Cornucopia’s Take: As more consumers seek eggs, dairy, and meat from healthy, well-fed animals, demand for high quality feed is skyrocketing. The operations in this article are working to commercialize insects for feed, a relatively new entry into the industry and one that could be incredibly useful for poultry. Maggot Revolution bioGraphic by Gloria Dickie… Read more »
Search Results for: GMO
Autopsy or Message of Hope?
Withdrawn animal welfare rule still under USDA analysis An unusual action by the USDA has left us scratching our heads. In April of this year, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) requested public comments on the economic analysis of the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) Rule—despite the fact that the USDA withdrew the… Read more »
Restaurants Frequently Misrepresent What’s Organic
USDA Will Enforce–But Consumers are the Frontline Investigators Many consumers who choose organic food for home cooked meals want the same benefits of organic certification when they eat out. Unfortunately, many are being misled or defrauded. Restaurants recognize that local and organic foods are no longer narrow niche markets and that promoting organic food can… Read more »
Organic Pork Remains Largely Out of Consumer Reach
Cornucopia’s Take: Conventional pork producers pen their hogs in overcrowded barns, spray them with pesticides, provide the cheapest feed available, and store their considerable manure in giant anaerobic lagoons where it is open to the environment and frequently pollutes local watersheds. These cut corners make conventional pork a very “cheap” meat. In contrast, organic hogs… Read more »
Bees Have Minds of Their Own
Cornucopia’s Take: Bees have long been studied by humans, but we have been unaware that they are likely studying us as well. From this interesting research, scientists have discovered that bees can learn how to use unfamiliar tools to benefit their needs. Even bumblebees can learn to use tools, scientists show LA Times by Amina Khan… Read more »
Years In the Making: Organic Welfare Rule (Way) Too Little / (Way) Too Late
New Rulemaking Capitulates to Industrial Livestock Interests On January 18 the USDA announced the publication of new regulations purportedly improving the welfare of livestock on certified organic farms. The law, years in the making, was sparked after wide outcry from family-scale organic farmers, and their consumers, concerning “factory farms” producing organic milk, meat, and eggs…. Read more »
A New Study Suggests Even the Toughest Pesticide Regulations Aren’t Nearly Tough Enough
The Nation by Liza Gross Source: benketaro As in most states, regulators in California measure the effect of only one pesticide at a time. But farmers often use several pesticides together—and that’s a big, toxic problem. California officials have long touted their pesticide regulations as the toughest in the nation. But a new report from the… Read more »
The Family Peach Farm That Became A Symbol Of The Food Revolution
NPR – The Salt by Dan Charles Source: Shihmei Barger 舒詩玫 In the heart of California’s Central Valley, a vast expanse of orchards, vineyards, and vegetable fields, lies a small collection of aging peach trees. Farmer Mas Masumoto’s decision to preserve those trees, and then to write about it, became a symbol of resistance to… Read more »
USDA Greenlights Dow’s 2,4-D Seeds
Pesticide Action Network, North America by Marcia Ishii-Eiteman Earlier this month, USDA welcomed in the new year by presenting Dow AgroSciences with a bountiful gift: A virtual green light for the pesticide company’s new genetically engineered (GE) corn and soybean seeds. These crops are designed specifically to be used with Dow’s infamous herbicide, 2,4-D. Dow… Read more »
Where Cows Are Happy and Food Is Healthy
New York Times By Nicholas D. Kristof FOOD can be depressing. If it’s tasty, it’s carcinogenic. If it’s cheap, animals were tortured. But this, miraculously, is a happy column about food! It’s about a farmer who names all his 230 milk cows, along with his 200 heifers and calves, and loves them like children. Let… Read more »
