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News

November 14th, 2017

| Los Angeles Times

Organic agriculture can help feed world, but only if we eat less meat and stop wasting food

By Amina Khan - The analysis, published in the journal Nature Communications, shows that it will take several strategies operating at once to feed the growing human population in a more sustainable way â€” and some of those strategies may require people to shift their dietary patterns, too.

November 2nd, 2017

| The Washington Post

Pioneers of organic farming are threatening to leave the program they helped create

By Caitlin Dewey - The pioneers of the sustainable farming movement are mourning what they call the downfall of the organic program, following a Wednesday night vote by a group of government farming advisers that could determine the future of the $50 billion organic industry..

April 19th, 2017

| The Denver Post

86 percent of shoppers care about animal welfare in organic meats and poultry, Consumer Reports says

By: Hayley Sanchez - The National Organic Standards Board on Wednesday opened public hearings in Denver to gauge whether producers of organic meat and poultry should be held to higher animal welfare standards. A new Consumer Reports survey strongly suggests that the issue is important to consumers.

April 15th, 2016

| Huffington Post

'Gold Standard' tarnished? As organic sees record growth internal battles plague industry

By Carey Gillam - The numbers don't lie - U.S. consumer demand for organic food is surging as people look for what they see as healthy offerings for themselves and their families…

February 15th, 2016

| The New York Times

Organic Meat and Milk Higher in Healthful Fatty Acids

By Kenneth Chang - Organic meat and milk differ markedly from their conventionally produced counterparts in measures of certain nutrients, a review of scientific studies reported on Tuesday.

September 17th, 2015

Sales from organic U.S. farms reached $5.5 bln last year - USDA

By Tom Polansek - Sales from organic U.S. farms reached $5.5 billion last year, a 72 percent increase from 2008, the U.S. Agriculture Department said in a report on Thursday that highlighted the consumer trend toward such products.

August 5th, 2015

The Big-Ag-Fueled Algae Bloom That Won't Leave Toledo's Water Supply Alone

By Tom Philpott - For the second straight year, an enormous algae bloom has settled upon Lake Erie, generating nasty toxins right where the city of 400,000 draws its tap water…

July 31st, 2015

Pesticide Drift Threatens Organic Farms

By Kristofor Husted - Chert Hollow Farm sits nestled between rows of tall trees and a nearby stream in central Missouri. Eric and Joanna Reuter have been running the organic farm since 2006. That means they don't plant genetically modified crops and can only use a few approved kinds of chemicals and fertilizers…

April 26th, 2015

Organic Trumps Conventional Across the Board: Highlights from The Rodale Institute's 30-Year Report

After a 30-year side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional agricultural systems, the Rodale Institute reports that organic systems match, or even outperform, conventional systems in terms of yield, profitability, and energy efficiency, while having positive effects on soil health, water quality, and rural communities.

April 18th, 2015

| The New York Times

Conflict Over Soil and Water Quality Puts 'Iowa Nice' to a Test

By MITCH SMITH - After years of mounting frustration, the utility, Des Moines Water Works, sued the leaders of three rural Iowa counties last month. Too little has been done, the lawsuit says, to prevent nitrates from flowing out of farm fields into the Raccoon River and, eventually, into the drinking water supply for roughly 500,000 Iowans…

April 6th, 2015

Fields of Toxic Pesticides Surround the Schools of Ventura County - Are They Poisoning the Students?

By Liza Gross - The pesticides that growers depend on "a revolving roster of caustic and highly volatile chemicals called fumigants "are among the most toxic used in agriculture. They include sixty-six chemicals that have been identified by the state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as the most likely to drift through the air and cause harm.

February 3rd, 2015

How Fish Could Change What It Means For Food To Be Organic

By Kristofor Husted - Lisa Bunin, the organic policy director at the Center for Food Safety, says fish farmed under the recommended standards shouldn't be certified as organic, because the wild fish used in the fish meal can't be certified as organic.

January 22nd, 2015

| Mid-Missouri Public Radio

What farming fish 'organically' could mean

When it comes to organic certification, there are strict guidelines for food producers to follow. Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture in considering a set of rules for organic farmed fish. The problem is several consumer groups say the recommended rules don't go far enough to meet the strict standards of other organic foods.

