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RESULTS		Results 126 – 150 of 151
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
Iowa grows local In the heartland of industrial agriculture, a county goes local and organic.	Tom Philpott	24 Feb 2006	Gristmill
Nestled in the heartland of globally oriented commodity-food production, Woodbury County in Iowa has made a bold move away from industrial agriculture. Last summer, the Kellogg Foundation's Food and Society (FAS) website reports, 'the County passed an 'Organics Conversion Policy,' offering up to $50,000 annually in property tax rebates for those who convert from conventional to organic farming practices.' And then in January 2006, FAS continues, the county ... .. ...
Topics: agriculture, food, Iowa, local food, organic food (all these topics)

Buzz Alterin' On coffee	Umbra Fisk	09 Nov 2005	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, I am a seriously indulgent coffee drinker. Lately, there have been a ton of "green" coffee shops popping up. I like to support local coffee shops, and I want to believe that they are "shade-grown, fair-trade, organic," but I've wondered if they are being honest. How do I know if they are legit? Claudia Gutierrez San Diego, Calif. Dearest Claudia, Shade-grown, fair-trade, and organic are certifications, not just bu ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, food and agriculture, green living, organic food (all these topics)

Junk food: The Senate trashes organic standards	Tom Philpott	07 Nov 2005	Gristmill
The Senate succumbed last week to food-industry pressure and approved a rider that would water down organic standards. (Grist's Amanda Griscom Little a few weeks ago ably laid out the context behind the Senate's surrender.) This AP article states that a Senate vote last Thursday ... ... unravels a court ruling on whether products labeled 'USDA Organic' can contain small amounts of nonorganic substances. Earlier this year, an appeals court ruled that nonorganic substan ...
Topics: agriculture, food, legislation, organic food, politics (all these topics)

How now, organic cow? USDA inaction supports feedlot-style	Tom Philpott	19 Oct 2005	Gristmill
Consumers looking for milk from grass-fed cows can't rely on the USDA's organic label. As this Chicago Tribune article shows, the department has been allowing feedlot-style mega-dairies to claim organic status -- despite a recommendation from the National Organic Standards Board that it close existing loopholes. Access to pasture lies at the heart of any meaningful definition of organic farm-animal stewardship. Grass-fed cows produce a healthier product, they're eas ...
Topics: agriculture, food, industrial ag, organic food (all these topics)

Organically groan: working conditions on California's organic farms Organic farms don't treat workers any better than other farms	Tom Philpott	18 Oct 2005	Gristmill
As Grist's own Amanda Griscom Little recently reported, a trade group representing Kraft and Dean Foods has been quietly pushing Congress to tweak organic labelling standards to make them more friendly to food-processing giants. Thankfully, the Organic Consumers Association has led a fight, so far successful, to stymie those changes. While it's important to preserve the organic label's integrity on the supermarket shelf, it's just as important to interrogate what it ...
Topics: agriculture, California, food, organic food (all these topics)

O Brother, Where Artificial Thou? Fight over synthetic ingredients splits organics community	Amanda Griscom Little	29 Sep 2005	Muckraker
What do xanthan gum, an artificial thickener, ammonium bicarbonate, a synthetic leavening agent, and ethylene, a chemical that accelerates the ripening of fruit, have in common? These and other synthetic additives commonly lurk behind that "USDA Organic" stamp of approval you see on the organic products increasingly crowding the shelves of big-box stores and ...
Topics: Department of Agriculture, food, Muckraker, organic food (all these topics)

What's your major? Universities considering adding organic-farming to curriculum.	Chris Schults	26 Jul 2005	Gristmill
Recently in Daily Grist we reported how locally grown foods are catching on at college dining halls. Now wouldn't it be nice if the students knew the in's and out's of how that food was produced? Well, they may get their chance, as several universities are offering (or are considering offering) organic-farming majors. But as KATU 2 in Portland, Ore., reports: ... starting up such a major can carry an implicit critique of traditional programs, said Matt Liebman, dire ...
Topics: education, food, local food, organic food (all these topics)

Feel the farce, Cuke	Sarah van Schagen	14 Jun 2005	Gristmill
Well, it seems not everyone finds the (mis)adventures of Cuke Skywalker, Obi Wan Cannoli, TofuD2, and friends as funny as we do. Like its predecessor 'The Meatrix,' an online video spoof addressing factory farm issues that angered the dairy industry, 'Store Wars,' which touts organics and refers to conventional farming as the dark side, has many in the produce industry up in arms (er, light sabers?). 'It's one of the best spoofs I've ever seen,' said Tim Chelling, ...
Topics: agriculture, food, organic food (all these topics)

