ACTION ALERT: Strengthen Animal Welfare in Organics Submit your comments to the National Organic Standards Board Due October 19, 2009 — 11:59 P.M. Current organic standards lack strong language to address animal welfare on farms; as a result, factory farms are producing certified organic meat, eggs and milk. Some poultry operations, for example, house tens… Read more »
Search Results for: regenerative agriculture
Organic Poultry
To see how Cornucopia rates your favorite poultry brand, access our mobile-friendly scorecard. More information is available in Cornucopia’s report, For the Birds: How to Recognize Authentic Organic Chicken and Turkey. Background: Organic chicken and turkey Chicken is a “gateway meat” into organic eating. According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, organic chicken is purchased by more… Read more »
“Organic” Hens Locked Wing-to-Wing in Giant Barns
Cornucopia’s Take: Herbruck’s and many other industrial organic egg producers claim to “strictly adhere to the current National Organic Program [NOP] standards.” It may be more accurate to say that these operations adhere to the standards the NOP is willing to enforce. It should be noted that the standards, currently, clearly state that “all” organic… Read more »
FDA Again Testing for Glyphosate in Food
Cornucopia’s Take: The FDA began limited testing for glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, early in 2016 but suspended testing shortly thereafter, citing issues with consistent procedures. Testing has now resumed, according to documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. Glyphosate, a suspected carcinogen, is not approved for use in organic agriculture. FDA Resumes… Read more »
EPA Ignores Science on Pesticide
Cornucopia’s Take: Scott Pruitt, the new EPA chief, has ignored his own scientists’ recommendations on chlorpyrifos. Pruitt’s EPA has instead sided with industry interests in allowing the harmful pesticide to remain in use. Organic agriculture does not permit the use of chlorpyrifos. A Strong Case Against a Pesticide Does Not Faze E.P.A. Under Trump The… Read more »
USDA Sued for Corporate Hijack of Organic Industry Governing Board
[View Cornucopia’s legal complaint here.] Watchdog: Business Executives Appointed to Seats Congress Reserved for Farmers Operating an organic farm? Source: NEC Corp. of America The Cornucopia Institute has filed a lawsuit challenging the USDA’s appointment of non-farmers to positions reserved by Congress for organic farmers on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The NOSB is… Read more »
The Great Artisanal Cheese Panic of 2014: A Postmortem
Modern Farmer by Dan Mitchell Credit: Abalg Last week’s big cheese scare came and went like a lightning bolt, but it left a few scorches behind. It all began when an FDA apparatchik, in what she must have thought was routine fashion, responded to a request for clarification on a the FDA’s view on aging cheese on… Read more »
Inexpensive Technology Can Spot Fake Organic Milk – Will the USDA Look?
Cornucopia’s Take: Spectroscopy offers hope for truly organic dairy farmers. It provides a fast and inexpensive way to show, scientifically, whether milk comes from cows pastured on grass. Cornucopia has, in the past, filed numerous complaints against “organic” livestock operations who are in our judgement flouting the organic pasture rules. This is based on flyover images… Read more »
USDA Testing for Glyphosate in Limbo
Cornucopia’s Take: While the USDA claims glyphosate is harmless, and therefore hardly worth the expense of testing for, they did start limited testing for the herbicide last year. According to this article, a FOIA request gathered information about alarmingly high levels of glyphosate in honey and in oatmeal. Testing was to commence in earnest this… Read more »
Junk Food Is Bad For Plants, Too
Nautilus by Anne Biklé and David R. Montgomery Source: Anna Fox How a steady diet of fertilizers has turned crops into couch potatoes. Most of us are familiar with the much-maligned Western diet and its mainstay of processed food products found in the middle aisles of the grocery store. Some of us beeline for the salty chips… Read more »
