Food News

The Cornucopia Institute is an impressive governmental and corporate watchdog within the organic industry. This non-profit organization advocates for sustainable and organic agriculture, and its research and investigations on agricultural and food issues provide needed information and guidance to family farmers, consumers and other stakeholders in the good food movement. Backing ecologically produced local, organic […]

Membership in the American Horticultural Society (AHS) is more than merely appealing during this summer of heat domes (the low temperature in Phoenix, Arizona a couple days ago was 95 degrees), tornadoes at unexpected times and places, and devastating flooding. A compelling reason is that for $35.00, the cost of a National Membership in the […]

Since 1990 the Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) has worked to protect the farms, rich soils and agricultural landscape as well as the forests in Washington and Rensselaer counties in upstate New York’s upper Hudson River Valley for future generations. As of last autumn, this farmland conservation and non-profit organization had managed to conserve over 28,000 acres […]

GrowNYC, which operates 70+ open air farmers markets in the great metropolis was formed over 50 years ago with the inspiring mission “to improve New York City’s quality of life through environmental programs that transform communities . . . and empower New Yorkers to secure a clean and healthy environment for future generations.” Last month […]

Fifty-three years ago on April 22, 1970, environmental activists created Earth Day in response to the 1969 Santa Barbara oil well blow-out that spewed 3,000,000 gallons of oil off the California coast. An ecosystem of “amazing richness, amazing biodiversity, amazing biological activity was transformed into an Armageddon of blackness” in the words of David McCauley, […]

One of the most useful directories on this website lists Craft Bakeries throughout the United States from Arizona to Wyoming, in Canada from British Columbia to Prince Edward Island, as well as a couple listings in England and Ireland. We’ve often noted our pride in having a directory of bakeries offering baked goods and naturally […]

A gray and rainy day couldn’t dampen the spirits of this first-time visitor to the Rodale Institute’s farm, a destination for inspiration, in Kutztown (Berks County), Pennsylvania. Although its Visitor Center and Garden Store, located in a historic one-room schoolhouse, is open year-round, the open house in late March was a wonderful way to celebrate […]

If you are fortunate to live in the only suitable terroir in the world for maple syrup, the Greater Northeast, described as a triangle running from Michigan to New Brunswick (Canada) to West Virginia, you may also have luck in finding a farm to visit that is part of the fantastic revival of the art of […]

On St. Patrick’s Day seven years ago, we spotlighted in a post the insightful, yet sad, words of a memorable Irish fisherman, Joe Caufield (not “Caulfield” like the Catcher In The Rye’s Holden Caulfield), who was the focus of the Perennial Plate short documentary Episode 168: Howth, Dublin (only six minutes long and very much […]

It’s been ten years since the fast food “farm-to-table” chain Sweetgreen opened a location in Manhattan in 2013, and this day-tripper to the Big Apple enjoyed a delicious “Seasonal Salad” soon after its opening. That quick and easy (and healthy) lunch at Gotham’s Sweetgreen location required some “rethinking” of the post-World War Two American phenomenon […]

A recent “Ask Well” column in the New York Times this past week addressed a question from a reader who “eats very dark chocolate every day-including during her pregnancy and breastfeeding” on how much should she worry. The response from Alice Callahan, the New York Times columnist, will very likely alter the behavior of this […]

With daylight increasing and the start of spring about a month away, the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Innovation Network is preparing for this year’s CSA Week, to take place from February 20th through February 26th, 2023. Historically, this event (started by Simon Huntley and Small Farm Central) has been called CSA Day, but a couple years ago, the CSA […]

Last month we sadly shared the news that Consumer Reports recently tested 28 brands of chocolate for unhealthy levels of lead and cadmium, and in its February 2023  issue of its magazine spotlighted a “Safety Alert” on consuming dark chocolate. We have always whole-heartedly agreed that chocolate is a modern “must-have for humans” which the indigenous […]

The last of the 2022 fall season’s crop of fresh Cape Cod cranberries recently inspired the preparation of a dozen cranberry pecan muffins by this home baker. For years, this long-term member of the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany, New York, has kept an eye out for the stocking of fresh Jonathan SPROUTS organic […]

We’ve often noted the many reasons to connect up with a local farm as a farm share participant, which bear repeating. Freshly harvested food tastes better; buying food from a local  farm offering CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm shares puts money in the pocket of a local farm family and helps them budget better for […]

We recently spotlighted the “powerful phytochemicals” in cocoa beans, noting in particular that the raw cacao powder from Bonao Cacao available at this chocolate lover’s hometown food co-op, the Honest Weight in Albany, New York is “rich in antioxidants” 40 times that in blueberries. And we take pride that our chocolate directory has grown, over […]

According to a recent news article by reporter Linda Qiu, Farmland Values Hit Record Highs, Pricing Out Farmers in the New York Times, deep-pocketed investors, including private equity funds, are dominating the farm real estate market, and some farmland in the midwest has climbed to $11,000 an acre. On the first days of meteorological winter, […]

The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest day of the year (Dec. 21. 2022) is less than a couple weeks away. Here in the Albany area of upstate New York, we have yet to have any significant snowfall, but it won’t be long before the ground is frozen solid, and […]

Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company (Carmel Valley Coffee) for nearly 30 years has been roasting coffee and now has three locations in Carmel (Monterey County), California. The family-scale company has always served coffee that embodies its “commitment to provide superior handcrafted coffee.” And since 2003 (for nearly 20 years), Carmel Valley Coffee before “organic was […]

For the past several years, we’ve spotlighted Sierra’s Cool School Rankings. Sierra is the official magazine of the Sierra Club, the oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental group in the United States “with more than 3.8 million members and supporters” according to the organization, which takes pride that its “national conservation and preservation programs […]

The American Horticultural Society (AHS) and the Junior Master Gardener Program (JMG program) in 2005 created national awards for excellence in children’s literature known as the Growing Good Kids Book Awards.  For the 17th year in a row, they have honored the best new children’s books about gardening, nature and the environment. The awards for […]

Since 1990 the Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) has worked to protect the farms, rich soils and agricultural landscape as well as the forests in Washington and Rensselaer counties in upstate New York’s upper Hudson River Valley for future generations. In that time, ASA has managed to conserve over 28,000 acres on 158 properties. For the […]

When traveling away from home, the  farm-to-table dining directories, our most popular webpages, come in handy. But for this traveler, it’s also the craft bakery listings and coffee directory which are especially useful. On a recent vacation in Niagara on the Lake in Ontario, the coffee directory made it easy to find a great daily […]

In August 2022, the US Department of Agriculture released a new draft rule which they insist will bring organic egg and livestock companies into stricter compliance with the rules while assuring a level playing field for competitors. Mark Kastel, co-founder and executive director of Wisconsin-based advocacy group Organic Eye, cries foul. And he has a […]

American Farmland Trust (AFT), founded in 1980, has helped protect 6.5 million acres of agricultural lands. One of the first agricultural land trusts in the United States, AFT is the only one with a national scope. Over the decades, it has helped create state and local land trusts through the country. A little over two […]

The conservation initiative No Mow May “to save threatened wild flowers, plants and fungi,” spotlighted a few months ago in an earlier post, has grown into a patch of blossoming goldenrod in late August in this homeowner’s side yard in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Albany, New York. Passer-bys sometimes are curious to learn that […]

The website pickyourown.org “provides local listings of pick your own (also called U-pick or PYO) farms in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries.”  Its New York crop harvest calendar shows the “Most Active” period for picking pears as August 10-August 31, and for picking apples from August 27-October […]

A live, in-person Farm Aid 2022 Festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24th in Raleigh, North Carolina at the Coastal Credit Union Music Park (Walnut Creek Amphitheater). This is the second time that the annual festival, an all-day celebration of music and family farmers, will be held at this music venue in North Carolina which […]