January 22nd, 2015

| The Oregonian

Washington farmworkers hit with drifting pesticides become sick, CDC warns about new mixture on market

By Molly Harbarger - Twenty farmworkers working in a cherry orchard in Washington became sick from a pesticide mixture in a pear orchard drifting over to their field. The mixture is new on the market, and this is the first reported case of illness due to its use.

December 13th, 2014

Solving Hunger in Ethiopia by Turning to Native Crops

By Amy Maxmen - Here, in southern Ethiopia, enset thrives on farms that could be mistaken for forestsâ€”growing among coffee trees, sugar cane, gargantuan squash, corn, yam and other cropsâ€”where its long-lasting roots shield the soil from erosion by keeping dirt in place during droughts and floods…

December 11th, 2014

| Center for Investigative Reporting

Even organic strawberries are grown with dangerous pesticides

By Rachael Bale - The idea that organic growers should use organically grown strawberry starts is starting to gain momentum. A small group of farmers and advocates is trying to change things. The Center for Food Safety, an organic advocacy group, is leading a project with Greenheart Farms in Central California to grow an experimental nursery crop of organic strawberry starts.

October 31st, 2014

| Christian Science Monitor

'Organic' fish labeling? Why it's a bad idea.

By Lisa Bunin - The US government is poised to release regulations that allow fish farmed in the open ocean to be labeled 'organic.' But farming fish at sea can never meet the high bar of integrity that is integral to all organic systems of production.

October 27th, 2014

Should Farmed Seafood Be Labeled 'USDA Organic'?

By Steve Holt - A new report claims seafood farming and proposed USDA standards donâ€™t mix.

August 12th, 2014

| Inter Press Service News Agency

Eco-Friendly Agriculture Puts Down Roots in Spain

By Ines Benitez - Jose Maria Gomez squats and pulls up a bunch of carrots from the soil as well as a few leeks. This farmer from southern Spain believes organic farming is more than just not using pesticides and other chemicals â€" itâ€™s a way of life, he says, which requires creativity and respect for nature.

August 9th, 2014

| Aljazeera America

Organic for the people

By Alia Malek - At a Saturday-morning farmer's market in the underprivileged East New York section of Brooklyn, Joanna White is buying a bundle of freshly harvested beets, even though she's pretty sure her teenage daughter will never agree to taste them…

July 14th, 2014

| Los Angeles Times

Organic foods are more nutritious, according to review of 343 studies

By Monte Morin - On Monday, the British Journal of Nutrition published research that disputed the notion that organic foods are essentially no more healthful than conventional foods…

June 19th, 2014

| Earth Island Journal

Feeding Hawai'i

by Maureen Nandini Mitra - Could small, biodiverse farms help the Aloha State transition to growing enough food to feed itself?

April 30th, 2014

| The Conversation

Eating organic food significantly lowers pesticide exposure: study

Eating an organic diet for a week can cause pesticide levels to drop by almost 90% in adults, research from RMIT University has found. The study, led by Dr Liza Oates found particpants' urinary dialkylphosphates (DAPs) measurements were 89% lower when they ate an organic diet for seven days compared to a conventional diet for the same amount of time.

April 24th, 2014

Organic Egg Production Ignores Animal Welfare: New Report

By EMILY MAIN - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) isn't paying enough attention to animal welfare in organic egg-laying operations, and is caving to the demands of large organic producers in keeping regulations from improving, according to a new white paper from the nonprofit Center for Food Safety.

April 9th, 2014

| The American Prospect

Jocelyn C. Zuckerman - Across the northern plains, native grassland is being turned into farmland at a rate not seen since the 1920s. The environmental consequences could be disastrous.

April 2nd, 2014

| Food Safety News

'Historic Wins' for Organic Industry in New Farm Bill

By Cookson Beecher - "Like being thrown under the bus" was how organic farmers and others in the industry described their fate a little more than a year ago when Congress failed to agree on a new farm bill and instead extended the 2008 version…

March 20th, 2014

1/2 Of Our Food Is Going To Feed Our Food. Confusing, Right?

