Is carrageenan bad for you? When considering the answer to that question, it’s useful to follow the money. For example, industry consultant TOXpertise, LLC has painted research pointing to the potential health risks of this controversial food additive as faulty science. However, the company’s analyses were funded by FMC Corporation, which has “over 60 years of experience in the development and production of carrageenan products…” Yet in… Read more »
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Recap from the National Organic Standards Board Meeting
Demystifying the policy that impacts organics farmers and consumers In the wake of massive destruction to the organic dairy marketplace, a languishing rule intended to prevent the continuous cycling of conventional livestock into organic operation will finally reappear as a second proposed rule for public comment. Reporting from the fall National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)… Read more »
The “Organic Pasture Rule”: How the Law Sets Minimum Standards for Grazing
by Kestrel Burcham, JD Farm and Food Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute Introduction to Organic Livestock and Grazing Requirements How organic livestock are produced is covered by specific regulations—the only such federal regulations concerning a food product that address how the animal was raised and not just the qualities of the final product. The… Read more »
Over Half the Fruit and One Third of the Vegetables We Eat are Imported
Cornucopia’s Take: Since 1975, the United States has seen shocking increases in produce imports from other countries, detailed in the article below. In order to accept produce from places that are home to invasive pests and disease, the USDA has increased pesticide applications at the border. The FDA reports that nearly 10% of imported produce,… Read more »
A Farmer’s View of the NOSB Meeting in Denver
Cornucopia’s Take: Dave Chapman of Long Wind Farm in Vermont attended the recent National Organic Standards Board meeting. We share his thoughts on events there, and the history leading to them, below. Is healthy soil important? by Dave Chapman Dave Chapman testifies at the NOSB meeting in Denver “Finally, the soul of organics is at… Read more »
More Than Honey: Honeybees and Our Food System
Fix by Tafline Laylin Source: Brad Smith The importance of bees to humanity’s long-term survival is impossible to overstate, yet their numbers are plummeting. In the past five years alone, the United States has lost 31 percent of its total bee population.1Each year – because of climate change, mites, pesticides, colony collapse disorder (CCD), and… Read more »
Q&A: Dr. Pedro Sanchez Discusses Cuba
UC Food Observer by Rose Hayden-Smith, PhD Dr. Pedro Sanchez Source: Columbia University Dr. Pedro Sanchez currently serves as director of the Agriculture and Food Security Center at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Sanchez left his native Cuba at age 18 to study at Cornell University, where he received B.S., M.S. and PhD degrees in soil science…. Read more »
Largest Corporate Dairy, Biotech Firm and USDA Accused of Conspiring to Corrupt Rulemaking and Pollute Organics
Watchdog Requests Federal Investigation, Files Ethics Charges WASHINGTON, DC: The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry research and watchdog organization, announced it has formally requested the USDA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate corruption at its National Organic Program resulting in the use of illegal synthetics in organic food and then allowing powerful corporations to… Read more »
Doctors Take Aim At Antibiotic Resistance From Factory Farming
Huffington Post by Lynne Peeples “Here’s the big secret that no one wants to talk about: We’re not very good at keeping what’s inside a cow’s intestines out of the meat.” The roomful of young doctors at Oakland Children’s Hospital chuckled as retired cardiologist Jeff Ritterman whispered audibly, his hand hiding his mouth. He went… Read more »
Comments on Draft Environmental Impact Statement Glyphosate-Tolerant Alfalfa
The following comments concern the potential deregulation of Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa. They are provided by Jim Munsch, a certified organic beef farmer and The Cornucopia Institute’s key advisor on this important issue. We are posting these as an aide to others still composing comments to the USDA and for those who seek to know… Read more »
