All About Organics
OCA's Organic Resource Center
Organic Consumers Association Campaigns, Essays, Headlines, Action Alerts, Downloads and Videos on Organic Food.
Organic food is pure food. It's safer, more nutritious and free of chemical additives. Organic crops are grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers and organic livestock are raised without antibiotics, growth hormones or other drugs. Organic food isn't genetically modified or irradiated.
News
May 16, 2006
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has announced plans to sell more organic food, and has asked its suppliers - including Kellogg Company, Kraft Foods and Pepsi - to increase their range of products to meet demand. The Bentonville based retailer told the New York Times that it intends to sell a greater range of organic products at a 10% premium - significantly lower than the current organic premium, which stands at 20-30%.
While the move will no doubt increase accessibility to healthier organic products, some critics have said the effect may lower organic standards, squeeze Read more
While the move will no doubt increase accessibility to healthier organic products, some critics have said the effect may lower organic standards, squeeze Read more
News
May 15, 2006
Professors Peter Rosset and Miguel Altieri of the University of Calilfornia
at Berkeley praised the model of urban organic agriculture used in Cuba, noting that it has the support of the community and government authorities and is an example to the world on taking advantage of local resources.
The US professors lectured at the Sixth Conference of Organic and Sustainable Agriculture "For a sustainable and ecological agriculture in harmony with nature and society," organized by the Cuban Association of Agricultural and Forestry Technicians (ACTAF), which concluded Friday at the Read more
at Berkeley praised the model of urban organic agriculture used in Cuba, noting that it has the support of the community and government authorities and is an example to the world on taking advantage of local resources.
The US professors lectured at the Sixth Conference of Organic and Sustainable Agriculture "For a sustainable and ecological agriculture in harmony with nature and society," organized by the Cuban Association of Agricultural and Forestry Technicians (ACTAF), which concluded Friday at the Read more
News
May 12, 2006
Ventura-based clothing company Patagonia recently tied for second in the Organic Exchange's spring 2006 Global Organic Cotton Market Report that ranked businesses in terms of global organic cotton consumption.
Patagonia founder and owner Yvon Chouinard established the company in 1973, intending to rappel the limitations of the original outdoor climbing industry. Now, Patagonia¹s success comes at a time when the use of organically-grown cotton is becoming a trend in the apparel industry.
The company, which generated $260 million in sales during 2005, boasts that its Read more
Patagonia founder and owner Yvon Chouinard established the company in 1973, intending to rappel the limitations of the original outdoor climbing industry. Now, Patagonia¹s success comes at a time when the use of organically-grown cotton is becoming a trend in the apparel industry.
The company, which generated $260 million in sales during 2005, boasts that its Read more
News
May 11, 2006
Keeping up with the latest styles can be a tricky and expensive proposition. Here's another wrinkle: Most mass-produced clothes carry an environmental price tag of pesticide use and pollution. In lieu of joining a nudist colony, two eco-warriors in Canada attempted to minimize their fashion footprints. Inspired by the 100-mile diet, which challenges participants to only consume food grown within a specified radius, Vanessa Richmond and Dorothy Woodend pledged to limit their warm-weather wardrobes to clothes that were "locally designed and manufactured.".
Since fabric often travels Read more
Since fabric often travels Read more
News
May 12, 2006
Wal-Mart Eyes Organic Foods
Starting this summer, there will be a lot more organic food on supermarket shelves, and it should cost a lot less.
Wal-Mart has asked suppliers to help it offer more organic food.
Most of the nation's major food producers are hard at work developing organic versions of their best-selling products, like Kellogg's Rice Krispies and Kraft's macaroni and cheese.
Why the sudden activity? In large part because Wal-Mart wants to sell more organic food — and because of its size and power, Wal-Mart usually gets what it wants. Read more
Starting this summer, there will be a lot more organic food on supermarket shelves, and it should cost a lot less.
Wal-Mart has asked suppliers to help it offer more organic food.
Most of the nation's major food producers are hard at work developing organic versions of their best-selling products, like Kellogg's Rice Krispies and Kraft's macaroni and cheese.
Why the sudden activity? In large part because Wal-Mart wants to sell more organic food — and because of its size and power, Wal-Mart usually gets what it wants. Read more
News
May 10, 2006
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Farmers in India are reporting the deaths of thousands of sheep after grazing in Bt cotton fields. A fact-finding team from the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) found that in just the four villages they visited in Andhra Pradesh state, thousands of sheep had died. The sheep had been grazing exclusively on Bt cotton fields (post-harvest) and all exhibited similar symptoms according to the farmers and post-mortems.
The report found that at least 1,800 sheep died, but the number is likely to be much higher since only a small sample
News
May 10, 2006
To: Secretary Michael Johanns
Dear Sec. Johanns:
The undersigned former and current National Organic Standards Board members, acting as private citizens, would like to respectfully express our concerns regarding the current rulemaking process.
1) Based on feedback from the organic community, including organic dairy producers, we request that the public comment period, pursuant to docket number TM-06-06-PR, be extended for a minimum of 30 additional days. Although the Department had a year to respond to court-mandated rulemaking, posting the Read more
News
May 10, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Proposed new federal organic livestock regulations are coming under sharp criticism for failing to close critical loopholes that are allowing a handful of factory-scale dairy farms in western states to continue bringing into their milk herd new animals raised with antibiotics, hormones, and genetically engineered feed produced with toxic pesticides.
The new rules ignore recommendations endorsed by the USDA's own expert advisory panel, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). In 2002 and 2003, the NOSB unanimously passed recommendations that all animals being Read more
The new rules ignore recommendations endorsed by the USDA's own expert advisory panel, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). In 2002 and 2003, the NOSB unanimously passed recommendations that all animals being Read more
News
May 6, 2006
Come May 15, you won't find Horizon Organic brand's colorful happy cow in the dairy case at the Willy Street Co-op.
Madison's largest grocery cooperative on Williamson Street decided to drop the brand owned by Dean Foods Co. because of long-held concerns over practices at some of the large farms that supply organic milk to the company. The issues were raised by some of the co-op's members, said co-op services manager Lynn Olson.
Willy Street is among about 10 co-ops and retailers across the country that have taken action against Horizon, from posting signs to an outright Read more
Madison's largest grocery cooperative on Williamson Street decided to drop the brand owned by Dean Foods Co. because of long-held concerns over practices at some of the large farms that supply organic milk to the company. The issues were raised by some of the co-op's members, said co-op services manager Lynn Olson.
Willy Street is among about 10 co-ops and retailers across the country that have taken action against Horizon, from posting signs to an outright Read more
News
Northeast Organic Farming Association
Who’s What --Acronyms used in this Article
GMOs - Genetically Modified Organisms
NOP – National Organic Program
NOSB – National Organic Standards Board
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