For the summer of 2022, the New York Botanical Garden is staging an extraordinary event of major scope that if you’re fortunate to be within driving distance of its location in the Bronx or visiting the Big Apple this summer, this botanical garden established in 1891 is a must-visit destination. A tourist in Manhattan this […]

We’ve noted often in the past our preference for using maple syrup instead of sugar when culinary needs require a sweetener. Unlike sugar, a quarter cup of maple syrup supplies 62 percent of your daily riboflavin requirement, about 9 percent of calcium, 8 percent of zinc, and 5 percent of potassium and less maple syrup […]

The state of Vermont’s status as the greenest state in the United States is indisputable. Over the years, we have reported on Strolling of the Heifers’ annual Locavore Index, on which The Green Mountain State has consistently been atop, as it has been since the first Locavore Index was compiled in 2012. Due to the […]

Plantlife, a conservation charity based in Salisbury, England, owns nearly 4,500 acres of nature reserve across England, Scotland and Wales. The organization works nationally in the United Kingdom and internationally “to save threatened wild flowers, plants and fungi,” and its conservation initiative, No Mow May, has also taken root across North America. Bee City USA, […]

With the pandemic evolving into an endurable endemic, we’ve noticed that our farm-to-table dining directories have, once again, become popular. And with the easing of the pandemic, folks (in addition to seeking out a restaurant or café for a meal),  can also now find and enjoy a perfect cup of coffee near home or while […]

This senior citizen does not listen to Talk Radio. But on a recent trip down the New York State Thruway from home in Albany, just south of Newburgh, I lost the radio signal for  Classical WMHT-FM, 89.1 in the Albany area and 88.7 in Poughkeepsie. Instead of a Chopin mazurka or similar music, when I […]

A couple years ago, while perusing the News Notes in The Natural Farmer (Winter, 2018-19) issue, I was stunned by a reference to “Harvard’s billion-dollar farmland fiasco.” The Natural Farmer is the newspaper of the Northeast Organic Farming Association. Published quarterly as a newsprint tabloid journal, The Natural Farmer covers news of the organic movement nationally […]

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) reports widespread detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza from Wyoming to Maine. APHIS notes that it “is working closely with State partners on surveillance, reporting, and control efforts.” This highly “pathogenic avian influenza” has been confirmed in commercial and backyard […]

This week at the College of Saint Rose’s Interfaith Sanctuary in Albany, New York, a few blocks from home, Buddhist monk Lama Karma Chopal is creating a sand mandala. Lama Chopal is one of fewer than 100 artists qualified to create true mandalas, according to the Venerable Losang Samten, who made the first public sand […]

The geographic triangle of the Greater Northeast, running from Michigan to New Brunswick (Canada) to West Virginia, is the only suitable terroir in the world for maple syrup. Temperature fluctuation impacts sap flow, with freezing nights needed to keep the sap flowing and the processing of maple syrup. Lots of sap is needed to make […]

The 72nd annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Albany, New York  was scheduled for last Saturday, March 12th, but a late winter snowstorm delayed the parade to this coming Saturday March 19th. With springlike temps for St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, in Albany, and a forecast for similar weather in a couple more days, the […]

We’ve often noted the many reasons why a consumer should shop for food in a food co-operative instead of a conventional supermarket including the healthier fare and to support the local economy. Food journalist John Steinman, in his recent book, Grocery Story, The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants, summed up […]

With daylight increasing and the start of spring only a month away, the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Innovation Network is preparing for this year’s CSA Week, to take place from February 20th through February 26th. Historically, this event (started by Simon Huntley and Small Farm Central) has been called CSA Day, but last year the […]

The Center for Science in the Public Interest offers its supporters a yearly Good Foods calendar. The Good Foods 2022 calendar’s photo of frozen blackberries and raspberries, illustrating the future month of December 2022, caught my eye as I thumbed through the photos for each of the 12 months of 2022. Founded in 1971, the […]

At the start of the New Year, this good news should be noted: it’s an achievable goal for all Americans to know where their food comes from and to have the choice to eat healthfully regardless of their income status. Michael Pollan’s mantra, concisely stated in his humorous and insightful Food Rules, to “Eat Food, Not […]

Norwegians don’t wait for a holiday to put treats on the table. This I know, having grown up with a Norwegian grandmother. So did Isabel Burlingham, although her mormor stayed in Norway. During her many visits, Burlingham learned recipes that she now employs in the delectable offerings she bakes and sells as Parchment, a Troy, […]

Consumer Reports in a joint project, with six other non-profit organizations focused on the health and welfare of Americans, for the past several years have evaluated and graded fast food chains on their policies on the use of antibiotics in the meat they serve to customers. In a post this past October, Thumbs Down On […]

Temple Grandin, a Colorado State University professor of animal sciences, autism activist, and best-selling author of a dozen books, was greeted warmly a couple days before Thanksgiving at “A conversation with Temple Grandin” cosponsored by the New York State Writers Institute and the University at Albany’s Disability Resource Center and the Office of Diversity and […]

If you cannot grow your own food, we’ve noted on many occasions, the next best way to source your food is to participate in a CSA (consumer supported agriculture) farm by purchasing, before the growing season starts, a farm share. Next up in our recommended hierarchy for where to source your daily food is to […]

The Albany Institute of History & Art (Institute), founded in 1791 in Albany, New York and one of the oldest museums in the United States, has remained a major cultural resource for the Capital Region of upstate New York to date. Earlier this spring, its exhibition of Len Tantillo’s forty years of history painting offered […]

For several years, Consumer Reports along with other consumer groups have issued scorecards evaluating “fast food” chain restaurants on what they’ve done to ensure that chicken and beef they use hasn’t been raised using antibiotics. The unnecessary use of antibiotics in farming practices is a “key driver of antibiotic-resistant infections in people” as noted in […]

The Agricultural Stewardship Association’s  Landscapes for Landsake annual fall exhibition has been held at the barn at Maple Ridge for the past 20 years, just outside the historic, well-preserved village of Cambridge, located in rural Washington County of upstate New York. For the past six or seven years, a visit to the exhibition also included […]

The American Horticultural Society (AHS) and the Junior Master Gardener Program (JMG program) in 2005 created national awards for excellence in children’s literature known as the Growing Good Kids Book Awards.  For the 16th year in a row, they have honored the best new children’s books about gardening, nature and the environment. The awards for […]

Since 1990 the Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) has worked to protect farms and the agricultural landscape in upstate New York’s Washington and Rensselaer counties by conserving over 26,000 acres on 150 farms. A significant source of funding has come from its annual Landscapes for Landsake Art Sale and Exhibition, a celebration of the land by […]

This past February, news that Trader Joe’s was planning to open a second location in the Capital Region of upstate New York in Halfmoon in Saratoga County, the fastest growing county in upstate New York, was first reported in the Albany Times Union. Nine years earlier, Trader Joe’s had opened its first store in the […]

The Rodale Institute for each of the past 11 year has celebrated the well-being of people and the planet by recognizing “three leaders who are changing the landscape of regenerative organic agriculture for the better.” Rodale Institute’s Organic Pioneer Award winners for 2021 are the Iowa farmer and activist Denise O’Brien, New Mexico farmer Don Bustos, […]

Laura Lengnick is, among many other pursuits, a soil scientist who has put in over 30 years of work as a researcher and policy maker, a teacher and, most especially, a farmer, whose focus is on sustainability in agriculture and, therefore, food systems. Research for her book Resilient Agriculture  took her throughout the country to […]

