Green Options » usda

Big Surprise: Farmers’ Markets on the Increase

Valerie Taylor — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:12:35 +0000

The USDA (rather belatedly) began tracking farmers’ markets in 1994. Although they’re still not very good at it (a check of their database shows exactly THREE in my hometown of Cincinnati which in reality hosts dozens every week) even with their limited knowledge of and connection with actual farmers (!) they’re seeing significant growth in number of farmers’ markets over the years.

Don’t Let Them Cut Off Our Nuts!

Derek Markham — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:47:52 +0000

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!

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Almond Growers Sue USDA Over Compulsory Almond Treatment

Derek Markham — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:36:25 +0000

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.
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Sweet Potato and Cassava More Efficient Than Corn In Ethanol Study

Ariel Schwartz — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:26:20 +0000

According to the US Department of Agriculture, recent experiments show that sweet potatoes and tropical cassava yield two to three times as much carbohydrate for ethanol production as field corn. Sweet potatoes and cassava also require significantly less fertilizer and pesticide than corn.

The experiments are unique in that all three crops were grown at the same time in two different areas of the country.

But sweet potatoes and cassava are not without disadvantages.

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Newsflash: Revolution Organics Launches USDA Certified Organic Skincare Line

Stancie Wilson — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:56:01 +0000

Making it’s debut at the All Things Organic Expo comes Revolution Organics, a brand new USDA Certified Organic skin/body line fresh out of Canada. “We really wanted to make our products look chic while still maintaining the highest level of organic integrity” says Co-Founder, Melissa Shabinsky. All plastic containers are recyclable and the packaging is made from post consumer recycled content. Their first products including a 22+ uses All Over Body Balm, Skin Creme and Lip Balm are scheduled to launch on Beauty.com October 1st. And that’s not all! Plans to roll out a color collection as well as a bath and body line are in the works and expected to be available later this year through early ‘09.

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COOL - Good, Bad, Indifferent?

Stuart Stein — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:22:53 +0000

On September 30, 2004 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued an interim final rule for the mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) program for fish and shellfish as required by the 2002 Farm Bill. On November 10, 2005, President Bush signed Public Law 109-97, which delayed the implementation for all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised and shellfish until September 30, 2008.

Under the interim final rule, fish and shellfish covered commodities must be labeled at retail to indicate their country of origin and method of production (wild and/or farm raised). However, covered commodities are excluded from mandatory COOL if they are an ingredient in a processed food item.

Food service establishments, such as restaurants, lunchrooms, cafeterias, food stands, bars, lounges and similar enterprises are exempt from the mandatory COOL requirements.

Fast forward to August 2008, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued an interim final rule for mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat meat, perishable agricultural commodities, peanuts, pecans, ginseng, and macadamia nuts. The 2008 Farm Bill added chicken and goat; pecans, ginseng and macadamia nuts as covered commodities to what had been previously proposed. This interim final rule (IFR) will go into effect September 30, 2008.

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Opinion: Biofuels, Food Prices and Global Warming Roundup

Nick Chambers — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:58:50 +0000

The current rate at which biofuels are falling out of favor is largely founded on biased ideologies, which have been shaped by widespread political and corporate agenda-pushing from all sides of the fence.

But first, a digression.

Part 1: When an egg was just an egg

I remember a time when an egg was just an egg. Nobody argued about that. It was a blissful time. Yet, for all its strengths, it was a fragile time held together by unsupported conclusions and limited knowledge.

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Stop the Spray or Mothra Might Ruin the Economy

Keith Rockmael — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:37:00 +0000

In California, and San Francisco in particular, we see almost as many Obama for president placards in home and business windows as we see Stop the Spray signs. It seems like the precursor for a B-grade sci-fi film with the storyline pitting the the government versus this evil moth. But this isn’t Mothra we’re talking about, its the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM).

The situation involves not just the local governments but the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and CDFA (California Department of Food and Agriculture) that claim that the LBAM will cause major destruction of crops in California. The feds think that we must take swift action or suffer the economic impact of quarantines, which they estimate will cost CA millions of dollars.

