Studies Warn of Produce Grown in ‘Hot Spot’ Soil; Pingyang’s Ill Farmers Wall Street Journal By Nicholas Zamiska and Jane Spencer NANNING, China — For nearly two decades, Lai Mandai regularly ate and sold beans, cabbage and watermelons grown on a plot of land a short walk from a lead smelting plant in her village…. Read more »
Search Results for: regenerative agriculture
When it Pays to Buy Organic
Consumer Reports February 2006 Which apple? The decision doesn’t end once you’ve figured out whether to buy, say, the McIntosh or the Red Delicious. In many food stores across the country, you’re also faced with the more vexing question of buying organic or conventional, and not just at the apple bin. All kinds of organic… Read more »
What Organic Beef Is — and Isn’t
The organic label offers unique assurances about how food was grown, raised, and processed. As ruminant livestock, beef cattle are more regulated than any other certified organic animal, with clear requirements for pasturing and diet. What the organic standards, rules, and regulations promise The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) sets a regulatory floor for all… Read more »
USDA Accused of Disseminating “Corporate Propaganda” Backing Agribusiness Switch of Organics to (Soil-less) Hydroponic Production
[Read Cornucopia’s formal request to the USDA’s Office of Inspector General to investigate whether the agency willfully attempted to misinform the public.] Regulators Bypass Expert Panel, Endorse Organic Practices Banned Worldwide FOIA Documents, Witnesses Indicate Collusion, USDA Organic Program in Turmoil: Formal Complaint Filed with Office of Inspector General Hydroponic operations, like this one, need… Read more »
Government Shutdown Closes National Organic Program
Cornucopia’s Take: The latest round of politics in Washington, DC has led to a government shutdown. The entire organic program is currently suspended. Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency offices are either closed or offering only partial services to farmers who are planning for next season. Farm loans and other governmental financial assistance… Read more »
Egg Labels Explained
Cornucopia’s Take: Egg cartons have an increasingly dizzying number of claims stamped across them, and we regularly receive questions on their meanings. This article decodes them well. Cornucopia’s scorecard for organic eggs helps consumers decide which organic brands are produced with the highest integrity and best management practices. What All of the “Cage-Free” Stuff on… Read more »
Identify + Encourage These Beneficial Insects
Rodale’s Organic Life Source: Kenton Forshee Many common insects are actually good for your garden. Our insect allies far outnumber the insect pests in our yards and gardens. Bees, flies, and many moths help gardeners by pollinating flowers; predatory insects eat pest insects; parasitic insects lay their eggs inside pests, and the larvae that hatch… Read more »
Latest USDA Scandal: Organic Program Dismisses Legal Complaints Targeting Factory Farms — Without Investigating
Watchdog Asks OIG to Investigate “Unholy Alliance” Between Industry Lobbyists and Regulators The Cornucopia Institute harshly criticized the USDA for its failure to conduct an investigation of 14 legal complaints filed by the Wisconsin-based organic industry watchdog group last December. The complaints allege a systemic pattern of livestock management violations occurring on some of the nation’s… Read more »
Prominent Government Watchdog Asks Obama Administration to Remove Organic Leadership at USDA
National Organic Program Divisive and in Crisis NOP Deputy Director Miles McEvoy tours a hydroponic farm Source: USDA The nation’s preeminent organic industry watchdog, The Cornucopia Institute, sent a letter today to the White House, and to USDA Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack, requesting a change in leadership at the regulator’s National Organic Program (NOP). A… Read more »
NOSB Voting Scorecard Released – Lobbyists/Influence Peddlers Eroding Organic Standards
Analysis Illustrates USDA/Agribusiness Collusion CORNUCOPIA, WIS: A comprehensive voting analysis of members of the National Organic Standards Board, an expert body formed by Congress to insulate the governance of the industry from undue corporate influence, clearly illustrates how illegal appointments to the board by current and past USDA Secretaries have subverted congressional intent. The study,… Read more »