What is the alternative to “fast food?” Founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 in opposition to a plan for a McDonald’s in Rome near the Spanish Steps, the Slow Food Movement has developed into an extensive network of 100,000 members in 1,300 local chapters across 150 countries. In the United States, Slow Food […]

The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown (Otsego County) in upstate New York opened its doors to the public in 1944 on land which has been part of a working farm since 1813 when it was owned by James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851).  When it opened nearly 80 years ago, the Farmers Museum had 5,000 tools and objects. […]

A live, in-person Farm Aid 2021 Festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25th in Hartford, Connecticut at the Xfinity Theatre. Willie Nelson, Farm Aid’s Founder and President, hits the nail on the head in noting that an in-person celebration of family farmers is a reminder of how much we need each other after the […]

For decades, this backyard gardener has planted a crop of garlic. It takes some planning. Like tulip bulbs, garlic gets planted in the fall. And mid-July to late July is the usual time of year in upstate New York to harvest the crop. Then it’s hung in my cool basement to dry and used over […]

A couple of years ago, Harvard Health Publishing, the consumer health education division of Harvard Medical School, published an article (11/8/19) by Dr Robert Shmerling, Ditch the Gluten, Improve Your Health?,  that cogently concluded that “the ‘dangers’ of gluten have probably been overstated–and oversold.” Dr. Shmerling addressed the question whether restricting the gluten a person […]

Drinking coffee and/or tea has been associated with a lower risk for so-called all-cause mortality. The National Library of Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health and the world’s largest biomedical library, is an extraordinary resource for the public to find reliable health information. Searching for the term coffee consumption on the Library’s website […]

We’ve shared information on the American Community Garden Association in the past, noting that the growing movement of community gardens throughout North America is a ray of hope in a frenetic world. This green movement offers city and town dwelling people a way to reconnect with nature in a fruitful way. As the light at […]

For some time it’s been believed by many that coffee is “the second-most traded commodity after oil.” This coffee drinker recently decided to look into that “fact.” Kudos to Politifact, a nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has clarified the details concerning coffee’s extraordinary popularity as […]

Earth Day was created by environmental activists 51 years ago on April 22, 1970 in response to the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill when an oil well off the California coast blew out and spewed three million gallons of oil, killing thousands of seabirds, dolphins, seals and sea lions.  In the words of David McCauley,  […]

Trader Joe’s, the chain of grocery stores with a cult-like following, now operates over 500 stores in 42 states and Washington, D.C. Nine years ago, it opened its first store in Colonie, an Albany suburb in upstate New York’s Capital Region. Unlike other chains, Trader Joe’s is slow to add new locations. It’s taken nine […]

The Food and Drug Administration  (FDA) announced this past week its intention to take action to reduce toxic heavy metals in manufactured baby food.  The federal agency is finalizing a comprehensive plan to further reduce levels of toxic elements in foods for babies and young children. Baby food manufacturers were notified by the FDA that […]

The only suitable terroir in the world for maple syrup is the Greater Northeast, the geographic triangle running from Michigan to New Brunswick (Canada) to West Virginia. In the heart of this triangle is upstate New York. (Our Maple Syrup directory has links to the websites for 13 Maple Syrup Producers Associations in 11 U.S. […]

With some hopeful signs that the pandemic is easing, our dining directories may once again become helpful in finding farm-to-table dining options. Since the start-up of this website over ten years ago, the dining directories until the pandemic have been our most popular web pages, with the Massachusetts dining directory leading the way. Of late […]

We think of farms as massive multi-acre enterprises, such is the pervasive image that corporate farming gives us. Ben Stein and Alicia Brown are entering their third season of providing fresh produce to a growing customer base, and their business has been growing unexpectedly well. And they’re doing it on one acre of land. Edible […]

A remarkably diverse group of organizations are urging the Biden administration to issue an executive order that would enact a moratorium on mergers and acquisitions in the food and agricultural industries. Led by Food & Water Watch the groups have sent a letter dated January 28, 2021 to Susan Rice, Director of the Domestic Policy […]

President Biden in the first days of his presidency has acted quickly to issue an executive order to significantly increase federal food assistance for millions of hungry families. It is reported in the Washington Post that the USDA will be asked to allow states to increase SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, commonly known as […]

Peanut butter is a staple food in my pantry. And it’s been easy to maintain a supply of freshly ground organic peanut butter since the bulk food department of the Honest Weight Food Co-op in my hometown of Albany, NY makes it doable to grind a jarful on weekly visits. Peanut butter spread on a […]

The science writer, Frank Swain, last year posed the question, How do we go palm oil free?, in a must-read analysis published on the BBC’s online platform called BBC Future. This award-winning online platform proclaims that We believe in truth, facts, and science. We take the time to think. And we don’t accept–we ask why. And […]

No denying that 2020 was a dreadful year. But the old expression every cloud has a silver lining has special value on the first day of the new year 2021. According to information on the website knowyourphrase.com, the two-word phrase silver lining has been used for over 380 years (as far back as John Milton’s […]

American Farmland Trust’s (AFT) 12th Annual Farmers Market Celebration showcases farmers markets across the United States that are making a difference in their communities. Supporters and customers of farmers markets recently voted for the most essential market in their community, with more than 1,250 farmers participating in AFT’s celebration of American farmers markets. This year, […]

There is no disputing that monarch butterflies and other pollinators (nature’s little things) are threatened by habitat loss and climate change. The Xerces Society recently reported that the western migratory population of monarch butterflies (“monarchs”) is headed for an all-time low this fall/winter. According to an article by Emma Pelton on this conservation organization’s website, […]

The Growing Good Kids-Excellence in Children’s Literature Awards honor the best new children’s books about gardening, nature and the environment. These national awards for children’s literature were created by the American Horticultural Society (AHS) and the Junior Master Gardener Program (JMG program) back in 2005. Since that time, they have been awarded annually. The awards for 2020 were announced at the National Children […]

In 2015, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.’s (AquaBounty) application to farm genetically engineered salmon, which the company branded AquAdvantage. Reflecting the globalization of food production, the FDA authorized AquaBounty to produce eggs at a facility on Canada’s Prince Edward Island and to grow the eggs into mature fish […]

It’s been several years since we reviewed and praised Fed Up, a documentary film narrated by Katie Couric, on America’s sugar addiction. Fed Up made clear to this mindful eater that determination and self-control is not enough for many people to lose excess bodyweight. Shockingly, this persuasive film makes the strong case that a sugar […]

Landscapes for Landsake, the Agricultural Stewardship Association’s (ASA) annual art sale and exhibition not only celebrates the agricultural beauty of the upper Hudson River Valley, but also raises funds for this praiseworthy farmland conservation non-profit, which over the years has managed to conserve 139 farms and over 24,000 acres. Since 1990 the ASA has worked […]

Terra Madre – Mother Earth – is a world-wide festival based in Turin, Italy that seeks to unite our food, our planet and our future, and this year will present a mix of physical and free digital events running from Oct. 8, 2020 through April 2021. It’s the thirteenth such festival growing out of the […]

Patrick and Krista Gramens’ Rye Berry Bakery & Cafe is one of 87 praiseworthy bakeries included in our directory of Craft Bakeries. These bakeries offer baked goods and naturally leavened breads, made from scratch and hand-crafted, with the mindful sourcing of ingredients often including local grains and fruits, and are a positive economic presence for […]

The 2020 growing season has been challenging to farmers and consumers alike enduring the corona virus pandemic. Nonetheless, for consumers who obtained a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share or who shop at farmers markets in the Hudson Valley region of upstate New York, the bountiful local harvest this growing season is a reason to […]

This is a pivotal time of year for beekeepers large and small. As the weather starts to turn colder and less predictable, bees begin preparing for winter, but recent years have brought a succession of man-made problems that the bees can’t easily overcome. Fortunately, we’re able to help them. Fall is a tricky time, because […]

