September 2017 -

The names bluster through in a destructive alphabetical roll call, Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria. Like apocalyptic horsemen, the storms sweeping through the Atlantic all reached category four and higher. Fueled by super-warm ocean currents, this unusually active hurricane season provides devastating evidence that our planet is warming. Our climate is changing.

Agriculture is one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse emissions, but we all gotta eat – right? Now a trailblazing study, partially funded by the UNFI Foundation proves that organic agriculture is a way to feed the planet while reducing our contribution to climate change. Continue reading “Can Organic Soil Trump Climate Change?” →

Organic Policy and Regulations, Social Implications in Agriculture, What is Organic

Why the OTA Had to Sue USDA

September 21, 2017 Melody Meyer

It’s not something that you’d expect to hear—the Organic Trade Association (OTA) is suing the USDA. In fact, it’s an extraordinary occasion that hasn’t been witnessed before in the organic theater. But again these are extraordinary times. Most often the OTA works closely with and is an important resource for the National Organic Program, a division of USDA. They work hand in hand with the USDA’s Market Access Program (MAP) to increase organic exports worldwide. Why then would OTA embark upon this seemingly adversarial act? Continue reading “Why the OTA Had to Sue USDA” →

Culinary Delights, Organic Policy and Regulations, What is Organic

Pancakes and Bacon: The NOSB Meeting is just Around the Corner

September 13, 2017 Melody Meyer

In just over a month, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will convene in Jacksonville, Florida, October 31^st– November 2^nd. These meetings are held in different far-flung agricultural areas for a reason – so organic stakeholders can participate. The meetings are sometimes witnessed with emotion, passion and even poetry. There are also hours of laborious grindings filled with technical terms and regulatory jargon, interspersed with Roberts Rules of Order. Why put yourself through hours of dogmatic drudgery and sometimes controversy? Because the organic regulations are a mutable set of protocols that can change with a vote of this board.

If you don’t show up, the products you eat or sell or the way you farm could be in jeopardy. Continue reading “Pancakes and Bacon: The NOSB Meeting is just Around the Corner” →