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
June 12, 2006
John Peterson swears he wasn't running a cult on his Illinois farm, though one suspects he's about to become a cult hero.
"The Real Dirt on Farmer John,'' which airs June 13 on PBS at 10 p.m. New York time, is a deeply engaging look at Peterson's strange life and times.
Farmer John is not your ordinary hayseed. By his own admission he is a somewhat unusual fellow, a point made early on when he dips his hand into a muddy field and gobbles down some dirt. "This all tastes good to me,'' he says. We also see a naked woman smeared with mud, which may help explain his love of Read more
"The Real Dirt on Farmer John,'' which airs June 13 on PBS at 10 p.m. New York time, is a deeply engaging look at Peterson's strange life and times.
Farmer John is not your ordinary hayseed. By his own admission he is a somewhat unusual fellow, a point made early on when he dips his hand into a muddy field and gobbles down some dirt. "This all tastes good to me,'' he says. We also see a naked woman smeared with mud, which may help explain his love of Read more
News
June 12, 2006
As Agriculture ministers from seven states of the country are meeting in Hyderabad to discuss the issue of BT seeds, a non-government organisation campaigning against genetically modified seeds has demanded a ban on BT seeds in India.
The AP Coalition in Defence of Diversity (APCDD) and South Against Genetic Engineering (SAGE) have said the exorbitant price of BT seeds was not the only issue that needs attention.
"What we urge you to discuss is the issue why Bt cotton should not be banned from India? What is it that we are going to lose if we do so except for saving the Read more
The AP Coalition in Defence of Diversity (APCDD) and South Against Genetic Engineering (SAGE) have said the exorbitant price of BT seeds was not the only issue that needs attention.
"What we urge you to discuss is the issue why Bt cotton should not be banned from India? What is it that we are going to lose if we do so except for saving the Read more
News
Newsweek - USA
- Anyone who has applied gooey black mascara will tell you that makeup seems the antithesis of natural. Conventional wisdom is that alfalfa is organic; eye shadow isn't. But now there's an array of "green" cosmetics on the market natural and organic personal-care products, like makeup and soap, reached $4.9 billion in 2005, up 22 percent from the previous year, says the Natural Marketing Institute. "The green movement is so huge now," says Jill Price Marshall, a spokeswoman for Dr. Hauschka, a German skin-care company that sells 100 percent organic cosmetics. "It's Read more
News
Organic Business News
The long-awaited policy directive from the National Organic Standards Board on how manufacturers and certifiers must comply with commercial availability requirements for sourcing ingredients and putting them on the National List by June 2007 was approved in April.
The new recommendation comes on the heels of the Harvey v. Johanns court order, which ruled that certifiers could not longer make a blanket exemption for determining the commercial unavailability of non-organic agricultural substances.
Because of the court order, the NOSB also recommended specific changes in Read more
The new recommendation comes on the heels of the Harvey v. Johanns court order, which ruled that certifiers could not longer make a blanket exemption for determining the commercial unavailability of non-organic agricultural substances.
Because of the court order, the NOSB also recommended specific changes in Read more
News
June 10, 2006
SAGUACHE, Colo. < As he drove his truck into the family ranch on a recent sunny morning, Mel Coleman Jr. put on his Stetson hat and greeted his Uncle Jim, who runs the ranch. In a pasture behind the house, five horses hovered placidly and several black Angus cows ambled up to a salt station.
Mr. Coleman, 55, spoke wistfully of his days branding and moving cattle on the ranch his ancestors started in 1875. The sprawling ranch, in the high-desert San Luis Valley about 180 miles southwest of Denver, is the birthplace of Coleman Natural Foods, founded by his late father, Mel Coleman Read more
Mr. Coleman, 55, spoke wistfully of his days branding and moving cattle on the ranch his ancestors started in 1875. The sprawling ranch, in the high-desert San Luis Valley about 180 miles southwest of Denver, is the birthplace of Coleman Natural Foods, founded by his late father, Mel Coleman Read more
News
June 9, 2006
The scene at South Central Farm would look familiar to anyone who's ever attended a multi-day protest: there's a makeshift kitchen to feed the masses, a small sound stage, a tent for banner-making. But the kitchen is preparing nopales quesadillas instead of vegan stew, the stage features a Norteño band replete with cowboy hats, and the banner-makers are nine-year-old Latina girls. Que Dios bendiga esta jardin, reads one sign:
God bless this garden.