Farm Aid 2020 On the Road, the 35th anniversary of the legendary music (plus) festival celebrating family farmers and ranchers, is happening on September 26, from 8:00PM-11:00PM EDT, with an impressive line-up of more than 20 artists performing in a free at-home festival experience. Tune in to watch performances by  Willie Nelson and The Boys, Neil […]

A chef who was teaching me to make bread regarded my kneading practice with dismay. I was using the opportunity to inflict imaginary violent revenge on my enemies, accompanying my pulls and punches with angry mutterings. Never put hate into your food, the chef advised. If you want to get love out of it, you […]

One important responsibility of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans every five years.  In developing the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines, USDA and HHS has been urged to take a science-based approach and rely upon the Scientific Report of the […]

This website’s directory of craft bakeries includes extraordinary craft bakeries that offer naturally leavened breads and baked goods, made from scratch and hand-crafted, with the mindful sourcing of ingredients often including local grains and fruits.  Our listings are now approaching nearly one hundred: across the United States from Alaska to Wyoming as well as six […]

Since 2011, Rodale Institute’s Organic Pioneer Awards have honored farmers, research scientists and business leaders “who are leading the movement towards an organic planet.” In September, Rodale Institute will celebrate the three Organic Pioneer Award Winners for 2020. In past years, a variety of businesses have been honored as Organic Pioneers, including Nature’s Path,  Patagonia, Dr. Bronner’s, Amy’s […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines recommend two cups of fruit each day at the 2,000 calorie level. Although the USDA dietary guidelines provide that a cup of 100 percent fruit juice can count as a daily serving of fruit, an article in Consumer Reports, Forget The Juice And Eat The Whole […]

American Farmland Trust’s 12th Annual Farmers Market Celebration for 2020 starts on Monday, June 22 and will run through September 20, 2020. Supporters and customers of farmers market can start voting for the most essential market in their community helping them win national recognition. In addition this year, American Farmland Trust (AFT) will be offering […]

Beyond Pesticides (formerly national Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) was established nearly 40 years ago to raise public health and environmental concerns in order to counter the pressures of the chemical industry to shape and control local, state and national pesticide policy. The nonprofit organization describes its goal simply: to protect healthy air, water, […]

For us it’s been about asking ourselves, how can we still show hospitality at such a weird time and place in our industry, when our traditional means of showing care and attention have been taken away from us? So muses Jinah Kim, the owner of and unstoppable force behind Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen, the Troy-based […]

Look & See, the recent film portrait of Wendell Berry (the novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic and farmer), includes fascinating archival film footage of Berry debating former Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz nearly 50 years ago. Butz, urging farmers to adapt to the industrialization and commodification of agriculture rooted in financial gain over other societal […]

Drive-throughs have become a lifeline for fast-food chains during the coronavirus pandemic. According to reporting by David Yaffe-Bellany in the New York Times (5/1/20), With dine-in restaurants shuttered, drive-throughs . . . are a crucial source of revenue. According to data from the NPD Group (which offers analytics to measure, predict, and improve performance across […]

Earlier this year, we spotlighted John Steinman’s Grocery Story, The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants, which shows how food co-operatives (owned by folks in their communities) can provide a way forward toward a more sustainable and just food system. And over the years, we have promoted Food Co-ops as a […]

Feeding America, once known as America’s Second Harvest, has become the second largest charity in the United States by revenue. A nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies, the non-profit organization notes that it has served 1 […]

Farmers markets are essential for the economic vitality of community centered agriculture. In encouraging readers to participate in a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm by purchasing a share in this year’s local bounty, we noted recently that the second best way to support local, small farm agriculture is to develop a relationship with a particular […]

Farmers, who rely on direct contact with their customers, and sell their products through farmers markets or farm stands have been seriously affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, many farmers, who have developed local restaurants, schools and other local institutions as customers for their bounty have lost much of that business with school closings […]

Dine-in restaurants have been forced to close as a result of public health concerns to slow and contain the outbreak of corona virus cases spreading widely across countries around the world, including the United States and Canada. In New York State, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has ordered that all employees of non-essential businesses stay at […]

When we launched our upgraded website last spring, it resulted in a reaffirmation of our mission: to promote local and sustainable agriculture that cares for people, animals, land and water. At that time, we celebrated our nine years of support for the good food movement. Now, at this challenging moment in human history, we all […]

Organic plain yogurt made with milk from 100% grass fed cows is a big part of this mindful eater’s diet. Our yogurt directory now includes 31 yogurt makers in the U.S. and Canada using milk from 100% grass fed cows, sheep and/or goats. The impressive watchdog within the organic industry, Cornucopia Institute, has developed an […]

The United States Military Health System (MHS) takes pride in its standing as the world’s preeminent military health delivery operation. MHS notes that it saves lives on the battlefield, combats infectious disease around the world, and cares for 9.5 million beneficiaries in one of the nation’s largest health benefit plans. MHS’s framework for Total Force […]

In 2007, Shawn Askinosie, the Founder and CEO of Askinosie Chocolate, after several years of searching for a new path in life after a legal career as a criminal defense lawyer, established in Springfield, Missouri a chocolate business, which in the spring of 2007 sold its first (100% traceable from bean to bar) chocolate. In […]

We recently shared a recipe for Sweet Red Beet Hummus using one of the five Healthy Foods for Fall spotlighted by Consumer Reports On Health, The Truth About What Is Good For You. The beets used in the recipe were part of a winter box of veggies delivered in early January 2020 from a CSA […]

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is focused on improving the food environment in communities nationwide. No easy task with the American obesity problem spreading world-wide. We’ve noted before the evidentiary value of the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD), a collaboration of over 2,300 researchers in 133 countries which assesses mortality […]

Early last month on our Facebook page, we shared Michigan farmer Leah Smith’s clear thinking on the meaning of Organic in her article What Does Certified Organic Mean? published on ACRE U.S.A.’s Ecofarming Daily. We were pleased that this FB post reached over 1,500 people and prompted many engagements. Farmer Smith spoke the truth when […]

The vision in a nutshell of the American Horticultural Society (AHS) is to make America a nation of gardeners and a land of gardens. Founded in 1922, it has evolved into a vital and inspiring organization with important programmatic partners including the National Pollinator Garden Network, Outdoors Alliance for Kids and Seed Your Future. The […]

Gary Kleppel has put himself in an excellent position to practice what he preaches. He and his wife, Pam, own and operate the 16-acre Longfield Farm in Knox (Albany County), NY, where they raise sheep and chickens – and produce amazingly wonderful loaves of sourdough bread. How did he get interested in sustainable farming? I […]

A dozen years ago, back in 2007, three graduates of Georgetown University in Washington, DC founded sweetgreen, a fast food operation that reflected a commitment by its three founders, Nicolas Jammet, Nathaniel Ru and Jonathan Neman, to sourcing local and organic ingredients from farmers we know for sweetgreen’s fast food menu. Six years later in […]

Living in upstate New York, surrounded by farms at risk of going under, it’s puzzling why schools and other institutions don’t source more of their food from local farms. It would help to ensure a market for local farmers and protect our rural landscapes, keep money circulating in local communities, and provide fresher, healthier and […]

The Growing Good Kids-Excellence in Children’s Literature Awards honor the best new children’s books about gardening, nature and the environment. These national awards for children’s literature were created by the American Horticultural Society (AHS) and the Junior Master Gardener Program (JMG program) back in 2005. Since that time, they have been awarded annually. The awards […]

The success over the years of the Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) in raising funds to support its mission to preserve farmland in Washington and Rensselaer counties in the upper Hudson River valley of upstate New York lifts the spirits. In addition to funds from New York State’s Department of Agriculture and Markets Farmland Protection Program […]