Something curious happened on the way to this economic thinking. To date, the LBAM has caused ZERO crop damage. The economic damage has been due only to quarantines imposed on the Golden State by Canada and Mexico. When the Feds sprayed Santa Cruz and Monterey counties last fall the counties recorded over 640 health problems. This number represented only the reported cases, and conservative estimates of actual health impacts by local agencies put the number of cases at ten times the number of reports claimed.

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Chic for a Cause : Stop the Spray ~ Our Body, Our Decision

Lucille Chi — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:23:59 +0000

Join Chic for a Cause : Stop the Spray ~ Our Body, Our Decision

What? A fashion fundraiser to grow awareness about opposing the harmful effects of the aerial spraying of pesticides. When? May 30, 2008 Where? Muse Studios, 224 6th St. San Francisco, CA 94103 Time? 6-9 pm Admission? $10 Why? To stop the “Light Brown Apple Moth program” which is really a toxin dump on California!

Last fall a pesticide was dumped on Californians that included ingredients that are carcinogens, mutagens as well as other toxic chemicals in microcapsules that reach deep lung tissue. Soon after spraying in 2007, 600 plus reports of illness were recorded such as respiratory distress, nausea and vomiting, as well as serious skin irritations. Now the spray is back and we need to take a stand! Sign the petition, participate in events if possible, and please help educate others.

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USDA Says Ethanol Accounts for Only 3% of Increased Cost of Food

Clayton B. Cornell — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:38:11 +0000

On Monday, USDA officials met with reporters to discuss just how closely biofuels (specifically corn-based ethanol) are linked to the increasing price of food. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, who has vehemently defended biofuels before, had this to say:

One theory that has been widely discussed in recent weeks is that the nation’s growing demand for biofuels and the crops needed to produce them is the real culprit behind higher food prices, both at home and abroad. Yet the evidence that we have seen. . .does not support this.
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Are Organic Standards Being Diluted?

Beth Bader — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:11:19 +0000

In the comments on the article “Organic isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be: Try Going Local,” a question was directed to me on whether or not the government was actually weakening organic standards.

The answer to that is more complicated than a simple yes, as evidenced by Meredith’s great post on pros and cons of organic. Because the standards are set by a government agency, that agency comes under much political pressure from lobbyists to relax the standards or alter them in such a way to benefit industry and special interests. The bigger the lobbyist, the more the pressure, in many cases. Plus. the organic label nets a higher price, making it a prime target for the food industry.

One such attack on standards nearly went through. Public response and pressure by Organic Consumers Association stepped in to pressure the USDA not to pursue the relaxation of regulations for non-food items, use of antibiotics in dairy cows, and synthetic pesticides.

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Agriculture Policy and the Safety of Your Food

Beth Bader — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:20:59 +0000

Excuse me while I step up on the soapbox. Ahem. I’ve been chided before about being too political on my food blog. More recipes, Woman! But the thing is, food is all tied up with politics, and there are a few things we eaters need to understand about this. For our own safety. So we can make better choices. This is a pretty short primer on the basics, but there are a lot of great links in here that can help you get the full picture of our food system.

How does food policy impact the safety of what we eat?
I mean, it’s just legislation, right? Laws that are supposed to keep the food supply safe. The basis for these laws was established in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt in response to the publication of Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle. Ironically, one of these laws, the Meat Inspection Act, was supposed to eradicate the use of “4-D” cattle in meats, meaning dead, diseased, decaying and downed. Over 100 years later we are still facing the same issues.

The other act, the Pure Food and Drug Act, was designed to insure the safety of drugs and non-meat food items. However, the two agencies overlap. A raw egg, in the shell, is the responsibility of the FDA. Once the shell is broken, the USDA is in charge. If a processed sandwich is to be inspected, the USDA would have jurisdiction over the meat, the FDA over the bread. Makes all kind of sense, right?

Learn what you need to know about food safety, policy and what you can do as a consumer after the jump.

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The Power of Public Outcry

Beth Bader — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:42:41 +0000

At times, we consumers can feel a bit powerless in the wake of so many recalls of everything from food and medicine to toys, knowing that so little of these goods actually do get inspected, and often the inspection process fails. 2007 was a rough year in this capacity.

