food

Worldwatch Institute Despite a slight decline between 2009 and 2010, since 1999 the global land area farmed organically has expanded more than threefold to 37 million hectares, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online service. Regions with the largest certified organic agricultural land in 2010 were Oceania, including […]

Pew Environment Group By Karen Steuer and Laura Rogers Tomorrow, Americans will prepare and serve about 45 million turkeys. This bounty is worthy of our thanks, but the conditions in which most of these birds were raised are not. Today, the overwhelming majority of turkeys we eat are produced in ways that endanger our environment and […]

Organic Consumers Association They stomped on our right to know. Now it’s time to get even. Prop 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) labeling initiative, was narrowly defeated last week thanks to a relentless, deceitful $46 million advertising blitz. Among the largest bankrollers of the NO on 37 campaign were huge […]

Women’s Voices for the Earth Prompted by growing concerns raised by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Johnson & Johnson, makers of Aveeno, Neutrogena and Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, announced today that it will be removing carcinogens and other toxic chemicals from its baby and adult products globally. “This is a major victory for public health,” said […]

Beyond Pesticides On July 8, The New York Times ran an article indicting the organic food industry and the U.S. Department of Agriculgture (USDA) for their involvement in advancing a number of standards, practices and decisions allowed under the organic label. The Times piece, “Has ‘Organic’ Been Oversized?,” written by Stephanie Strom and featuring organic […]

Natural Resources Defense Council By Avinash Kar Used with permission of NRDC—Switchboard More than two hundred thousand Americans have written to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to demand a better solution for antibiotic misuse in livestock. They were responding to the toothless new guidelines—mere recommendations that the industry is free to ignore and full of […]

Cornucopia Institute On June 21 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) formally announced it is seeking nominations for an opening on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), a 15-member panel set up by Congress responsible for approving all non-organic/synthetic materials in organics and recommending regulatory policy. Past appointments of agribusiness executives, to seats reserved for […]

ThinkProgress by Adam James As concerns mount over the accessibility and quality of meals in cities, urban agriculture is becoming a practical solution to give communities more choice—all while helping address greenhouse gas emissions from centralized agriculture. With more than 80 percent of the American population living in metropolitan centers, urban farming has the ability […]