Back in August we reported on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed swine slaughter modernization program, which would (i) replace trained USDA veterinarians responsible for the food safety inspection of hogs at meatpacking plants with employees of those slaughterhouses and (ii) eliminate the current maximum speed limit imposed on the slaughtering and evisceration lines. […]

Kudos for upstate New York’s Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) which has conserved 133 farms and over 22,300 acres of farmland over the past 29 years in Washington and Rensselaer Counties in the scenic and agriculturally rich Upper Hudson River Valley. This praiseworthy non-profit land trust has worked diligently to accomplish its ever important mission: protecting […]

Earlier this month, we posted an easy-to-make recipe for Healthier Blueberry Crisp. With very little added sweetener (only 1/4 cup of maple syrup) and delicious local and organic blueberries, this is a recipe to make often. And it’s a handy recipe for use with other seasonal fruits: like this season’s apples. Upstate New York is […]

Since 2011, the Rodale Institute’s Organic Pioneer Awards has honored a (1) farmer, (2) scientist, and (3) most years a business who are leading the good food movement towards an organic planet. This year Jennifer Taylor, Ph.D, owner of Lola’s Organic Farm in Glenwood (Wheeler County), Georgia and Associate Professor at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical […]

Participation in Sierra’s 13th annual Cool Schools ranking was open to all four-year undergraduate colleges and universities and since last year, two-year community colleges, in the United States and Canada. Sierra received 282 complete responses from qualified colleges- a record response rate. Colleges and universities that choose to participate in the annual Sierra rankings deserve praise […]

Our Mission Statement highlights these words of the Kentucky farmer and writer, Wendell Berry: Every time you make a decision about food, you are farming by proxy. Although it wasn’t a big surprise on touring the inspiring Restoration Farm in Old Bethpage (Nassau County), it was satisfying to see the essential message of Wendell Berry […]

A couple of years ago, we reported on a study on the Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity in 195 Countries Over 25 Years published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This study was based on a global research program known as the Global Burden of Disease, which was a collaboration of over 2,300 […]

There are hundreds of swine slaughter plants in the United States. Approximately 40 are larger plants that supply approximately 90 percent of the nation’s pork, including the slaughter plants of the three meat packing giants, Tyson Foods (revenue of $40.052 billion in 2018), Smithfield Foods (revenue of $14.4 billion in 2015 and now owned by […]

A couple of weeks ago, in mid July, I harvested this season’s crop of garlic planted in the backyard garden in a raised bed. With a few more weeks in the 2019 growing season, what to replant in the now empty bed? It was an easy decision to replant with a cover crop.  David R. […]

Wines produced from grapes grown without herbicides and insecticides, fermented only with natural yeast, and produced with no additives truly capture their vintage and terroir. Natural or organic wines are increasingly sought after by consumers who want to know where their wine comes from and how it was produced, and have become more widely available. […]

Farm Aid 2019 with Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews (plus at least nine other acts) will be held on Saturday, September 21st at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre, a 37,000-capacity amphitheater with a characteristic wooden roof, covering the 7,500-seat pavilion, and a sprawling lawn. Thirty-five miles southeast of Milwaukee and 92 […]

We have long noted the impressive standing of Vermont as a green state with its strong commitment to protecting the environment demonstrated by the extraordinary number of community supported agriculture farms committed to organic and conservation agriculture while also building community. Our directory of CSAs in Vermont lists a remarkable 56 farms in a state second-smallest […]

Based on 17 years of data tracking food consumption worldwide, a global study,  Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017, published in the British medical journal, The Lancet has convincingly established that longer life is associated with consuming vegetables, fruit, fish and […]

On March 11, 2010, this website was launched with the goal to promote local and sustainable agriculture that cares for people, animals, land and water. As spring 2019 arrives, we are pleased to introduce an upgraded website, with superior navigability, which will make it easier for our readers to explore our website. From craft bakeries, […]

Jane K. Brody’s Personal Health column in the New York Times recently spotlighted the news that nearly half the dogs veterinarians see are overweight or obese in That Furry Friend May Need to Be on a Diet (2/5/19). Why is this? Michael Pollan in his Food Rules, an Eater’s Manual, now available in paperback, provides […]

Invaluable foods since the dawn of time is the sentence that leads off the chapter on Nuts in Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Food Plants, published in 2008 by the National Geographic Society. We noted in our book review posted seven years ago, that this nearly 400 page illustrated guide is a worthy […]

Back in 2017, we reported on the launching of a Consumer Voices Survey by Consumer Reports to determine its priorities for uncovering “what consumers need to know to make smarter choices in their daily life.” The praiseworthy non-profit organization, which does not accept paid advertising, does not accept test samples from manufacturers and maintains its […]

The Wendell Berry Farming Program  of Vermont’s Sterling College (ranked #1 for food and dining three years in a row in Sierra’s Cool Schools rankings) based at The Berry Center in New Castle (Henry County), Kentucky, has received a $2.5 million grant from The NoVo Foundation, which shares the farming program’s vision of educating a next […]

Reckoning with the calendar becoming 2019, this Class of 1972 college graduate thought it was clever to e-mail some greetings for the new year with “Best wishes for 2019, Ouch!” A good and intelligent friend set me straight on that superficial wit. He wrote: NOT Ouch, but Onward! And Onward! it is for knowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom.com in 2019 and our mission […]

Dr. Peter G. Lurie, the president of the Center For Science In The Public Interest (CSPI), summarized (in a year-end appeal for member support), the three immutable principles guiding the organization’s work: (i) People deserve honest, reliable nutritional information about the food they eat; (2) Our government must protect its citizens from dishonest marketing practices (emphasis added), dangerous […]

The Carrot Project views as clients the farmers and businesses it works with directly. For over ten years, it has helped to build the financial management skills of its clients, and it takes pride in its 2017 Outcomes: 72 clients (whose service ended in the year) averaged an increase in net income of $28,500, 1767 farmland acres […]

A study recently published in JAMA (the peer-reviewed medical Journal of the American Medical Association), Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer Risk (10/22/18), suggests that a higher frequency of organic food consumption was associated with a reduced risk of cancer. Although organic foods are less likely to contain pesticide residues than conventional foods, […]

Flocks of sheep at pasture in the idyllic landscape along Shaker Museum Road in Old Chatham, in the northern reaches of Columbia County in the Hudson Valley of upstate New York, have become a mere memory. In early September, 2017, this advocate for farmstead yogurt and cheese makers (who recommends scanning our yogurt and cheese […]

For five years in a row, from 2011 to 2015, apples were Number One on the dirty dozen list of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables to avoid compiled by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). But in 2016, strawberries displaced apples as the Number One conventionally grown fruit and vegetable to avoid. And in 2017 and again […]

Created by the American Horticultural Society (AHS) and the Junior Master Gardener Program (JMG program), the Growing Good Kids- Excellence in Children’s Literature Awards honor the best new children’s books about gardening, nature and the environment. These national awards for children’s literature began in 2005 when the AHS and the JMG program recognized 40 books for children as […]

There wasn’t an empty seat in the 500-seat Tishman Auditorium at the New York University Law School’s Vanderbilt Hall for Food Tank’s Second Annual New York City Summit, Focusing On Food Loss And Food Waste. This Food Tank summit in the urban metropolis was the second day long gathering of diverse speakers in interactive panels […]

For 28 years the Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) has worked to accomplish its praiseworthy mission: to protect the farms, rich soils and agricultural landscape in Washington and Rensselaer counties in upstate New York’s northern Hudson River Valley. In that time the organization has managed to conserve 125 farms and 20,042 acres. And for the last […]