Last year, there were a record number of contaminated meat recalls, primarily from E. coli risks. Yet, it may surprise many people that despite its role as an inspector, the USDA does not have the legal authority to force a recall of meat and poultry product. It’s a frustrating situation. Indeed, in the wake of the record recalls, the only outcome by the USDA was to determine that a “study needed to be done on the situation.” In other words, little action by the USDA to address the situation and partial, voluntary recalls by the meat companies. Status quo.

And, then the Hallmark/Westmoreland products investigation hit the Web in the form of a video of shocking animal abuse and illegal use of downed cattle for human consumption, including school lunch programs. Actions that occurred despite twice a day visits from a USDA inspector.

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A Shocking Exposure of the Meat Industry

Beth Bader — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 04:30:35 +0000

The Humane Society released a rather shocking video that was filmed at Hallmark Meat Packing in Chino, CA. The video shows downed cattle being lifted with a forklift and prodded in order to get them on their feet to pass USDA inspection. (Warning, the footage is graphic in showing the abuse of the animals). It’s difficult to link to this, but it is important information that parents of school-aged children need to know about.

Perhaps most shocking of all is that this company had been a leading supplier of beef for the National School Lunch program, meaning that the meat from potentially diseased animals, animals too sick to stand, was processed and sold to schools, 100 million pounds of beef since 2002 in fact.

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Climate Change Reflected in Hardiness Zone Maps

Jennifer Lance — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 05:52:26 +0000

Woodrow Wilson of the Arbor Day Foundation:

What the hardiness zone map clearly shows is that the climate has warmed, certainly since 1990 when the last USDA map was updated.

Kim Kaplan, spokesperson for the USDA, on the climate change reflected on the maps:

It’s not the purpose of the map. It’s not good evidence. It’s not a matter of [whether] there is or isn’t climate change; it’s just that this isn’t a good argument.

Map courtesy of Arbor Day Foundation.

Organic Beer, Now Without That Pesky Organic Part

Alicia Erickson — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:23:15 +0000

Cheers! Have a refreshing sip of an organic beer. Except it's not organic, but it says it's organic. But it's not. What?

The USDA, which certifies organic products, announced a controversial proposal in May which would allow "38 new non-organic ingredients in products bearing the 'USDA Organic' seal. Most of the ingredients are food colorings derived from plants that are supposedly not 'commercially available' in organic form." However, included among these is hops, a critical ingredient in beer. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has raised issue with this "Budweiser exception" and with only a 7 day public comment period, it seemed our organic beer would become not. However, within that short period and with no formal announcement consumers united and filed 1,264 comments.

From the Beer Activist, the rationale of the exception being made is that these 38 ingredients are 1) "minor" ingredients in their products, and 2) not commercially available in organic form.

1. Hops are not essential to the character of beer? Before I even knew what a hop was I knew it was what made beer beer. Not to mention beer cannot be legally labeled as such without hops.

2. Organic hops have been available commercially through such companies as Seven Bridges Cooperative for quite some time. And in a beautifully quick response to demand just a couple weeks ago, Anheuser-Busch began "brewing our nationally available organic beers with 100-percent organic hops." Why? Because the USDA was stalled, and 100% organic was required before this proposal. Rather than be forced to pull their line of beer A-B suddenly sourced the hops they had previously claimed did not exist. A great push forward for organic hops farmers which is now threatened by this new proposal.

The OCA announced last week that the USDA has extended the comment period by two months, which means there is time to act! In order to preserve the integrity of organic certification, follow these steps and make the USDA remove hops from the list of ingredients:

ACTION STEPS:

Click here to file your opposition via the Organic Consumers Association website.
To read all 1,264 comments submitted during the original seven day comment period, go to www.regulations.gov, scroll down and click on "Advanced Search." In the "Agency" pulldown menu, select "Agricultural Marketing Services." Skip all the rest of the fields until the bottom, where you need to type "ams-tm-07-0062″ in the "Keyword" box and select "any word". Then hit "submit." It'll only give you 14 results, but if you click on the hyperlinked "document ID" "ams-tm-07-0062″ you'll get all 1,264 comments.
Grab a glass of your favorite organic brew and raise a toast to its continued organic status!