California leads the country in organic farming with more than 430,000 acres in production and average annual growth of 15 percent. In his new role, Director Leahy has a significant opportunity to work with growers…
Sustainable Agriculture
Food isn’t just good business for Walmart—it’s the cornerstone of the company’s public relations offensive. The report analyzes Walmart’s ambitious campaign to convince skeptical local governments and communities that…
ACTION: Encourage the USDA to Stand Up for Consumer Interests, Not Cave to Pesticide Lobby
Environmental Working Group
02-21-2012
Your tax dollars paid for the government’s pesticide tests. Stand with EWG today to make sure the USDA tells us the whole truth about pesticides on our food. Last year, we launched an investigation into the Alliance for Food…
Methyl iodide causes late term miscarriages, contaminates groundwater, and is so reliably carcinogenic that it’s used to create cancer cells in laboratories. It is on California’s official list of known carcinogenic chemicals and has…
How Will Obama’s EPA Budget Proposal Affect Water Quality Programs?
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
02-20-2012
President Obama’s FY2013 EPA budget proposal targets nutrient pollution, sedimentation and loss of shoreline vegetation as major water quality concerns, with a focus on agriculture as a major contributor to water…
“No conservationist worthy of the name would accept the severe cuts being planned for conservation programs,” said EWG senior vice-president for agriculture and natural resources Craig Cox. “These programs provide significant…
Industrial agribusiness corporations like Cargill, Monsanto, ADM and Dupont have gained runaway control of our food systems and to take them back, we’ll need all the collective power we can manifest around the world…
Set the Record Straight on Monsanto One Tweet and Facebook Post at a Time
Union of Concerned Scientists
02-08-2012
Monsanto’s marketing efforts would have you believe that its product line—centered around genetically engineered (GE) seeds and the chemicals used to grow them—is a silver bullet to addressing the world’s food…
Science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, when asked to define reality, famously responded “reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”…
North Union Farmers Market carries on the traditions of the North Union Shakers by championing local foods and operating authentic, certified, producer-only farmers markets…
Ten Ways Monsanto and Big Ag Are Trying to Kill You—And the Planet
Organic Consumers Association
02-02-2012
Energy-intensive industrial farming practices that rely on toxic chemicals and genetically engineered crops are not just undermining public health, they’re destroying the planet…
The United Nations (UN) High-Level Panel for Global Sustainability call for a radical redesign of the global economy for a healthy environment and social well-being deserves a wide audience and the full…
EarthEcho International Adds New Resources to the Water Planet Challenge Site
EarthEcho International
01-23-2012
EarthEcho International, a leading environmental education nonprofit organization, is working with the NEA Foundation and Discovery Education to bring educators and students new resources to EarthEcho’s…
As part of a nationwide day of action protesting the legal doctrine of ‘corporate personhood’ enshrined by the controversial Citizens United vs. FEC Supreme Court ruling two years ago, a diverse crowd of…
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Commission announced a new €5.3 million project Jan. 16 aimed at helping Malawi, Vietnam and Zambia transition…
On Jan. 12, California’s Alameda County Superior Court heard arguments regarding the state’s approval in December 2010 of methyl iodide—a cancer-causing pesticide fumigant approved for use on the…
As director of Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) sustainable communities work, I spend a lot of time defining (and refining) our goals—what is a sustainable community? We must know the destination in order…
food
Local Ingredients Dominate Restaurant Trends of 2012
Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training Program
01-11-2012
Small-scale, local food producers can look forward to stronger markets this year, if the National Restaurant Association’s predictions prove accurate. According to the association’s What’s Hot in 2012 survey of…
At a time when world resources are dwindling and global population is growing rapidly, finding sustainable solutions to nourish people and the planet is more important then ever. Research has shown…
food
A Busy Year for the Food and Agriculture Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
01-02-2012
In 2011, volatile food prices and the tragedy of another famine in East Africa forced world attention to focus on issues of food and agriculture. As the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations…
food
Research Projects Cover Economics, Energy Use and Beginning Farmers
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
12-22-2011
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has posted summaries of nine recently completed projects on its website. Find the most current research results by clicking here. Dave Swenson, an economist…
food
Program Rewards Farmers and Ranchers for Environmental Stewardship
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
12-20-2011
The cutoff date for farmers and ranchers to apply to participate in the 2012 sign-up for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is Jan. 13, 2012. The Natural Resources Conservation Service…
Many will remember 2011 for the continued economic troubles, the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election, and unprecedented political demonstrations around the world and in our own backyards…
Continuing a long tradition of public participation in setting organic standards, more than one thousand people submitted comments leading up to the National Organic Standards Board…
food
Startling Differences in Canadian Produce Pesticide Residue Levels
Organic Trade Association
12-09-2011
Consumers wishing to avoid chemical pesticide residues in food, water and on farms have a simple choice—organic products, the Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA) said…
