Section » Organic vs. industrial
Marion Nestle disembowels “organic is elitist” argument
Three cheers for Marion!: At the end of her column, nutritionist Marion Nestle provides a fabulously steely answer to a reader's question, "Aren't organics elitist? People can't buy organic foods if they aren't available at an affordable price." High prices aren't organic producers' fault, she says: they're the result of a corrupt system of subsidies,
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You want demand? We got demand!
So much for that elitism crap: According to a new report released by the USDA, the demand for organically produced food in the U.S. continues to outpace supply. Organic food sales have increased more than five-fold since the late 1990s, while organic production has slightly more than doubled in that
Can aquaculture feed the world with protein sustainably?
Swimming in controversy: In a world of growing population and shrinking ocean resources, aquaculture is often touted as a necessary tool for food production. And yet many criticize the damage that aquaculture does to wild ecosystems, its use of chemicals, and other unsavory practices. Environmental Health
USDA hearings on NAIS
Will they really listen? The Rural Blog reminds us that the USDA is holding "listening sessions" about the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The last two will be in Storrs, Connecticut on May 27 and Loveland, Colorado on June 1 (location information and a link to the NAIS comment page at
Organic agriculture gets $50M boost from USDA
Feeling like 50 million bucks: Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced $50 million for a new initiative to meet the Obama Administration's promise to encourage more organic agriculture production. The 2009 Organic Initiative, to be funded as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives
Digest – Features & Blogs: Local or just “good,” Marler takes the stand
We know it when we eat it: The NYT's Mark Bittman ponders what to call food that used to go by "natural," before that word got co-opted by corporate marketing teams. "Instead of labeling ourselves — I only eat 'local,' 'seasonal,' or 'organic' food — why don’t we just say we strive to eat 'good'
There are much scarier food safety bills than HR 875 in Congress
If you care about food and farming and you use the Internet, you've probably received this particular e-mail. The title is something like, "BILL WOULD OUTLAW ORGANIC FARMING!!!!" or "MONSANTO'S DREAM BILL!!!!" It appears, inevitably, in all caps. I have upwards of 30 versions in my inbox. Normally, it
Digest: Times et al on food movement’s “arrival,” dairy drama, Murphy profiled
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Rooted in discomfort: Dispatch from the MOSES organic farming conference
Lately I’ve realized that in the midst of distracting sights and sounds, I forget to notice the smells around me. So last weekend at the Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin, I made an effort to pay
Digest – News: Label libel, Chiquita goes bananas, and another reason to stay off soda
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Digest – News: Meat on the move, the chains of biotech, resources for organic
Drop it like it's hot: Brazilian beef giant JBS, which snagged Smithfield's beef business last March, abandoned plans to purchase U.S. National Beef Packing Co. on Friday. The JBS/National Beef merger was under anti-trust investigation by the Justice Department, which celebrated JBS' decision and claimed
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Digest – Blogs: Cali drought, Rebecca takes on “Judy,” Dear Mom-in-Chief
Canary in the empty reservoir: How the nation responds to the drought in California will offer us a template of how to respond to global climate change, opine former Calif. AgSec Richard Rominger and Roots of Change President Michael R. Dimock. (San
Digest – News: Focusing the foodies, DNA Q&A, and MRSA attacks
Good food movement needs focus: The Post's Jane Black reports on a series of pricey charity dinners in Washington, DC organized by Berkeley foodies in honor of the inauguration. Their goal was to propel food-system change into the agenda of the new administration, but some say the movement is too fragmented
Show Senator Pat Roberts that small farmers aren’t little GQ-reading dilettantes
Former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack went before the Senate Agriculture Committee today to be confirmed as Secretary of Agriculture. Brownfield has a short recap of the run-of-the-mill comments, the
Digest – News & opinion: Antibiotics freakout, Gupta as Doc-in-Chief, duelling op-ed duos
Side of spinach, hold the tetracycline: Researchers at the University of Minnesota find that when crops are fertilized with manure from animals routinely fed antibiotics (a common practice in CAFOs to help them survive their living conditions), the antibiotics are absorbed into the crops. This is an
