A team of researchers from Washington and California have just published a paper revealing some interesting unintended consequences of conventional framing practices, with possibly important implications for food safety. Escherichia coli is a human-pathogenic bacteria that is commonly found in livestock and wildlife manure. It can end up on produce when manure is used for […]
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The first in a series of monthly blogs by Dr. Benbrook was posted this week to the UK Soil Association’s website. They are a non-profit supporting sustainable and organic agriculture, who also serve as the primary organic certification body in the UK. Dr. Benbrook’s first guest blog is called “U.S. must shift towards agroecology.” It […]
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Full Belly Farm in northern California’s Capay Valley has been a pioneer of the organic movement since 1985. They were recently featured in a video produced by the Real Organic Project which highlights the commitment to soil quality that is at the root of their success. We encourage you to check it out- the full […]
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The results are in on one of the first, large-scale studies on organic food consumption and cancer risks and they are significant and encouraging. It is widely recognized we need to do much more in preventing cancer, as opposed to treating it, and this study suggests that organic food may be an important piece of […]
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Woolworths Supermarkets are a common site Down Under, where locals call them Woolies. They are the biggest grocery realtor in Australia, with over $42 billion in annual revenue. Citing rising demand for organic produce as the reason, the company is launching a $30 million fund that will help farmers “improve the quality, range and volume […]
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While the Farm Bill update hasn’t made it through Congress yet, it’s passage is an eventual certainty, if perhaps broken up into pieces. In an opinion piece in The Hill, economic policy Research Fellow Michael Farren with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University proposes a different and radical option – a full repeal of […]
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The apple harvest season is swinging into full gear, and in the NW corner of the country organic apples are growing on more trees than ever before. The Packer, the leading produce-industry newspaper, reports that the volume of Washington State’s organic apple crop will grow by another 30% this year. Apple orchards now are found throughout […]
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Ken Roseboro’s May 11, 2018 story in Civil Eats is a sober reminder that pesticides are toxic, some people have been exposed to levels that almost certainly trigger or contribute to disease, and that the most worrisome exposure episodes often occur as a result of unusual circumstances. “These Farmers Switched to Organic After Pesticides Made […]
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Thanks to Peter Melchett for his provocative blog on why, across the EU, the government, farmers, food industry, and consumers are all pulling in the mostly same direction to grow the volume and quality of home-grown organic food. Lessons learned from the efforts of many individuals, companies, and organizations in the EU are worth heeding […]
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[Guest blog by Peter Melchett, the Policy Director of the Soil Association in the U.K.] In the UK, we have just had good news about the growth in organic sales in 2017. The Soil Association’s 2018 Organic Market Report reveals that our organic market is now worth £2.2 billion ($3.1 billion U.S. $), growing by 6% in 2017. […]
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