Jug or Not On the perennial packaging dilemma	Umbra Fisk	23 May 2005	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, I was recently elected the social chairperson of my subdivision's swim/tennis/social club. Now I'm in charge of party planning for a group of about 150 families. While shopping at Costco, I wondered which is better for the environment: several 128-ounce jugs of apple juice plus many plastic cups, or lots of 6.75-ounce juice boxes that would equal the same juice volume, or the equivalent in 10-ounce plastic bottle ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, food and agriculture, green living, local food, organic food, waste (all these topics)

McKibben on Cuba and organic farming The Soviet Union's collapse led to a revolution in Cuba's farming system	David Roberts	11 Apr 2005	Gristmill
Speaking of the latest issue of Harper's, it also contains a great piece by frequent Grist contributor Bill McKibben called "The Cuba Diet." (It's reprinted in full on this blog.) Dang, the dude can write. The piece begins as a sort of anthropological meander through Cuba's agricultural system. Turns out, when the Soviet Union fell, Cuba's heavily-subsidized, mechanized, chemical-soaked farm system collapsed. It was a huge and sudden ...
Topics: Bill McKibben, Cuba, organic food (all these topics)

Spoiling organic milk?	Katharine Wroth	17 Feb 2005	Gristmill
The Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute has just filed a complaint with the USDA against two dairy farms in Idaho and California. It alleges that massive factory farms are labeling their products organic even though their thousands of cows are not pasture-fed, as required by USDA guidelines. Last month the institute -- which is devoted to 'the fight for economic justice for the family-scale farming community' (and also taking pictures out the car window) -- filed a ...
Topics: agriculture, food, industrial ag, organic food (all these topics)

Make all U.S. farming organic?	David Roberts	09 Feb 2005	Gristmill
The Land Institute runs a program call the Prairie Writer's Circle, which brings together writers who cover sustainability issues in agriculture (and related issues). They distribute their op-eds free of charge. We get them frequently, and I always like them, but we rarely have the space or resources to get them up on the site. However! Thanks the magic of blogitude, I shall start running the ones I like here. To kick it off, here's an essay about how all -- that's ri ...
Topics: agriculture, food, organic food (all these topics)

Organic is becoming popular ... the horror!	David Roberts	29 Nov 2004	Gristmill
An article in CorpWatch adeptly summarizes what strikes me as a classic dilemma facing enviro(nmentalist)s: Organic food is becoming more popular and the organic food industry is growing. �As it grows, large corporations are taking an interest, buying small organic companies, and attempting to supersize organic farming operations. By some estimates the percentage of organic food sold by organic markets has fallen from over 60 percent to just over 30 percent -- the rest ...
Topics: food, organic food (all these topics)

Pan of Green Gobbles Sales of organic turkeys and Tofurky on the rise		24 Nov 2004	Daily Grist
Pan of Green Gobbles Sales of organic turkeys and Tofurky on the rise The organic turkey is the new Prius. If you're planning to carve one up for tomorrow's Thanksgiving meal, you're riding the latest wave of eco-chic. Organic turkey sales at Whole Foods Market have doubled this year, the upscale natural-foods chain reports. And that's building on i ...
Topics: animal welfare, food, green living, holiday, organic food, United States, vegetarianism and veganism (all these topics)

Nell on Earth An interview with Nell Newman, creator of Newman's Own Organics	Amanda Griscom Little	23 Nov 2004	Main Dish
We have Thanksgiving to thank for the beloved Fig Newman. It was Nell Newman, daughter of actor Paul Newman, who actually created the eponymous product, but she had the opportunity only after convincing her father to take his food company, Newman's Own, in an organic direction with a triumphant organic meal she whipped up for her family on Thanksgiving 1992. The following year, N ...
Topics: business, food, green living, greenish companies, interview, organic food (all these topics)

PLU Perfect On the mysteries of produce code numbers	Umbra Fisk	11 Oct 2004	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, I recently learned that the UPC numbers on produce indicate whether the item is conventionally grown (beginning with a 4), organically grown (beginning with a 9), or genetically modified (beginning with an 8). I like to buy organic, locally grown produce at my local health food store whenever possible, but recently at a large grocery story I noticed some tomatoes with a UPC number that began with a 3. What ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, food, food and agriculture, GMOs, green living, organic food (all these topics)

Schoolhouse Rocks Public Schools Starting to Offer Organic Lunches		13 Sep 2004	Daily Grist
Schoolhouse Rocks Public Schools Starting to Offer Organic Lunches Healthy, organic food is increasingly popping up in, of all strange places, school lunches. The Seattle school district recently banned junk food and exclusive soda contracts (despite the big dollars dangled by soda companies) and started urging schools to offer "fresh, local, organic, non-genetically-modified, non-irradiated, unpro ...
Topics: California, education, food, organic food, Seattle (all these topics)

