Phillip Schneider – New Studies Give More Proof Organic Foods Far Superior For Health And Wellness

To a world raised on conventional foods and thinking, scientists and consumers alike have been touting the nutritional value and overall healthfulness of organics. And as a new study reveals more insight into the value of organics, those who before avoided the truth are once again forced to as the question: Is organic food really inherently healthier than conventionally grown? Yes. Here’s how. Higher Omega-3’s …

To Feed the World, Tap Into Organic’s Potential: Study

A new review of four decades of science has come to this conclusion: organic agriculture has a key role to play in feeding the world. To analyze the body of research, author John Reganold, Regents Professor of Soil Science and Agroecology at Washington State University, and doctoral candidate Jonathan Wachter compared conventional and organic farming using the metrics of productivity, environmental impact, …

The USDA Is Putting $34.3 Million Into Local Food Projects. Will It Be Enough?

The recent Department of Agriculture announcement that it would allocate $34.3 million to support local food systems was met with skepticism by many in the sustainable farming and food justice movements. Many organizations doing food systems work in the most vulnerable communities find USDA grants too competitive, bureaucratic, short-term, and daunting to be worth the effort. The USDA has historically …

Interview with Peter Henry from Consider Bardwell Farm – 11.19.15

Peter Henry is the sales and Marketing Manager for Consider Bardwell Farm, a three hundred acre dairy farm in West Pawlet, Vermont. Peter is responsible for running and staffing nine weekly farmers market stands, as well as the distribution of their artisanal cheeses throughout the country.

Consider Bardwell Farm is committed to sustainability and delicious raw milk, handcrafted cow and goat cheeses. Consider Bardwell was also a man, who founded Vermont’s first dairy coop along with a cheesemaking operation on the same spot in 1864. The farm chose to keep the name and continue the tradition!

Peter is also a veteran of Blue Hill in New York City, along with more restaurants than he cares to remember.

Steve Volk – Suspended USDA scientist says agency tried to block his research into harmful effects of pesticides

A prominent Agriculture Department scientist is alleging that he was suspended after complaining that the agency was blocking his research into the harmful effects of pesticides on pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. In a whistleblower complaint filed Wednesday, Jonathan Lund­gren, an entomologist and 11-year veteran of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, says his supervisors retaliated against him by suspending …

Jill Richardson – Don’t Let Them Blind You with Their Science

When I first began researching agriculture, I had no idea how organic farming worked. I saw it as a somewhat backward yet non-toxic and desirable way to grow food. Organic farmers didn’t use fertilizer, I figured, so maybe the plants would be smaller. And they didn’t use pesticides, so I’d have to settle for some damage to my food — …

These 10 States Account for a Whopping 78% in Sales of Organic Food

Consumer awareness and environmental concerns seem to be driving the country’s organic lifestyle trend. Photo credit: USDA California makes up the biggest slice of the country’s organic market with a stunning $2.2 billion in sales (41 percent of the national total), trouncing second place Washington’s $515 million in sales, according to the latest Organic Survey from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service …

Interview with Elizabeth Henderson – Author, Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen’s Guide to Community Supported Agriculture – 08.20.15

Elizabeth Henderson farmed at Peacework Farm in Wayne County, New York, producing organically grown vegetables for the fresh market for over 30 years. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY), co-chairs the Policy Committee, and represents the NOFA Interstate Council on the Board of the Agricultural Justice Project. For 20 years, from 1993 – 2013, she chaired the Agricultural Development Board in Wayne County and took an active role in creating the Farming and Farmland Protection Plan for the county. In 2001, the organic industry honored her with one of the first “Spirit of Organic awards, in 2007, Abundance Co-op honored her with the “Cooperating for Communities” award and in 2009 NOFA-NY honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award and then a Golden Carrot in 2013. In 2014 Eco-Farm presented her with their “Advocate of Social Justice Award, the Justie.” Her writings on organic agriculture appear in The Natural Farmer and other publications, and she is the lead author of Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen’s Guide to Community Supported Agriculture (Chelsea Green, 2007). She also wrote A Food Book for a Sustainable Harvest for the members of Peacework Organic Community Supported Agriculture (aka GVOCSA) in its twenty seventh year in 2015.

Organic industry in shock as Whole Foods pushes new rating system that promotes chemical agriculture as better than organic by J. D. Heyes

For some time, food chain Whole Foods Market and organic farmers have had a cooperative, mutual relationship. The retail grocer has enabled organic farmers to gain a sizable foothold in the food market at a time when Americans’ passion for healthier alternatives to the GMO-laden, processed foods market is rising. As The New York Times reported, Whole Foods’ stores were more like …

As Americans Reject Monsanto, Organic is Booming Like Crazy – Christine Sarich

For every farmer who sold out to Monsanto’s agenda, they’ll likely be kicking themselves in the plants soon enough. What will it take for America’s farmers to realize that Americans don’t want to eat genetically modified food when they don’t even want to purchase it as feed for their livestock? Sorry Monsanto, but demand for organic food is absolutely booming. We’re importing organic corn …