By Michael Pollan - There are a few myths that get tossed around about food and farming. Michael Pollan (who wrote "The Omnivore's Dilemma") will set the record straight, as he often does.

March 7th, 2014

Tester seeks coexistence between farmers and GMO crops

By TOM LUTEY - They don't get along like peas in a pod, but farmers who plant genetically modified crops need to coexist with those who don't, according to U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. Tester, Montana's senior senator and the only active farmer in the U.S. Senate, is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect farmers of non-GMO crops from cross pollination with the biotech variety.

March 5th, 2014

| Organic Connections

The State of Organic: 2014

The organic industry is young - a mere teenager, considering the term organic has only been regulated by the US Department of Agriculture for fourteen years. Like everything in its youth, the organic industry is experiencing rapid changes in short periods of time…

February 24th, 2014

USDA Policy Fails to Address GMO Contamination of Organic Crops

By Lisa J. Bunin - At a time when consumers are demanding greater access to organic and non-genetically engineered (GE) foods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) latest, "ecoexistence" policy threatens the ability and right of consumers to make that shift.

February 4th, 2014

Safe Shmafe: How Slate's Latest Article on Pesticides Got It (Really) Wrong

By Kristin Wartman - In one sensational, simplistic article, author Melinda Wenner Moyer appears ready to undermine the 50-year battle that organic food advocates have waged against an increasingly monolithic industry to provide healthy, uncontaminated food.

January 30th, 2014

| Huffington Post

What's in the 2014 Farm Bill?

Elizabeth Kucinich - The most striking thing about the final Farm Bill is not the success for sustainable agriculture, but the greatness of the defeat suffered by monopoly giants. It may have been the result of Republicans' laser-like focus on cutting food stamps, but there was a notable shift.

January 24th, 2014

| The New York Times

The Elders of Organic Farming

By CAROL POGASH - For nearly a week, two dozen organic farmers from the United States and Canada shared decades' worth of stories, secrets and anxieties, and during breaks they shared the clothing-optional baths.

December 9th, 2013

Turns out those old-fashioned ways of farming were actually pretty smart

By John Upton - Remember those things humans did for thousands of years to feed themselves before we came up with all kinds of newfangled methods? We might want to go back to doing those old-school things.

December 9th, 2013

| International Business Times

Is Organic Milk Better For You? One Study Says Yes

By Roxanne Palmer - Sure, organic food is pricier, but do those extra dollars and cents buy you better nutrition? One team of scientists says that with milk, the answer's yes.

November 30th, 2013

| Common Dreams

Video: Wendell Berry on His Hopes for Humanity

Wendell Berry, a quiet and humble man, has become an outspoken advocate for revolution. He urges immediate action as he mourns how America has turned its back on the land and rejected Jeffersonian principles of respect for the environment and sustainable agriculture. Berry warns, "People who own the world outright for profit will have to be stopped; by influence, by power, by us."

October 26th, 2013

In central Minnesota, potatoes are pushing out forest land

By JOSEPHINE MARCOTTY - Agriculture is eating into central Minnesota's forests so aggressively that state regulators and a prominent legislator are sounding the alarm about threats to wildlife habitat and a large, sensitive aquifer that stretches below parts of four counties…

October 23rd, 2013

Nitrogen pollution from farming lingers for decades

By John Upton - When a farmworker sprays fertilizer over a field, there's a good chance he or she will be outlived by nitrogen pollution from that fertilizer. A 30-year study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that nitrogen could linger in soil for nearly a century after fertilizer is applied.

October 22nd, 2013

| The New York Times

Now This Is Natural Food

By MARK BITTMAN - A few weeks ago at the annual Prairie Festival in Salina, Kan. - a celebration, essentially, of true sustainability - I sat down with Wes Jackson to drink rich beer and eat delicious, chewy bread made from the perennial grain Kernza. The Kernza we ate was cultivated at the Land Institute, the festival's sponsor and the organization Jackson founded here 37 years ago.

October 16th, 2013

Drift catchers use citizen science to fight pesticide pollution

By Lori Rotenberk - "We know we have drift, but how much is unknown," Krouse says. "I'm measuring because I want to know, and if we find it, I'm saying keep your poison off my farm and out of my air."

