The Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to reinstate the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) Rule through new rulemaking, after the previous final rule was withdrawn by the Trump administration. In his statement on June 17, 2021, USDA Secretary Vilsack noted that the new rulemaking would address the prior administration’s reasoning for abandoning the… Read more »
New report uncovers empty assurances of big organic poultry brands and implores consumers to buy from authentic organic farmers A newly published report by The Cornucopia Institute uncovers troubling poultry farming and production practices represented as organic under the USDA seal. For the Birds: How to Recognize Authentic Organic Chicken and Turkey shows how the… Read more »
Comment by December 2 [This action alert is over.] Under pressure from organic dairy farmers, farmer and consumer groups, and Congress, the National Organic Program (NOP) recently re-opened the comment period for the 2015 proposed rule on Origin of Livestock. Despite overwhelming support in 2015 for closing this loophole via the proposed Origin of Livestock… Read more »
You may have seen the study suggesting that organic agriculture actually creates more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional agriculture. The Cornucopia Institute has observed research on this topic often comes from an industrial agriculture viewpoint. For more on this issue, read “Big Ag’s Long Arms in Scientific Research.”
The Prevailing Winds of Weatherbury Farm [This article was previously published in the summer issue of The Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.] by Rachel Zegerius, Assistant Director of Development and Communications at The Cornucopia Institute Nestled in the tightly woven hills of the Washington Valley, 35 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, rest the rolling pastures of Weatherbury… Read more »
The Challenges and How Consumers Can DIY [This article was previously published in the summer issue of The Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.] Farmers markets are in full swing. Whenever possible, we urge consumers to support certified organic farm vendors first. But not all small-scale farmers choose to certify. To help determine if these non-certified farms still… Read more »
Cornucopia Wants to Know [This article was previously published in the summer issue of The Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.] by Anne Ross, JD, Director of International Policy at The Cornucopia Institute For Cornucopia’s team, every workday reminds us of our mission to safeguard organic integrity. This mission is built on values we share with each other,… Read more »
by Kestrel Burcham, JD Director of Domestic Policy at The Cornucopia Institute Introduction Discussing soil health at Vilicus Farms in MT Source: USDA, Flickr People choose organic food over conventional food for many reasons. Organic products are nutrient-dense and have fewer pesticide and other toxic chemical residues than conventional food. Organic farming offers benefits to… Read more »
Cornucopia’s Take: The Real Organic Project has brought to light a shocking practice in large-scale, “organic,” hydroponic production. Many of these facilities are being built on land that has been compacted and doused with herbicides, including glyphosate. While the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) uncomfortably insists that this practice is legal because the prohibited substances… Read more »
USDA Has “Willfully Failed” on Congressional Mandate to Prevent Fraud When farmers lobbied Congress to pass the Organic Foods Production Act in 1990, their intention was to create a level playing field in the market and to affirm the credibility of organic labeling in the eyes of consumers. Unfortunately, according to a newly released report… Read more »
