Written by Andrew Kniss Today, PLOS ONE has published a paper that I co-wrote with Randa Jabbour and Steve Savage titled "Commercial crop yields reveal strengths and weaknesses for organic agriculture in the United States." In this paper, we describe…
Tag: Organic
Is HR 1599 the SAFE Act or the DARK Act?
The SAFE act (Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act) or HR 1599 seeks to regulate labeling of GMOs. It recently passed the House and is currently in the Senate. In this post, I'd like to explore the highlights of the bill…
Biological Pest Control Basics
Written by Mike Bonds Managing pests is an important part of cultivating plants whether you are tending a small garden in your yard or several fields of crops. Insect predators can make short work of healthy plants, particularly if insect…
Will Organic Apples be re-defined as “Contaminated?”
Written by Steve Savage There is an interesting new "GMO" apple nearing approval in the US and in Canada called the "Arctic Apple." It was developed by a British Columbia, grower-based organization called Okanagan Specialty Fruit. Certain genes in these apples…
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Edible Education 101 and GMOs
Last week, Dr. Pam Ronald gave a lecture about genetically engineered crops in Michael Pollan and Raj Patel's Edible Education 101 class. After the 1-hour lecture, she sat down with Pollan and Patel to debate and discuss the issue. The…
An Example of How Much Pesticides Have Changed
Written by Steve Savage The pesticides that farmers use to protect their crops have changed a great deal over the last few decades. While improvement is something we expect from technologies as diverse as pharmaceuticals, electronics or plant breeding, few…
Hamstrung by Ideology
Last summer, I visited an organic farm in the area. The farmer showed me various parts of his operation, one of which was a field that he had planted to a species of perennial grass that produces an abundance of…
Annual organic inspection at Songberry Farm
Written by Rob Wallbridge Editor's note: Rob is great to talk with on Twitter, always opening our minds to new possibilities and challenging all of us (organic, conventional, and otherwise!) to rethink our stances and choose the best information possible.…
The Organic Consumer Association: Progressive Activists or Organic AstroTurf?
Written by Marco Rosaire Conrad-Rossi There are few organizations in the food movement that have as much respect as the Organic Consumer Association (OCA). The group is linked to on the Commondreams.org website under the heading “America’s Progressive Community.” It…
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GMO Wheat and shouting “fire” in a crowded theater
A report from an activist group called Safe Food Foundation (SFF) came out last fall that caused a minor stir upon it's first release. They claimed that they had unearthed an issue with GMO wheat being studied by the Australian…
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