Samuel Fromartz’s Posts

• About that organic broccoli from China

  Helping U.S. farmers transition to organic 2

  Posted 2 years, 4 months ago

  Organic food has take criticism lately, because a portion is flowing from overseas. (All those food miles, all that lost support for American farmers.) Well, there's a reason that trend is underway: Not enough American farms are growing organic crops and fewer still are converting, so demand is exceeding supply. With the Farm Bill, attempts are underway to address that problem.

• Sustainable Fillet-O-Fish?

  I'm lovin' it 7

  Posted 2 years, 5 months ago

  I've got an interview over at Salon with Charles Clover, a British journalist who has been covering the oceans for 20 years and has a book out, End of the Line.

  Among his more startling revelations: that McDonald's fish sandwich is more sustainable than Nobu's menu (the restaurant for the stars), because it is sourced from an Alaskan fishery certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. McDonald's, though, does not advertise the MSC label because then it would have to pay a licensing fee.

• Dumping the sour 'organic' milk

  Dairy farmers' organic practices called into question 13

  Posted 2 years, 5 months ago

  Regulation might not be the best way to create greener markets, but the right sort of regulations enforced the right way can work.

  That's a lesson in the organic market, which witnessed a first this week: a mega-organic dairy with 10,000 cows (3,500 "organic"), which was clearly skirting regulations, was suspended by a certifier and no longer allowed to sell "organic" milk.

• The sweet smell of an organic coffee victory

  It's safe, for now 4

  Posted 2 years, 6 months ago

  Organic coffee is safe, for now.

  In a victory for organic farmers in the developing world and organic coffee drinkers here, the USDA's National Organic Program has backed down and said that there will be no immediate change in the way these farmers are certified.

• Coffee roasters perk up on USDA ruling

  Sign a petition 0

  Posted 2 years, 7 months ago

  The issue regarding certification of organic farmers in the Third World continues to gain steam. Equal Exchange, the organic and fair trade coffee group, has a petition drive (scroll to bottom of page) to block the USDA decision that would decertify organic 'grower groups' such as coffee co-ops.

  Grist had a spirited discussion on this previously.

All Posts

Samuel Fromartz’s Recent Comments

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Thoughtful post Tom. But I think it would have been unrealistic to expect Obama to have a consistent as opposed to a schitzo food policy, simply because he must deal with what exists. He might want to change things on the margin but not much else, especially coming from Illinois. I see his moves so far as incrementalism. A cynic may say he's throwing a bone to the sustainable crowd. I think it's more, but I'm not sure he really wants to or believes he should go up against agribusiness and things-as-usual. Obviously, the number 1 issue in that regard is subsidies but they won't change due to Congress. And there is no ground-swell to push that along. That said, effective appointees can make significant changes in terms of where current money goes, what the priorities are, etc. They can tweak and refine the inner workings of the USDA to make it more receptive to sustainable ag ideas. That is essentially what Merrigan is doing with local -- altering the direction of existing programs to fund new initiatives. But that won't happen if a pesticide industry lobbyist is in the decision-making position, which is why some of these appointments - at face value -- are disappointing.On Another Monsanto man in a key USDA post? Obama's ag policy's giving me whiplash posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago 20 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Cooking as virtue might be quite new, but cooking as fully integrated into a culture is not -- whether we're talking of curing olives and making wine in Italy (as was once done at the farmsted) or making rice at home in Japan. I think the idea is less that cooking "should be done" (the virtue part) rather than cooking is done as part of the rhythm of daily life. 

  Sure, people who could afford it always had cooks -- just like they had people to do every sort of menial task around the home. But there was also a culture that flourished among those who could not afford such things and created food traditions. And that is what gets lost in the fast food (or upscale restaurant) culture. 

   

  On More thoughts on cooking, Pollan, and Julia Child posted 3 months, 1 week ago 6 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  What I find curious about this post is there was no mention of a broad-based study of ITQs, published in Science, which found that they work in preventing fisheries collapse. Secondly, there was no consideration of the evidence, in how fish populations have fared in Alaska, in Iceland and in Australia where ITQs have been used or in evaluating the "tragedy of the commons" where they have not.

  Link to the Science article:

  http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;321/5896/1678

   

  On Privatize the seas? If only solving overfishing were so easy posted 4 months, 1 week ago 16 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  The problem with Peterson's quote is that he is flat out wrong. NOAA yesterday stated in a climate change report:

  “Even moderate increases in temperature will decrease yields of corn, wheat, sorghum, bean rice, cotton, and peanut crops.” Guess he didn't get the memo. 

  On House ag chief Peterson: what, me worry about a warming planet? posted 5 months ago 17 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  big win

  Yes this was a very big win for sustainable ag - perhaps the biggest win as far as the new administration goes. And Merrigan will hopefully be able to navigate the halls of USDA to get things done but I imagine she will run into some obstructions. It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds.  

  Samuel Fromartz Author Organic Inc.

  On Obama taps a real reformer, Kathleen Merrigan, for deputy USDA secretary posted 9 months ago 3 Responses