Situated among the warehouses, railroad tracks, and truck depots of industrial Los Angeles, South Central Farm is something Read more
God bless this garden.
Situated among the warehouses, railroad tracks, and truck depots of industrial Los Angeles, South Central Farm is something Read more
News
June 8, 2006
In the latest skirmish over the meaning of the label "organic" as it is applied to food, small farmers and natural-food advocates are asking the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to impose a minimum pasture time for cows in organic dairies.
The USDA is holding a public comment period on its regulation addressing cows' access to pasture and grazing until June 12. Currently, the regulation requires farms labeling milk as "organic" to offer cows access to pasture, but it says little else. Organics-consumer advocates say the vague wording has allowed large organic dairy companies Read more
The USDA is holding a public comment period on its regulation addressing cows' access to pasture and grazing until June 12. Currently, the regulation requires farms labeling milk as "organic" to offer cows access to pasture, but it says little else. Organics-consumer advocates say the vague wording has allowed large organic dairy companies Read more
News
City on a Hill Press - Santa Cruz, CA
You've got to love Wal-Mart. Those guys won't rest until they're sitting in a castle filled with expensive air and water while all the rest of us burn in a hell they created
When Jerry Seinfeld complained about the miseries of visiting a bank in a classic piece of stand-up, he wondered where the term "laughing all the way to the bank" came from exactly. Unable to imagine a person who could enjoy such a tedious errand, he asked, who could this satisfied customer possibly be? Seinfeld obviously hadn't taken the time to consider rich corporations and their many, many schemes.
Read more
When Jerry Seinfeld complained about the miseries of visiting a bank in a classic piece of stand-up, he wondered where the term "laughing all the way to the bank" came from exactly. Unable to imagine a person who could enjoy such a tedious errand, he asked, who could this satisfied customer possibly be? Seinfeld obviously hadn't taken the time to consider rich corporations and their many, many schemes.
Read more
News
Now (Toronto, Ontario)
Like kids in a candy store, Wal-Mart executives may have eyes bigger than their stomachs. Do they really think they can manage a major expansion of organic food sales while driving organic prices down to within 10 per cent of conventional foods?
The strategy now being attempted in U.S. stores and bound to appear soon north of the border may have unintended consequences. By throwing its weight around on the organic block, Wal-Mart may just provoke the politicization of North America's organic food business.
This sector has so far remained aloof from politics and managed Read more
The strategy now being attempted in U.S. stores and bound to appear soon north of the border may have unintended consequences. By throwing its weight around on the organic block, Wal-Mart may just provoke the politicization of North America's organic food business.
This sector has so far remained aloof from politics and managed Read more
News
June 7, 2006
what makes food organic?: the twinkie problem In the 1990s, a theoretical debate engulfed the organic food world as it grew from a movement into an industry: Could a Twinkie be certified organic?
Click for Harvey Hartman's Experiences vs. Products: What is the Value of Organics? http://www.hartman-group.com/products/HB/2006_06_07.html
One group of industry-minded partisans argued, "yes." If the ingredients were produced organically than the Twinkie - or anything else - could be organic. Others, who Read more
Click for Harvey Hartman's Experiences vs. Products: What is the Value of Organics? http://www.hartman-group.com/products/HB/2006_06_07.html
One group of industry-minded partisans argued, "yes." If the ingredients were produced organically than the Twinkie - or anything else - could be organic. Others, who Read more
Pages
for All About OrganicsDownloads
Videos
Scientific Studies