Participation in Sierra’s 12th annual Cool Schools ranking was open to all four-year undergraduate colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and for the first time, two-year community colleges were eligible to participate. Sierra received 269 complete responses from qualified colleges- a record response rate. Sierra ranks schools on sustainability to serve as a […]

The Southern Adirondack Library System (SALS) is a consortium of 34 public libraries in Hamilton, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties in upstate New York. SALS is governed by a Board of Trustees, composed of three representatives from each of these four upstate counties elected by the trustees of the 34 member libraries. (Member libraries are […]

Tickets for the Farm Aid 2018 concert sold out on the first day of sales in only four hours, a couple of months before the concert is to be held on September 22 at XFINITY Theater in Hartford, Connecticut. “We’re honored that Connecticut has embraced Farm Aid in this way,” said Carolyn Mugar, executive director of Farm Aid. The […]

Last month, we reported on the Rodale Institute’s Organic Pioneer Awards for 2018 honoring peach farmer Mas Masumoto, research scientist William Liebhardt, and North America’s largest organic breakfast company, Nature’s Path. This business, founded by Arran and Ratana Stephens and still family-owned, has recently announced its resignation from the Organic Trade Association (OTA). According to […]

Acres magazine is published monthly by Acres U.S.A., which was established back in 1971. This monthly magazine, known as the Voice of Eco-Agriculture, carries these pithy words of its founder Charles Walters (1926-2009) on its masthead: To be economical, agriculture must be ecological. For more than four decades, the magazine has sought to help farmers, ranchers […]

It was big news for the Capital District of New York when Chipotle Mexican Grill decided to open its first upstate New York fast food operation in the Albany metro area, now nearly ten years ago. The All Over Albany blog post publicizing this news back in 2009 noted that Chipotle’s food is good –and […]

The Rodale Institute’s Organic Pioneer Awards honor a (1) farmer, (2) research scientist, and (3) business who are leading the good food movement towards an organic planet. This year a third-generation farmer, David Mas Masumoto who grows organic peaches, nectarines and grapes for raisins on the 80-acre Masumoto Family Farm, south of Fresno, California, received […]

Last week, we reported on the results of the seventh annual Locavore Index compiled by the Vermont-based local food advocacy organization Strolling of the Heifers. A map of the United States, picturing the results, uses dark green to designate the top ten and brown to designate the bottom ten. The state of Arkansas (population 3,004,279) […]

The enviably green, eco-conscious New England state of Vermont (population, 623,657) has been promoting Stay to Stay Weekends, defined by its tourism office as three-day lodging and networking packages for visitors interested in becoming Vermonters. Future weekends include one in mid-summer, August 10-13 and one in the fall, October 19-22. The purpose is to connect guests to […]

This spring. farmer Jon Wilson’s plan to plant 500 tomato seedlings was delayed by the heat of a day in mid-May that felt summer-like. The planting by a team of four farmers (two full time, two part-time) would have to wait until the cooler evening. Farmer Wilson’s favorite tomato of the 36 varieties that would […]

The website for the farm to table restaurant Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore, Maryland includes this impressive representation at its About Us tab: All of the food on our menu was sourced directly from a local farmer or waterman. All of our spirits are from the US and their materials are thoughtfully sourced. All of our […]

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) over the past couple of decades has issued an annual list of fruits and vegetables with high pesticide loads that should be avoided if at all possible. The non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment recommends that fruits and vegetables included in its Dirty Dozen rankings should be purchased […]

Last month, we reported on the apparent superiority of fermented foods over manufactured probiotic pills. Now a recent study, reporting on an experiment carried out at the Human Performance Lab, located on the North Carolina Research Center in Kannapolis (Charlotte metro area) of Appalachian State University, confirms that a gift of nature, the banana, is a healthy […]

Reporter David Karp in his recent article in the New York Times, Our New Global Garden (3/14/18), cites statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A) Economic Research Service, which demonstrate the steady rise in the import of fruits and vegetables grown in other countries. The latest information from the U.S.D.A. shows that from […]

The declaration by Scott Pruitt, who now leads the federal Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.), of a new day, and a new future for the agency, worries Americans concerned about the rollback of policies aimed at protecting the environment as well as health-protective rules. The rollback has happened fast: as of early 2018, 67 environmental rules are […]

Late last year, in our book review of Tara Whitsitt’s Fermentation on Wheels, we noted that a daily dose of something fermented, like delicious sauerkraut, dill pickles or sourdough pancakes, will help get and keep a healthy gut-biome going. And earlier this month, in our review of The Hidden Half Of Nature, The Microbial Roots […]

We love maple syrup. And often rely on advice from Katie Webster, who in her cookbook, Maple- 100 sweet and savory recipes featuring pure maple syrup, recommends that if a recipe calls for 1 cup of white sugar, use 3/4 cup of maple syrup while also decreasing other liquids called for in a recipe by about 3 tablespoons per […]

With the winter’s snow pack in the Capital District of upstate New York now a memory (and any future inches of whiteness sure to melt quickly), the concise summing up by Liz Cardinal (who is a Teaching Garden Coordinator for Sustainable Food Center in Austin, Texas) of the Seven Reasons You Should Be Gardening deserves attention up […]

Reporter Andrew Jacobs in his front page story in the New York Times (Waging a Sweeping War of Obesity, Chile Slays Tony the Tiger, 2/8/18), notes that Chile’s former president, Sebastian Piñera, returns to political leadership of the South American nation next month and that back in 2011, he vetoed the first proposed food law that […]

The recent hullabaloo over the airing of ads during Super Bowl LII brought to mind a study published last summer in JAMA Internal Medicine (the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Medical Association) where researchers watched nearly 30,000 customers over 46 days in a college cafeteria select various vegetables and determined that touting health claims is […]

Researchers, who analyzed results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States, which combines interviews and physical examination), have found that daily consumption of hot tea “had a 74% decreased odds of having glaucoma compared […]

We have long admired and supported the Cornucopia Institute, which advocates for sustainable and organic agriculture. The non-profit organization’s research and investigations on agricultural and food issues provides needed information and guidance to family farmers, consumers and other stakeholders in the good food movement. Backing ecologically produced local, organic and authentic food, the Cornucopia Institute has demonstrated […]

As 2017 winds down, we’re nearing the 8th anniversary of this website and we remain hopeful that more of our users and readers in the new year will take the step (1) to participate in  a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm or (2) commit to shopping for their food at a farmers market with the […]

Consumer Reports describes itself as the world’s largest independent, nonprofit, consumer-product-testing organization. It maintains integrity by paying for all the products it rates, not accepting paid advertising, and not accepting test samples from manufacturers. Consumer Reports also does not allow its name or content to be used for any promotional purposes. The November 2017 Eat […]

Three cheers for the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) at Vermont Law School which has implemented the National Gleaning Project (NGP) with funding from the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Library (USDA-NAL). The mission of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems is to train the next generation of food and agriculture […]

We’ve long admired Michael Pollan’s Food Rules and its central message: Eat Food, Mostly Plants, Not Too Much, and a Meatless Monday is a simple step to take to follow Pollan’s advice. Prior to the start of COP23, the gathering of 23 countries for the United Nations’ annual Climate Change Conference, Paul McCartney, a long […]

A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS), one of the world’s most cited and comprehensive multidisciplinary scientific journals, with more than 3,100 research papers published annually, suggests that due to climate change and because coffee production is dependent on bee pollination, by 2050 there will […]

Corn is the dietary staple of most cattle because it’s an inexpensive feed that fattens the animals quickly – but that comes at the expense of the cow’s own health. Grassfed cows are healthier and the meat and milk that comes from them is better for humans. And the cycle of grass-based grazing is better […]

