Are Organic Standards in Jeopardy? Watchdogs Say Yes
A "radical shift away from the collaborative government ... pioneering organic farming advocates demanded."
Agriculture
Pesticide Firms Use Tobacco Playbook to Spin Bee Crisis
Despite huge losses of bees that are crucial to pollination of food plants, pesticide companies selling neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticides -- which a growing body of science indicates contribute to bee declines -- have ramped up efforts to sew doubt about and distract from pesticides' contribution to the problem.
Spinning the Science on Atrazine
- by Lex Horan, Pesticide Action Network of North America
The last of the late spring snowstorms are winding down here in the Midwest, and it won't be long before corn goes into the ground. With corn-planting, of course, comes atrazine applications. And though atrazine doesn't get much use in the colder months, this winter hasn't been a quiet one for the notorious herbicide and its manufacturer, the Syngenta Corporation.
Trillion Dollar Farm Bill Is a Mixed Bag
Congress passed a nearly trillion-dollar omnibus Farm Bill Tuesday after almost three years of debate that one analyst called "fairly epic." This major piece of legislation, which is generally under-covered by the mainstream media, sets farm and food policy for the next five years.
Building an Earth Economy: Local, Organic, and Fair
With the financial recovery looking more like the Great Recession, people are turning to the real goods and services of the earth economy.
NPR's "The Salt" Blog Muddies the Issue of Sewage Sludge
In a muddled attack on the Center for Media and Democracy and those who are concerned about produce grown in sewage sludge, "The Salt," parroted sewage sludge industry PR and misled readers.
Paying Tribute to Family Farm Defender John Kinsman
John Kinsman, a leader of the global food sovereignty movement who was deeply committed to equality, justice, and peace, passed away on January 20, 2014. In honor of his inspirational life and work, the Center for Media and Democracy's Food Rights Network is republishing the following 2011 profile of this "food and farm hero."
Catch Wendell Berry Speaking with Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers profiles Wendell Berry, one of America's most influential writers, on an edition of his show Moyers & Company, which will be available on local public television stations starting on October 4, 2013.
Prions in Plants? New Concerns Regarding Chronic Wasting Disease
-- by Ron Seely, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Prions -- the infectious, deformed proteins that cause chronic wasting disease in deer -- can be taken up by plants such as alfalfa, corn and tomatoes, according to new research from the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison.
"Pandora's Lunchbox" -- Ingredients in Processed Food Products May Surprise You
"The vitamin D in your milk ... is almost surely a derivative -- after many chemical stages -- from lanolin from Australian sheep wool, concocted in a factory in China. ... Vitamin A, is often synthesized from acetone, a principal ingredient in nail polish remover," notes George Kenney based on his interview with Melanie Warner, a former writer for the New York Times.
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