MAYBE NOT! BY Jim Slama When you pick up organic milk at your local grocery, you probably have visions of happy cows, frolicking in a beautiful pasture, chewing their cuds and basically hanging out. You may be surprised to learn that this may not necessarily be the case. In recent months there has been a… Read more »
Search Results for: GMO
The Bee Keepers
How a Harvard scientist, a sixth-generation bee whisperer, and a retired entrepreneur joined forces to rescue an embattled insect and save the American food supply The Boston Globe Magazine By Scott Helman CHENSHENG LU hardly cuts the profile of a provocateur. He dresses business casual and wears silver-rimmed glasses. He lives in Wellesley. He gardens…. Read more »
Organic Agriculture: Deeply Rooted in Science and Ecology 66
Grist by Eliot Coleman Organic farming is often falsely represented as being unscientific. However, despite the popular assumption that it sprang full born from the delusions of 60s hippies, it has a more extensive, and scientifically respectable, provenance. If you look back at the first flush of notoriety in the 1940s, the names most often… Read more »
Demise of the National Organic Standards Board?
Montana Organic Association by Barry Flamm, Former Chair of the National Organic Standards Board, Board Member of The Cornucopia Institute and MOA Lifetime Member The original and current purpose of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (OFPA) is to bring integrity and order to organic food production and marketing by establishing uniform standards. The… Read more »
Apeel and Edible Coatings: Your Questions Answered
If you’re one of the many organic consumers with questions or concerns about the food preservation product called Apeel, Cornucopia has answers. We believe consumers have the right to know what they are eating, not only to protect themselves but to support agricultural practices deserving of their investment. We’ve done extensive research to cut through… Read more »
Congress to Consider Doubling National Organic Program Funding
Cornucopia’s Take: The reputation of “USDA Organic” has suffered enormously this year. The Washington Post has run a series of investigative stories, detailing the fraud, lack of enforcement, and conflicts of interest at the National Organic Program (NOP). Cornucopia has shared insight into these issues with organic stakeholders for almost 15 years, conducting investigations and publishing reports… Read more »
Big Tech Seeks to Stop Nebraska ‘Right to Repair’ Bill
Cornucopia’s Take: Tractors now house high tech software that farmers are not allowed to access, although costly software issues may ground a tractor during the growing season. Farmers and small electronics technicians are backing a bill to allow the public access to software, parts, and repair instructions. John Deere and Apple unsurprisingly maintain that they,… Read more »
Surviving on Wheat, Rice, and Corn
Cornucopia’s Take: Wheat, rice, and corn now make up 43% of the food eaten in the world. Setting aside the political-financial issue of food distribution, this report discusses the homogenization of food eaten, and attendant loss of biodiversity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), we will need to produce… Read more »
The 14 Best Books About Food That You (Probably) Haven’t Read
Paste by John Burdick Source: Daniel Go From blogs to many popular books, food writing is now among America’s favorite forms of leisure reading. Gaining usage as a term in the early 1990s, food writing is now composed of a range of genres—non-fiction, literature, recipes, journalism, memoir, and travelogues among them—that explore the fundamental relationship… Read more »
Family Farming: Bucolic Myth vs. Economic Reality
Why Does Superior Food Production Generate Inferior Income? [This article was previously published in the fall issue of The Cultivator, Cornucopia’s quarterly newsletter.] by Linley Dixon, PhD Linley Dixon Our diverse, small-acre vegetable farm was in its fourth year of production. Despite what appeared to be a successful venture — a thriving farmer’s market stand,… Read more »