Twenty-seven years ago, part of the 1990 Farm Bill, known as the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), required the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish national standards governing the marketing of agricultural products as “organically produced products.” In response, the USDA established the National Organic Program (NOP) as a regulatory program within […]

After the examination by The New York Times of epidemiological studies, government reports, corporate records of multinational big food companies and interviews of scores of nutritionists and health experts around the world, reporters Andrew Jacobs and Matt Richtel’s front page story, How Big Business Got Brazil Hooked on Junk Food  (NY Times, 9/17/17), part of […]

The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) is an affiliation of seven state chapters in the northeast United States: New York, New Jersey and five of the six New England States, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire. Each of the seven state chapters provides educational conferences, workshops, farm tours and printed materials to educate farmers, […]

Last month, we reported on the Organic Consumers Association’s campaign to challenge the use of the words natural and socially responsible to market ice-cream by Ben & Jerry’s, now a subsidiary of Unilever, the world’s largest consumer goods company. A marketing matter on a much smaller scale has been of personal concern to this reporter […]

Two schools, Vermont’s Sterling College and the University of Winnipeg tied for #1 in scoring 44.00 out of a possible score of 51.00 in Sierra Magazine’s Cool Schools 2017 ranking in the food category to lead the list of 227 four-year, degree-granting undergraduate colleges and universities in North America which participated. All deserve praise for […]

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) contends that “the proliferation of $90 billion worth of fraudulently labeled or advertised natural and socially responsible food products in the U.S. confuses even the most well-intentioned of consumers and lures them away from purchasing genuine organic or grass-fed products.” Taking special aim at Ben & Jerry’s, now a subsidiary of Unilever, […]

Tickets for the Farm Aid 2017 concert sold out on the first day of sales, nearly three months before next month’s concert to be held on September 16 at Burgettstown Keybank Pavilion (formerly known as First Niagara Pavilion and originally Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheater) near Pittsburgh. The open-air pavilion will host over 23,000 fans (7,100 […]

The results of an observational study of 4,310 Irish adults 60 and older (whose lead author, Eamon J. Laird, is a research fellow at Trinity College Dublin) have shown that greater yogurt consumption is associated with increased bone mineral density and physical function in older adults. The study is summarized in a short abstract published […]

The New England Journal of Medicine has published a new study on the Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity in 195 Countries over 25 Years (6/12/17), based on a Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD), a collaboration of over 2,300 researchers in 133 countries (of late). A global research program, the GBD assesses mortality and disability from 300-plus […]

To any list of “what makes life worth living,” we recently opined that clean food, clean air and clean water must be included. Food & Water Watch, a national advocacy organization that works to build “a just, healthy and sustainable world,” in its most recent quarterly newsletter, noted that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) […]

The non-profit, local food advocacy organization, Strolling of the Heifers has issued its sixth annual Locavore Index, which ranks the 50 states (plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico) in terms of their commitment to local food. Seven different data sets, reflecting patterns of local food consumption, were researched and compiled in creating the rankings. Vermont […]

The Environmental Working Group  (EWG) has long been a strong advocate, rooted in its own health research, for consumer awareness of fruits and vegetables with “high pesticide loads” that should be avoided “if at all possible.”  Over the past couple of decades, it has developed an annual list of The Dirty Dozen with the recommendation that […]

Consumer Reports (CR) has launched a new Consumer Voices Survey to determine its priorities for “testing, researching, and uncovering what consumers need to know to make smarter choices in their daily life.”  The nonprofit and nonpartisan organization notes that this mission has not changed over its more than 80 years existence. The inaugural CR Consumer […]

SUNY Cobleskill, a four year public college in rural Schoharie County of upstate New York is one of seven technology colleges, which are part of the State University of New York, “the nation’s largest comprehensive system of public higher education which offers programs at 64 geographically dispersed campuses.”  The School of Agriculture and Natural Resources at […]

The death of Lorenzo Servitje at his home in Mexico City, reported in the NY Times by Sam Roberts, Lorenzo Servitje, 98, Who Built Empire By Bringing Bread Across Borders, Dies (2/7/17), brings renewed attention to Grupo Bimbo, a company which reported more than $14 billion in sales in 2014, and that has 130,000 employees […]

The Mahaiwe Theatre’s 690 seats sold out in what seemed like no time when it was announced that Wendell Berry would be speaking there last October. The Great Barrington, Mass., theater is at the cultural heart of the Berkshires and hosts (alongside live theater and music, movies, lectures, and community events) the annual E.F. Schumacher […]

With 2017 starting to tick away and uncertain political changes brewing in our nation’s capital (which put at risk America’s clean air, clean water and clean food), we would like to renew our commitment to knowing where our food comes from and to express gratitude to the farmers and growers who produce food with concern […]

Upstate New York has struggled against economic decline as its rust belt cities have lost manufacturing jobs. But a bright spot of economic news in upstate is the thriving small city of Saratoga Springs, which has brought back to life its historic downtown and now has acted to preserve its last remaining farmland. Developers have […]

For its third annual conference in its Celebration of Our Agricultural Community series, the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown (Otsego County in upstate New York) addressed Climate Change and Its Impact on Farming in Central New York. The bad news, of course, is that we are on an irrevocable path to an ever-greater crisis, a crisis that […]

There’s no good time for a flood, but late August has to be the worst for a farming community. The Schoharie Creek ran up over its banks when Hurricane Irene hit during that time of year in 2011, punishing the area in and around the town of Schoharie in upstate New York, with a disaster […]

Pending mega-mergers between (1) Monsanto-Bayer, (2) Dow-DuPont & (3) Syngenta-ChemChina represent “shocking consolidation in the biotech seed and agrochemical industry” in the words of Wenonah Hauter, the Executive Director of the Food and Water Watch. Along with eight other groups (Sierra Club, SumofUs, Pesticide Action Network, Friends of the Earth, Center for Food Safety, Organic […]

Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, Vermont, one of only eight federally recognized work colleges, earned an impressive 46.00 out of a possible score of 51 in Sierra Magazine’s 2016 Cool Schools ranking in the food category to lead the list of 201 “four-year, degree-granting undergraduate colleges and universities in the United States.” The top ten colleges for […]

Thirty-one years after the first Farm Aid concert in 1985, this inspirational day of music and praise for the American family farm will be taking place on Saturday, September 17, 2016 at the Jiffy Lube Live amphitheater in Bristow (formerly known as Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge), near Manassas, in northern Virginia. The amphitheater can seat […]

A federal law preventing individual states, namely Vermont, from requiring labeling of genetically engineered (GMO) foods has been signed by President Obama. Unlike the Vermont state law, now curtailed, this federal law does not require “words” on packages of GMO food noting that the food has been “produced with genetic engineering.” We the People, Your […]

We reported back in March that a bill in Congress sponsored by Kansas Senator Pat Roberts, preventing individual states from requiring labeling of genetically engineered (GMO) foods, had been rejected after full Senate consideration. But we also noted that the Organic Consumers Association emphasized that the rejection of Senator Roberts’ bill was only “an exciting preliminary victory.” OCA asked back […]

Members of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms are savoring the start of the 2016 farm season. Just Food, a praiseworthy organization based in New York City, each year connects nearly a quarter million New Yorkers with fresh food through its network of community food projects. And the organization offers special training for Gotham residents “to […]

The Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx is the largest wholesale produce market in the world. Sitting on 113 acres, it includes 1 million square feet of interior space. Its produce, according to its website, is delivered fresh daily via plane, boat, and tractor trailer from 49 states and 55 countries. This Goliath of produce markets, […]

In Pukka’s Promise, The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, NY 2013), Ted Kerasote’s decision to feed his puppy Pukka an AAFCO-certified raw food diet has one major caveat. In his wonderful, memoir-like guide to caring for a dog to ensure a long life, he describes testing commercial kibbles, as well as commercially available raw-food […]

