Tag: CDFA

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

Organic Cannabis is Likely to Be a Joint Effort

Melody Meyer

California led the nation in legalizing medicinal marijuana in 1996 when Proposition 215 passed. Fast forward to November 2016 when the use of both recreational and medicinal marijuana has been legalized in Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon Washington, and the District of Columbia.

According to a report by Arcview Market Research, North American sales came in at a smoking $6.7 billion in 2016 and are projected to top $20.2 billion by 2021. The industry is booming larger and faster than the dot-com era, and there is no bust in sight.  Continue reading “Organic Cannabis is Likely to Be a Joint Effort” →

What is Organic

California Organic – A Vision for the Future

Melody Meyer
Image from CCOF

I moved to central California as a teenager with the unlikely intention of following the Grateful Dead. I landed instead in the most fertile region of the Golden State. Rich with Salinas Valley loam and Central Valley  heat, I arrived in the fruit and vegetable capital of the world. At the same time, organic agriculture was spreading its influence across the bountiful landscape, creeping into strawberry production, baby lettuce mixes, sweet peaches and pears. California was the cradle of organic agriculture, nurturing an agrarian child that would quickly grow to be a formidable presence. Is it possible that in the near future we can make organic the prevailing system of food and agriculture in California? Environmental Working Group (EWG) believes it is so! Continue reading “California Organic – A Vision for the Future” →

Organic Policy and Regulations, What is Organic

Is GMO Testing in Organic Necessary?

Melody Meyer

Indigenous SeedsMany of us purchase organic food and textiles to avoid unwanted toxins that may be present from the industrial chemical complex that pervades modern agriculture. Others who are wary of GMO technology purchase organic because GMO’s are prohibited in organic production. Because GMO’s are living reproductive plants that are wont to spread their pollen hither and yon, those modified genes are often cast across furrow and valley.  No longer contained in the lab, these mutant genes are difficult to stop. Just how much of our organic supply is contaminated? There is one state organic program bent to find out!    Continue reading “Is GMO Testing in Organic Necessary?” →