Maple Encyclical On organic syrup	Umbra Fisk	30 Aug 2004	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, I saw at the store there is "organic" maple syrup. Is there really a difference between organic and non-organic maple syrup? Do conventional farms spray the trees with massive amounts of pesticides? I don't have much money (poor college student) so I was just trying to buy organic for things like apples and milk, which I've heard should only be bought in organic form. Brianna Farmington Hills, Mich. Dearest Briann ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, food and agriculture, organic food, United States (all these topics)

Bake Your Cake and Eat It Too On getting a job in the 'eco-field'	Umbra Fisk	14 Jun 2004	Ask Umbra
On getting a job in the "eco-field" By Umbra Fisk 14 Jun 2004 Dear Umbra, I'm a conscientious baby boomer who would like to do things to help the planet. I'm simultaneously enjoying a midlife crisis. I have spent more than eight years in college, studying to be a psychologist/chef. Where in the eco-field is there a place for a reformed business owner/computer teacher/chef with years and years of experience in the psychology of women? Dr. Thom Jacksonvill ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, food and agriculture, green jobs, green living, local food, organic food, sustainable ag (all these topics)

Organic: Friend or Faux? Organics program weakened under Bush administration changes, activists say	Amanda Griscom	18 May 2004	Muckraker
Organic: Friend or Faux? Organics program weakened under Bush administration changes, activists say By Amanda Griscom 18 May 2004 The Bush administration is giving Americans new reason to watch what they eat -- and it's got nothing to do with carbs. Sealed with a hiss? Over the course of 10 days in mid-April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued three "guidances" and one directive -- all legally binding interpretations of law -- that threaten to seriously dilute the meaning of th ...
Topics: ag policy, food, Muckraker, organic food, politics (all these topics)

Salad Daze On Roundup	Umbra Fisk	18 Aug 2003	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, I have a large, organic (hopefully) vegetable garden. However, I occasionally use Roundup around the edges to keep invasive grasses from creeping in. Now, I have been given to understand that Roundup is relatively safe and breaks down almost immediately. What are your thoughts on this subject? I totally trust your judgment. Betsy Michigan Dearest Betsy, Roundup is relatively safe -- it's not as bad as, say, depleted uranium -- but that ...
Topics: advice, agriculture, Ask Umbra, food, gardening, GMOs, health, organic food, toxics (all these topics)

Fishy Business		15 Apr 2003	Daily Grist
Fishy Business For the second time this year, congressional Republicans have used behind-the-scenes trickery to weaken organic-labeling standards. Powerful Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, tacked a measure onto the recently passed $79 million war-spending bill that directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to come up with a plan for certifying and ...
Topics: Department of Agriculture, fishing, food, organic food, Ted Stevens (all these topics)

Have a Heart How to have a Valentine's Day with a conscience	The Green Guide	12 Feb 2003	Earthly Possessions
Friday is Valentine's Day, but while you're buying bonbons and bouquets, be sure to be sweet to the planet, too. If Hershey's, Hallmark, and FTD aren't your idea of romance, never fear: Eco-friendly options smell good, taste good (well, maybe not the flowers), and just might land you a date. Flowers Don't say it with flowers -- unless they're organic. In 2001, Americans spent an estimated $50 per capita ...
Topics: agriculture, environmental justice, food, green living, holiday, organic food, politics (all these topics)

The Organic Verses On organic food and farming	Umbra Fisk	26 Nov 2002	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, I try to buy organic food where possible, but I notice that there is often a tradeoff with other factors. For example, organic food has often been shipped further and/or is more heavily packaged. How do I assess those tradeoffs? Ellen Watertown, Mass. Dearest Ellen, As I've mentioned before, the USDA national organic standards came into effect last month, an event that has caused both rejoicing and concern in t ...
Topics: advice, agriculture, Ask Umbra, CSAs, farmers markets, food, food and agriculture, green living, local food, organic food, sustainable ag (all these topics)

Just Spray No On fruit sprays and organic food	Umbra Fisk	26 Nov 2002	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, The tangerines I bought recently had this on the label: "Thiabendazole and/or orthopenylphenol and/or imazalil used as fungicides, and coated with food-grade shellac based wax or resin to maintain freshness." Presumably the shellac stays on the skin and does not affect the fruit, but what about the other products? What are these products and do we know what the impact of spraying or putting them on the ...
Topics: advice, agriculture, Ask Umbra, food, food and agriculture, green living, industrial ag, organic food, toxics (all these topics)

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