¡Join the fight!
Via Jim Riddle at the University of Minnesota's Organic Ecology
A Look at the Newly Released Organic Pasture Rule Webinar by eOrganic
Join us for a Webinar on March 17
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/169941112 Read more...
New USDA Rules Establish Strong Organic Standards for Pasture and Livestock Read more...
The president trotted out his proposed $3.8 gabajillion dollar budget this week, and we should note that the USDA's National Organic Program is receiving a 44% increase in funding: A $10.1 million budget, with $2.1 million earmarked specifically "for regulatory review and enforcement and to forge agreements with other countries to help expand exports" (Burlington Free Press). Read more...
Check out Our Beginning, the first USDA certified organic daycare in the state of Washington. From King5 in Seattle:
Our Beginning strives to be green and organic. The walls sport chemical free paint, the carpets are all made of natural fibers, and the food going into the tiny bodies is more than 98% organic. The day care's cook makes almost everything on site, from organic apple and celery juice, to the homemade spinach cream spread on whole grain bagels. Read more...
Why do people buy organic food? I don't mean "what reasons do they have?" - there are plenty of articles covering the whys and wherefores of buying organic. I'm talking psychology. Sociology. Why do people make the decision to start buying food that is sometimes hard to track down and is usually more expensive than its conventional counterpart? How did it start as a trend? Read more...
I was discussing GMOs and genetic engineering with contacts on Twitter a few days ago, and Joya, a very smart farmer out in Delaware, said she thought that all corn in the US was probably tainted with GMO traits now, thanks to widespread use of GMOs and its pollen drift
Organic farming, of course, requires farmers to source non-GMO seed, so the implications of what she said were sobering to me. I'd imagined this would eventually be true, but hadn't given it much thought recently. Read more...
Fair Food Fight heard this summer that up to six large industrial organic operations were being targeted by the USDA for violating USDA laws.
Well, the incoming deputy of the USDA said back in June that the era of enforcement in the organic industry has begun. And she's making good on her prediction. Read more...
Here in Minnesota, the lettuces and greens are slowly disappearing from the farmers markets, organic heirloom tomatoes are departing, and summer fruits have long vanished.
As autumn marches on, my family and I are spending less time in farmers markets and heading back to grocery stores for more of our shopping, especially produce shopping. This means I'm tracking down more and more certiifed organic food. Read more...
Writer Darin Bradley asked in a previous thread:
I worry about eco-claims at Farmers' Markets, too. I don't suppose we could twist your arm into sharing two or three important questions one might ask when evaluating produce . . . .
And so I said: Read more...
In her keynote address on June 17, Deputy USDA Secretary Kathleen Merrigan told the crowd at All Things Organic that the USDA is entering " an era of enforcement" where organics is concerned. Read more...
