By John Chappell •
May 27, 2009
In news that may make supermarket label readers and organic consumers even more wary, a recent report raised serious questions about many brands of soy products.
The investigation by The Cornucopia Institute included a survey, in person visits to farm and processing facilities, and a review of import data from over 60 soy product companies. The report included a scorecard of each company as well as a comprehensive 54 page report outlining their findings of the overall industry.
Some of their more disturbing findings include:
By Derek Markham •
October 29, 2008
What’s the integrity of your organic milk?
The Cornucopia Institute’s Organic Dairy Products Scorecard pulls no punches in its ratings of organic milk producers.
Which brands are at the bottom?
The factory farms of Horizon, Aurora, Woodstock, Natural Prairie, and Shamrock.
The recently updated Organic Dairy Scorecard rates 107 organic dairy producers based on their answers to an in-depth survey asking about:
- the milk supply source (farmstead or open market)
- the amount of pasture time for the herd
- the use of hormones and antibiotics
- the health and longevity of the cows (cull rate)
- the source of replacement animals (organic or conventional farms)
- their organic farm certifier
“Consumers who pay premium prices for organic products do so believing that they are produced with a different kind of environmental ethic, a different kind of animal husbandry ethic, and social justice for family farmers. But not all organic dairy products are alike.” - Mark Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst, Cornucopia Institute
In an exposé of factory farm dairy producers and the brands that threaten to take over the organic dairy industry, Cornucopia’s scorecard helps consumers all over the country to select foods best representing their values.
By Derek Markham •
September 18, 2008
Help Overturn the Mandated “Pasteurization” of Raw Almonds
Almond Growers Sue USDA Over Compulsory Almond Treatment
Your support is needed to win the lawsuit brought by domestic almond growers against the USDA.
The Cornucopia Institute has been fighting to protect access to truly raw American almonds. When the USDA announced their intention to gas almonds with a toxic fumigant or steam-heat the raw nuts – and still call them raw – Cornucopia began working with almond farmers, consumers and retailers to block this misguided food safety measure.
This work has now led to a lawsuit challenging the raw almond treatment mandate. They need your help and support to cover the cost of this lawsuit!
By Derek Markham •
September 12, 2008
Are your raw almonds actually fumigated or steamed?
Over a year ago, the USDA implemented regulations requiring treatment for almonds, alleging that it was a necessary food safety requirement. Two outbreaks of salmonella traced to almonds were reported in the last ten years, one traced to a 9000 acre nut farm, and the Almond Board of California supported the USDA’s decision.
From the Cornucopia Institute:
A group of fifteen American almond growers and wholesale nut handlers filed a lawsuit in the Washington, D.C. federal court on Tuesday, September 9 seeking to repeal a controversial USDA-mandated treatment program for California-grown raw almonds.
“The USDA’s raw almond treatment mandate has been economically devastating to many family-scale and organic almond farmers in California,” said Will Fantle, the research director for the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute.
