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  • From: herb farmer <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Fwd: A CORNUCOPIA OF NEWS: NOSB Showdown in CA, NOP’s McEvoy Won't Say Organic Food Is Healthier, Updating Scorecards, and More…
  • Date: Sat, 09 May 2015 07:02:00 -0600

Title: News from the Cornucopia Institute



-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: A CORNUCOPIA OF NEWS: NOSB Showdown in CA, NOP’s McEvoy Won't Say Organic Food Is Healthier, Updating Scorecards, and More…
Date: Sat, 09 May 2015 05:01:10 -0700
From: The Cornucopia Institute <cultivate@cornucopia.org>
To: tradingpost@lobo.net



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Promoting Economic Justice for Family-Scale Farming

NEWS FROM THE CORNUCOPIA INSTITUTE

News From the Cornucopia Institute

MAY 9, 2015

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NOSB Meeting: Conflicts of Interest and Lack of Research

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Cornucopia testified and reported on behalf of real organics at the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) Spring Meeting in La Jolla, California. Rife with politics from its opening day, corporate consultants testified without disclosing their employers and, in an unprecedented move, a hospitalized board member was allowed to vote via Skype while not present at the meeting despite missing all public testimony on the subject. Of the 200+ National List materials poised for review, the board voted on materials sunsetting in 2016 and a number of petitions for new or revised-use compounds.

Methionine, a controversial synthetic amino acid fed to poultry as a growth promoter, was touted by industrial-scale egg representatives as necessary for nutrition and to prevent chickens from becoming aggressive and injuring each other. Although methionine is essential for bird health, some organic egg producers report that proper pasture and flock size, along with feed naturally high in methionine, enable chickens to meet their nutritional requirements without a synthetic version of the nutrient. Methionine was reapproved, and at higher administration levels.

Amid scientific testimony on negative environmental impacts and human health risks, the synthetic leavening agent SAPP (sodium acid pyrophosphate) was relisted. The NOP now requires critical information well in advance of the actual meeting. Consideration of human health impacts, raised at this meeting, was considered untimely. This disallowance stands in stark contrast to last fall's meeting, when a certifier, acting on behalf of one agribusiness client, requested Tragacanth gum remain on the list and presented a letter from that business. That information was considered timely and NOSB reapproved the material, one more example of economic interests trumping human health concerns.

READ MORE

Washington Post Interviews Miles McEvoy During Spring Meeting — Won't Say Organics Is Better

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Source: USDA

Interviewed during the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting, National Organic Program (NOP) Deputy Administrator Miles McEvoy claimed that discussion of possible health benefits of organic food isn’t “relevant” to the role of the NOP (this from the top federal official charged with regulating and promoting organics?). McEvoy expressed satisfaction with the USDA’s current oversight of organics worldwide, although reports of fake organic imports continue to surface. His reaction to Cornucopia’s aerial photography and complaints about organic factory farming? “It really doesn’t indicate one thing or another.”

When questioned about conflicts of interest that may occur when farmers pay inspectors to inspect, McEvoy said, “We ensure that there are no conflicts of interest that the certifiers have when they conduct these inspections.” Meanwhile corporate organics, sometimes represented by certifiers, lobbied and retained their favored materials on the National List though they may no longer meet the law’s requirements of necessity for production and/or safety for the environment and humans. We suspect McEvoy’s bosses feel they are getting a good value from his generous federal salary. Is the organic community?

READ MORE

Want to Support Real Organics? Purchase Authentic Food for Your Family

Source: iStock

Cornucopia’s scorecards rate organics in the marketplace and are continually updated, helping consumers choose brands and products produced using the best organic farming practices and ethics. Factory farm production versus family farm/imports versus US production. We have recently made a few additions. We added Trimona to the yogurt scorecard, a “four-spoon” rated yogurt. Did you know, ounce for ounce, it is often cheaper to buy a quart of plain organic yogurt than many of the conventional, highly sweetened yogurts? Rumiano Cheese was added to our dairy scorecard as a "four-cow" dairy. We are currently aware of 32 awesome "five-cow" dairies and 44 excellent "four-cow" organic dairy brands. In carrageenan news: Orgain, Grassworks, So Delicious, Julie’s ice cream, Annie’s and Earth Balance have all removed the possible carcinogen from products in the last six months, as shown on our carrageenan buying guide. Remember carrageenan is often used in gel capsule production, grocery rotisserie chicken, ready-to-drink (liquid) infant formula and as a clarifying agent in beer. Visit our website and click on the Scorecards tab for a drop-down menu.

VIEW THE SCORECARDS ON OUR WEBSITE

Urban Ag in the Heartland

Source: Big Muddy
Urban Farm

Whether via community gardens, vacant lots, backyards, municipal orchards, rooftop gardens, indoor systems or other means, urban agriculture is a growing trend—or, more accurately, a returning practice. Long before WWII victory gardens grew 40% of all vegetables in the U.S., from ancient times cities have produced at least some food within their borders. Big Muddy Urban Farm is reviving this tradition in Omaha, Nebraska. A collective of seven producers, all in their 20s, Big Muddy raises fruit, vegetables, herbs and chickens at five sites within a three-mile radius. The agrarian enterprise is revitalizing an inner-city neighborhood while educating more urban growers.

READ MORE

Antibiotic Resistance Promoted in Conventional Ag

Source: TP Martins

In the last few years, several studies have looked at how antibiotics, heavy metals, herbicides and environmental factors such as drought, dust and wind combine to increase antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. One study illustrates how the commonly used herbicides dicamba, glyphosate and 2, 4-D increase antibiotic resistance in strains of E. coli and Salmonella by regulating gene _expression_. The bacteria which might otherwise be killed by antibiotics are effectively immunized against antibiotics when exposed to these herbicides. Another study showed that heavy metals, which are routinely added to conventional livestock feed to encourage growth, can also promote antibiotic resistance. These problematic herbicides and heavy metals are widely used in conventional agriculture. Consumers can mitigate antibiotic resistance by supporting organic agriculture and organic farmers and purchasing organic food and textiles.

READ MORE

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The Cornucopia Institute

is a nonprofit organization engaged in research and educational activities supporting the ecological principles and economic wisdom underlying sustainable and organic agriculture. Through research and investigations on agricultural and food issues, The Cornucopia Institute provides needed information to family farmers, consumers, stakeholders involved in the good food movement, and the media.

P.O. Box 126 Cornucopia, Wisconsin 54827
TEL: 608-625-2000 | FAX: 866-861-2214 | www.cornucopia.org





  • [Livingontheland] Fwd: A CORNUCOPIA OF NEWS: NOSB Showdown in CA, NOP’s McEvoy Won't Say Organic Food Is Healthier, Updating Scorecards, and More…, herb farmer, 05/09/2015

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