic standards. He was speaking on behalf of 40 former NOSB members who served on ...
The Cornucopia Institute is focused on community resilience; access to clean, nutrient-dense food; and supporting the farmers who produce organic food and contribute to the health of the planet. But there’s no rulebook for the common good. Corporations consistently erode the boundaries of organic regulations, hurting authentic organic farmers who ...
On March 19 a California court delivered a gut punch to the USDA organic label, betraying the trust of consumers and demoralizing authentic organic farmers. The ruling announced by the Northern California federal district court allows soilless produce operations to remain certified organic under the law. The lawsuit filed last ...
Join The Cornucopia Institute as we keep you informed via web updates and live tweets from the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting online. We will be sharing the play by play of the meeting on April 28, 29, and 30 below and with our Twitter followers at #NOSB or ...
Preserving Gullah farming traditions and food culture in South Carolina Story and photo by LeeAnn Chisolm Morrissette [This article was previously published in the spring issue of the Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.] I met Sara’ Reynolds Green, lovingly referred to as “Mama Sara’,” and her husband Bill when I was ...
[This article was previously published in the spring issue of the Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter. Donate today to protect organic integrity and receive our summer issue in print.] The Cornucopia Institute is adamant that the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) enforce the required management of the living soil. Authentic organic ...
The Spring 2021 Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter, is now available online. Download the PDF. In it you’ll find: Cornucopia’s New Executive Director is Building Bridges Organic Policy Watch The True Cost of Industrial Beef Kalamazoo People’s Food Coop is Nourishing Community A Legacy of Stewardship in South Carolina Soil Matters
...A new rule is coming. And it’s desperately needed to ensure that healthy calves from organic cows grow up eating grass alongside their relatives. That scenario is commonplace among Cornucopia’s five-cow-rated dairies. But in industrialized organic dairies, scofflaws have long flouted existing “origin of livestock” rules, continuously transitioning conventional animals ...
North Dakota seed breeders safeguard the future of food By Marianne Landzettel Theresa Podoll breathed a cautious sigh of relief. The harvest on her North Dakota farm had gone well and, at the time of our conversation in early October, snow was absent from the forecast for the rest of ...
Ushering in a New Leadership Era With a Fierce Protector of Organic Viroqua, WI – Following many months of teamwork to navigate a founder transition, the board of The Cornucopia Institute voted unanimously to promote longtime staff member Melody Morrell as the organization’s next executive director. “Melody Morrell has served ...
Here’s a quixotic scenario: a secretary of agriculture who is cozy with farmers, not corporations. Instead, we are preparing for the return of Tom Vilsack, who served as secretary of agriculture in the Obama administration between 2008 and 2016. Most recently, Vilsack worked in the private sector, as president and ...
