The Cornucopia Institute » 2005

Archive for October, 2005

Controversy Surrounds Organic Regs

Friday, October 28th, 2005

A loophole in the national organic standards that is allowing a handful of large dairies in arid parts of the West to produce milk labeled as �organic� with only token access to pasture needs to be closed, say many organic farmers and organics advocates.

This spring, The Cornucopia Institute, which is dedicated to maintaining consumer confidence in the organic food label, filed legal complaints with the USDA alleging that a growing number of factory farms are ignoring the organic rule that requires that dairy cows to have �access to pasture.�

Posted in Media/News

Critics Fear USDA Will Be Cowed By Large Dairies

Wednesday, October 19th, 2005

WASHINGTON — Seven months after a federal advisory board sought to close loopholes to ensure that organic dairy cows are raised in pastures, rather than in confined pens, the Department of Agriculture has yet to embrace the board’s recommendations.

Posted in Media/News

Organic Food Producers Lose Ground to Imports

Friday, October 14th, 2005

Advocates tout organic food as a salvation for small U.S. farms. But more and more, organic food isn’t American at all. The apples included.

Posted in Media/News

USDA�s organic program sides with factory dairy farms

Wednesday, October 12th, 2005

Way back in the year 2000, concerned consumers and farmers asked the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to address a new and troubling trend�factory farms producing �organic� milk in confinement conditions.

The board responded in 2001 by adopting a guidance document that would have helped farmers and certifiers understand what is expected of them and closed loopholes being exploited by industrial-scale farms. The USDA sat on this document, never posting it on their web site or enforcing its provisions.

Posted in Action Alerts