As energy, healthcare, and feed costs skyrocket, organic dairy farmers get squeezed Guest post by Ed Maltby, executive director Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance Deerfield, MA: What is more important to Stonyfield Farm and HP Hood, market share or the health and welfare of their organic family farmers? If you ask 24-year-old Mark Ouellette Jr.,… Read more »
Search Results for: regenerative agriculture
Berks Cows Find Grass Really is Greener
Dairy farmer, partnering with Rodale, is transitioning his herd to an organic operation. THE MORNING CALL By Arlene Martínez James Burkholder’s dairy cows had never spent much time outside, shuffling mostly from the barn to the milking parlor in the morning, and then repeating the short trip at night. Their food was brought to them,… Read more »
No Seeds, No Independent Research
Los Angeles Times By Doug Gurian-Sherman Soybeans, corn, cotton and canola — most of the acres planted in these crops in the United States are genetically altered. “Transgenic” seeds can save farmers time and reduce the use of some insecticides, but herbicide use is higher, and respected experts argue that some genetically engineered crops may… Read more »
USDA Uncovers Plot to Import Fake Chinese Organic Food
Chinese Import Moratorium Needed to Protect Consumers/Farmers Cornucopia, WI—After years of ringing the alarm bell about fraudulent Chinese organic production, the nation’s preeminent organic farming watchdog, The Cornucopia Institute, applauded the federal government’s current approach to enforcement and its transparency. On February 11, The Department of Agriculture (USDA) publicly released evidence of attempted fraud by… Read more »
Salinas, California: The Salad Bowl of Pesticides
Politics Daily Sheila Kaplan SALINAS VALLEY, Calif. – Locals call this place the world’s salad bowl. Dole, Naturipe and Fresh Express are here, where much of the global fruit and vegetable trade emerges in neat green fields just over the hills from the Pacific Coast. The difficulties facing migrant workers who plant and pick the… Read more »
Farmers Markets: Transparency is Our Model
Civil Eats By Stacy Miller of the Farmers Market Coalition On October 15th, the trade publication The Packer reported on an issue of growing concern for farmers market vendors and shoppers: grocery chains are copy-catting farmers markets by using “farmers market” signs outside of their stores. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on the… Read more »
The New Frontier: Genetically Modified Oil Wars
GMO Journal Consumer Beware: the next generation of biotech crops focus directly on you. Unlike most of GM crops currently on the market, which are genetically altered to be herbicide and pesticide resistant, the new generation of GM crops are designed to express alleged nutritional benefits. Focusing on soybean oil — the fastest way to… Read more »
Dead Zone in Gulf Linked to Ethanol Production
San Francisco Chronicle Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau Washington – — While the BP oil spill has been labeled the worst environmental catastrophe in recent U.S. history, a biofuel is contributing to a Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” the size of New Jersey that scientists say could be every bit as harmful to the gulf…. Read more »
Kalona Marketer Caters to Demand for Organic Food
Arrangement puts eggs, milk, veggies from Mennonite, Amish farmers on store shelves DesMoines Register (link no longer available) By Jerry Perkins Wellman, Ia. – Farmers farm. Marketers market. In the case of some Amish and Mennonite farmers in southeast Iowa and the marketing firm Kalona Organics, the twain shall meet to bridge the gap between producers… Read more »
Federal Court Rules USDA Erred in Approving Genetically Engineered Alfalfa Without Full Environmental Review
Precedent-setting Decision May Block Planting, Sales of Monsanto Alfalfa Washington, DC— In a decision handed down yesterday, a Federal Court has ruled, for the first time ever, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture failed to abide by federal environmental laws when it approved a genetically engineered crop without conducting a full Environment Impact Statement (EIS)…. Read more »
