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bThe other day, a prominent Canadian journalist paid me a visit to interview me for his book on building a sustainable future. At one point, I expounded on the closed-nutrient cycle of old-school organic farming, contrasting it with what writer Michael Pollan deemed the "industrial-organic" way. In the old-school organic style, which relies on animals, farm wastes are recycled into the soil, providing all the nutrients necessary for the next harvest. The industrial-organic farmer, by contrast, imports his or her soil fertility -- just like the conventional farmer.
In November 1972 Richard Nixon won 61 percent of the popular vote, carried 49 of 50 states and won the Electoral College 520-17. Yet only three months later the Senate voted 77-0 to hold hearings investigating the Watergate break-in and its coverup -- a bit of petty theft, a campaign dirty trick that could hardly have made the difference in one of the most lopsided elections in U.S. history. A year later the House voted 414-4 that the Judiciary Committee investigate whether there were grounds for impeachment.
A February 2006 issue of Prevention magazine features a young, fit, happy looking couple on its cover, surrounded by headlines like, "How to be (and stay) happy" and "18 best foods to fight disease." Taken at face value, the approximately 4.5 by 6.5-inch, full color booklet appears to be a publication dedicated to exactly what its title implies: "Preventing" disease and health problems. It's when you crack open the cover that the magazine begins to contradict itself.
Monsanto Co. said Monday it is beginning in-house production of Posilac, which should ease a two-year-old shortage of the hormone used to boost milk production in cows.
The Creve Coeur company received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin formulating and packaging Posilac bovine somatotropin at its plant in Augusta, Ga.
Since 2003, the facility has manufactured the Posilac active ingredient and shipped it for final production to Sandoz GmbH, an Austrian subsidiary of Novartis AG.
Grill an activist! Tirso Moreno, farmworker organizer, answered our questions, below; later this week, he'll answer yours. Hit him with the best you got. Send in your burningest questions by noon PST on Wednesday, March 22, 2006. We'll publish selected questions and responses on Friday, March 24. Questions from Grist editors
Q: What's your job title?
General coordinator for the Farmworker Association of Florida.
Q: What does your organization do?
Chefs at many high-end restaurants prefer to whip up their culinary treats with the vivid flavors provided by organic produce and food products.
Many organic products are tastier and healthier than their conventional counterparts. Unfortunately for those of us on a tight budget, the eye-popping price tags often put organic foods out of reach.
But you don't have to carve up your budget to serve organic produce and food, said Craig Minowa, an environmental scientist with the Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit industry group.
Wednesday marks World Water Day, an international observance that grew out of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development more than a decade ago. It's a day for repeating the terrible numbers: More than a billion people on the planet don't have access to clean water. Nearly 2 billion don't have adequate sewage and sanitation. Dirty water kills two children every minute.
These heart-rending statistics are driven home with images of thirsty
children and intense warnings about future water wars and the coming water crisis.
Dear Umbra,
I am pregnant and wondering if you know of any websites or resources for setting up a nursery -- for green furniture, bedding, and mattresses. We're painting the nursery with low-VOC paint and looking for low-VOC carpeting, and we gratefully accept used toys and clothes from friends and family.
Janine Olsen
Pine Brook, N.J.
Dearest Janine,
Happy to advise, based on a bit of research I've done for you in particular, but also what I've learned over the years about furniture and room finishes, as they are known.
And organic food has become a bona fide 21st-century retail hit. In 1976, consuming food produced by organic farmers was cutting edge, a counter-cultural reaction to the pervasive use of pesticides and herbicides by family farmers and agribusiness alike.
In 2006, having been embraced by mainstream consumers, organics have become a big business, with annual sales in the United States zooming from $1 billion in 1990 to $20 billion in 2005.
