The Des Moines Register (link no longer available) by Phillip Brasher, Register Washington Bureau Facing sky-high crop prices, some in the organic food industry are borrowing an idea from their conventional counterparts. CROPP Cooperative, best known for Organic Valley milk, seeks organic grain growers willing to sign three-year contracts to supply feed to the La Farge,… Read more »
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Going Organic Can Shield Children From Pesticides
A study finds benefits are ‘immediate’ and suggests that youths are exposed to the chemicals primarily through food, not spraying of homes. By Marla Cone L.A. Times Staff Writer September 3, 2005 Switching to organic foods provides children “dramatic and immediate” protection from pesticides that are widely used on a variety of crops, according to… Read more »
Hardship on Mexico’s Farms, a Bounty for U.S. Tables
A Times reporter and photographer find that thousands of laborers at Mexico’s mega-farms endure harsh conditions and exploitation while supplying produce for American consumers. First of four stories. Please click on the link below to view this story with all images on the LA Times website. Source: Rusty Clark LA Times by Richard Marosi The tomatoes,… Read more »
(ALERT OVER) Act by Midnight on Monday — Protect Organic Livestock/Crack down on Factory Farms
ACTION ALERT: Strengthen Animal Welfare in Organics Submit your comments to the National Organic Standards Board Due October 19, 2009 — 11:59 P.M. Current organic standards lack strong language to address animal welfare on farms; as a result, factory farms are producing certified organic meat, eggs and milk. Some poultry operations, for example, house tens… Read more »
What Would Michael Pollan Eat?
San Francisco Charonicle Carol Ness, Chronicle Staff Writer This might come as a shock to devotees of the Church of Michael Pollan, but his next article will be about orchid sex, not food. And his next book may not be about food, either. “My wife says it’s time for me to move on,” the UC… Read more »
Has ‘Organic’ Been Oversized?
NY Times By Stephanie Strom Ann Arbor, MI — Michael J. Potter is one of the last little big men left in organic food. More than 40 years ago, Mr. Potter bought into a hippie cafe and “whole earth” grocery here that has since morphed into a major organic foods producer and wholesaler, Eden Foods…. Read more »
USDA Allows Introduction of 2,4-D-Tolerant GE Cotton in Response to Roundup Resistance
Beyond Pesticides Source: Mike Beauregard Despite concerns for human and environmental contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) adds 2,4-D-tolerant cotton, a genetically engineered (GE) crop, to the list of unregulated GE crops, joining 2,4-D resistant corn and soybeans. Last week, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) division of USDA released its decision… Read more »
Groups Challenge Major USDA Change to Organic Rule:
Customary Public Comment Process Averted to the Chagrin of Petitioners Organic stakeholders have filed a lawsuit in federal court, maintaining that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) violated the federal rulemaking process when it changed established procedures for reviewing the potential hazards and need for allowed synthetic and prohibited natural substances used in producing organic… Read more »
By ‘Editing’ Plant Genes, Companies Avoid Regulation
The New York Times by Andrew Pollack Source: EMSL Its first attempt to develop genetically engineered grass ended disastrously for the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. The grass escaped into the wild from test plots in Oregon in 2003, dooming the chances that the government would approve the product for commercial use. Yet Scotts is once again… Read more »
Fifth Crow Farm
“Turns out,” says Teresa Kurtak, “there’s really nothing else that comes close to being as satisfying as being a farmer.” Although much of her childhood was spent on her family’s cattle ranch in eastern Washington, Kurtak did not expect that she would find her own life’s work in farming. Having dedicated years to academic pursuits,… Read more »