September 18th, 2013

Wake Up and Smell the Soil! Groundbreaking UN Report on the Paradigm Shift Needed to Feed the Future

By Anna LappÃ© - Not so subtly called: "Wake up Before It Is Too Late," the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development new report is a rallying cry for action to move toward greater sustainability in food and farming--to ensure food security in a changing climate.

September 9th, 2013

One Weird Trick to Fix Farms Forever

By Tom Philpott - The promise of no-till, cover-crop farming is that it not only can reduce agrichemical use, but also help keep the heartland churning out foodâ€”even as extreme weather events like drought and floods become ever more common.

August 16th, 2013

| Processing Magazine

Oregon governor signs off on canola ban for Willamette Valley

CFS senior attorney George Kimbrell hailed the decision of Oregonian lawmakers and the state governor, describing it as the right course of action. The new law will offer protection to the valuable Willamette Valley industry and this key agricultural market will remain a major state revenue contributor and jobs creator, he said…

| Corvallis Gazette-Times

Canola ban clears Legislature

By Bennett Hall - A bill to keep commercial canola production out of the Willamette Valley for at least five more years cleared the Legislature today and now goes to the governor's desk for signature. The Oregon Senate voted 18-12 on Monday to pass the measure, which cleared the House on an equally close vote last week. "I am just delighted," said Rep…

| Beyond Pesticides

New Videos of 31st National Pesticide Forum Talks Support Action

Beyond Pesticides is pleased to announce the release of videos from Sustainable Families, Farms and Food, 31st National Pesticide Forum, held April 5-6, 2013 at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque, NM…

| Associated Press

Organic industry clout grows with consumer demand

By MARY CLARE JALONICK - The organic food industry is gaining clout on Capitol Hill, prompted by rising consumer demand and its entry into traditional farm states. But that isn't going over well with everyone in Congress…

April 17th, 2013

| The New York Times

Is Organic Better? Ask a Fruit Fly

By TARA PARKER-POPE - The research, titled "Organically Grown Food Provides Health Benefits to Drosophila melanogaster" tracked the effects of organic and conventional diets on the health of fruit flies. By nearly every measure, including fertility, stress resistance and longevity, flies that fed on organic bananas and potatoes fared better than those who dined on conventionally raised produce.

April 16th, 2013

| National Geographic

The Curse of Fertilizer

By Dan Charles - If we don't watch out, agriculture could destroy our planet. Here's how to grow all the food we need with fewer chemicals.

April 8th, 2013

| North West Public Radio

What Do Antibiotics Have To Do With Organic Apples, Pears?

by Courtney Flatt - Not all organic food is created equally. Unlike beef or chicken, apples and pears can be certified as organic, even if they're treated with antibiotics to prevent disease. Food safety groups are meeting this week in Portland to petition against the practice.

April 8th, 2013

When Nature Doesn't Nurture: How to Get Antibiotics Out of Organic Fruit Orchards

By Twilight Greenaway & Clare Leschin-Hoar - It may shock you to discover that antibiotic use in organic apple and pear orchards is routine. In fact, tetracycline has been on the national list of synthetic production materials allowed in organic farming since the mid-nineties. Even so, antibiotic use in fruit production has largely gone unnoticed by the public, until now…

March 22nd, 2013

| Mother Nature Network

Is there room in the market for small organic dairy farmers?

By Shea Gunther. 'Betting The Farm' tells the story of a group of intrepid organic farmers struggling to keep their small Maine dairy farms alive. Learn about how MOO Milk is fighting for a place in your refrigerator.

March 20th, 2013

| National Journal

Organic-Food Champion's Departure From USDA Sows Seeds of Concern

By Jerry Hagstrom. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan's upcoming departure has raised a lot of questions about the Obama administration's commitment to organic and local food production, but she said in an exclusive interview Wednesday that it will have almost four more years to institutionalize the changes she has made at the department.

March 15th, 2013

| SustainableBusiness.com

Organic Apples, Pears Sprayed With Antibiotics, Oh my!

Having been a devoted buyer of organic products for decades, I was shocked to learn today that antibiotics are allowed to be used on certain organic foods.

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