This week's dose of organic headlines, updates, resources, goodies, and recipes courtesy of DSnodgrass...
Comedy, thy name is crap. This is brilliant.
Time magazine asked Michael Pollan 10 questions. It's a decent read, but here are three topics worth bringing to this column.
On Organics...
I think organic food will come down in price. But we need to pay people a living wage so they can afford to buy real food. In the 1970s, the rise of fast food paralleled the collapse of family wages. In a way, cheap food has subsidized that collapse. We have to rebuild those two.
On the questions of whether genetically modified foods are harmful to our health...
The honest answer is, We don't know. There is a tremendous experiment being performed right now on humans and the environment with these crops, which are much less regulated than people realize. You should be able to decide if you want to eat genetically modified food. And we're not allowed to right now.
On what he would change about America's agricultural system...
I would bring animals back onto farms. We have seen a wholesale migration of animals to feedlots over the past 20 or 30 years. On a farm, their waste feeds the crops and the crops feed the animals--it's an elegant solution. When we took animals off the farms, we divided that solution into two big problems.
...and speaking of genetically modified food...
Consumer Groups Seek Ban on Monsanto Sugar Beets
Earthjustice and Center for Food Safety attorneys filed court papers this week on behalf of organic seed growers, conservation groups and food safety groups seeking a ban on Monsanto’s genetically engineered sugar beets and sugar beet seeds.
The coalition asks for a moratorium on all planting, production and use of the seeds and beets until a federal court can further consider the government’s deregulation of the crop.
In September, a federal court in California ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture failed to adequately study the environmental and economic risks of Monsanto's sugar beets and ordered federal officials to conduct a more stringent review of the crop.
The USDA approved Monsanto’s Roundup Ready sugar beets without properly assessing how the genetically modified seeds contaminate conventional crops, increase weed resistance to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide and limit both farmers’ options to grow conventional and consumer choice to buy products with sugar not derived from genetically engineered seeds, Earthjustice and Center for Food Safety alleges.
Biz newz from California.
Organic Certifications Increasing
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) reported an 8-percent growth in the number of certified operations and total certified organic acreage in 2009. The number of CCOF certified operations increased from 2,007 in 2008 to 2,168 in 2009, while the certified acreage grew from 558,137 to 603,545.
Fruit crops, especially raisin grape and citrus acreage, experienced substantial increases. In 2009, CCOF added 1,545 new certified organic raisin grape acres, an increase of 45.4 percent. Raisin acreage has risen 168 percent over the last four years. CCOF certified organic citrus acreage grew 39.2 percent. Organic berries also showed strong growth with certified acreage increasing 20 percent; certified organic acreage for berries increased 203 percent in the last four years.
Acreage for certified organic nuts increased from 18.8 percent in 2009; pistachio orchards led the way with 42-percent growth, while almonds increased 26 percent.
Some organic vegetable crop acreage grew while others declined. Organic garlic experienced 533-percent growth, while lettuce, carrots and processing tomatoes acreages declined.
Related Reading:
UK Government and Shoppers Agree on Plans for Voluntary Carbon Footprint Labels on Food
Urban Beekeeping May Become Legal Again in NYC
Tweet Tweet Tweet: Get Celsias Headlines on Twitter—Celsiastweets