A bill sponsored by Kansas Senator Pat Roberts, preventing individual states from requiring labeling of genetically engineered (GMO) foods, has been rejected after full Senate consideration.  Wenonah Hauter, the Executive Director of the Food & Water Watch noted that Senator Robert’s bill, best described as “the Denying Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act,” would […]

Fresh foods from small farms is the praiseworthy tagline for Field Goods, a direct-to-consumer, food distributor in upstate NY’s rural Greene County. On a late January day, in a remarkably mild upstate New York winter, this locally grown business (supported by an Empire State Development grant through the Capital Region Economic Development Council) celebrated its […]

Food co-operatives have a long tradition of in-store member labor, perhaps best represented by one of the most successful food co-operatives in the United States: Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Coop. The Park Slope Food Coop, which was founded in 1973, and operated first in space rented from a community center, eventually purchased a building in 1980 […]

A little over three years ago, Trader Joe’s opened a store in the Capital Region of upstate New York. For years, a group called We Want Trader Joe’s in the Capital District, organized by Bruce Roter, a professor at the College of St. Rose in my hometown of Albany, campaigned to bring the national chain […]

Oceana, established in 2001 by a group of leading foundations (The Pew Charitable Trusts, Oak Foundation, Marisla Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund) to protect and restore the world’s oceans, has conducted “the largest salmon mislabeling study in the United States to-date.” The organization has reported that 43% of the 82 winter salmon samples its […]

  The insightful New York Times food writer, recipe guru, and activist Mark Bittman, as part of the Writers Institute’s speakers series (founded by William Kennedy, Albany’s famed novelist in 1983), spent an afternoon last week at a recital hall on the campus of the State University of Albany and explained how he “accidentally” became a food writer. […]

Dartmouth College earned an impressive 49.89 out of a possible score of 51 in Sierra Magazine’s 2015 Cool Schools ranking in the food category to lead the list of 153 “four-year, degree-granting undergraduate colleges and universities in the United States.” The top ten for college food include schools in diverse eastern and western locations, but […]

Three hundred samples of raw ground beef from stores nationwide were recently tested by Consumer Reports for harmful bacteria. In “The Safest Beef to Buy,” a recent article in Consumer Reports On Health (October, 2015), this nonprofit, independent organization which provides advice on “goods, services, health, and personal finance” (and accepts no advertising in its […]

The Idaho legislature passed a bill, which was signed into law by Governor C.L. Butch Otter on February 14, 2014, that created a new crime, “interference with agricultural production” (Idaho Code Section 18-7042).  This so-called “ag gag” law criminalized any of the following five specified actions: (1) a person, not employed by an agricultural production […]

Last week, we reported on the campaign led by the Organic Consumers Association to appeal to President Obama to veto “any federal bill that would preempt states’ rights to pass mandatory GMO (Genetically MOdified food) labeling laws.”  This campaign was started as a response to the U.S. House of Representatives passing on July 23rd the […]

The Organic Consumers Association has started a campaign to appeal to President Barack Obama to veto “any federal bill that would preempt states’ rights to pass mandatory GMO (Genetically MOdified food) labeling laws.” Via a petition available for signing on the website of MoveOn.org, President Obama is asked to “pledge that he will veto H.R. […]

There are plenty of reasons to buy a share in the bounty of a farm that follows the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model of small farm agriculture rooted in growing a variety of crops in an earth friendly way.  Freshly harvested food tastes better; buying food from a CSA keeps money in the pocket of […]

The local food advocacy group, Strolling of the Heifers has issued its fourth annual Locavore Index, which ranks the 50 states (and Washington, D.C.)  “in terms of their commitment to healthy local food.”  The current 2015 ranking has incorporated “newly available information” from the United States Department of Agriculture Statistic Service’s  Census of Agriculture on […]

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization, has released a study, recently published on-line in The Lancet Oncology, that places glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, in the second highest category for cancer risk of “probable carcinogen.”  As noted by Maria Rodale in her must-read  Organic Manifesto (Rodale, Inc. […]

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised the grading of maple syrup, effective March 2, 2015, to eliminate the grading of syrup as Grade B.  Instead, Grade A maple syrup will now include four new color and flavor classes: (1) US Grade A Golden, delicate flavor; (2) […]

Michael Moss, the New York Times reporter who won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize  for his reporting on contaminated hamburger, has now shined a light on the failure of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure adequate oversight of animal research at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, “a complex of laboratories and pastures […]

Four years ago (back in 2010), Lisa Leake and her family of four went 100 days without processed food on a small budget.  That experience led to her creation of a very popular blog and a bestselling book, 100 Days of Real Food: How We Did It, What We Learned, and 100 Easy, Wholesome Recipes […]

The popular website, www.bedandbreakfast.com, has listings of over 4,000 bed and breakfasts in the United States and Canada with the top ten states, by number of bed and breakfasts:  California (804), Massachusetts (723), New York (508), Pennsylvania (425), Michigan (368), Maine (334), Washington (323), Texas (267), Alaska (258) and Virginia (250).  This internet guide to B&Bs […]

This coming Saturday’s 2014 Farm Aid concert in Raleigh, North Carolina has sold out.   All 21,000 seats, including lawn tickets, at the Walnut Creek Amphitheater have been claimed.  If you were unable to obtain tickets or a trip to the Tar Hill state was not a possibility, this inspirational day of music and praise for […]

Twenty-nine years after the first Farm Aid concert in 1985, this inspirational day of music and praise for the American family farm will be taking place on September 13, 2014 at the Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Constructed by the City of Raleigh in 1991 and covering 77 acres, the beautiful outdoor music venue has […]

The Sierra Club’s Sierra magazine has ranked America’s greenest universities for the past eight years and has just issued its rankings for 2014.  Colleges at the top of the annual “Cool Schools” are “dedicated to greening at every level of their operation, from energy usage to recycling to food sourcing to curriculum, that sustainability has become woven […]

Cooperstown, the lake-side, rural town in upstate New York (Otsego County) is the home, not only of the renowned Baseball Hall of Fame, but also the Farmers Museum, which first opened its doors to the public in 1944 on land which has been part of a working farm since 1813 when it was owned by James Fenimore […]

The Big Apple now boasts more than 100 CSA programs according to the local food advocacy group Just Food which promotes CSAs, farmers markets and other urban food initiatives (including its inspirational City Farms program).  Just Food estimates that nearly 40,000 Gothamites now get their produce through Just Food-affiliated CSAs.  Considering there was only one […]

Based upon “high pesticide loads,” the Environmental Working Group (EWG) for its most recent “Dirty Dozen” list has named  a dozen, plus two, conventionally grown foods to avoid.  The EWG advises that “if at all possible”, the items on this list should be purchased organic:  (1) Apples, (2) Celery, (3) Cherry Tomatoes, (4) Cucumbers, (5) Grapes, […]

The Industrial Food Image Bureau, whose motto, “Making Food Affordable at Any Cost,” has raised its profile and that of its CEO, Buck Marshall, by taking out a full page advertisement in today’s (Tuesday, January 28, 2014) New York Times.   Setting the record straight, Mr. Marshall challenges his “organic adversaries.”  He asserts that “While […]

Avital Andrews in Sierra, the bi-monthly magazine published by the Sierra Club, in Five Foods That Are Killing the Planet (January/February 2014 issue), cites the well-reasoned opinions of nearly a dozen prominent environmentalists in concluding that  (1) blue fish tuna, (2) conventional coffee, (3) cheap burgers made with factory-farmed beef, (4) genetically modified corn, and (5) […]

The Onion, in its latest report on Fine Dining, has penned an unrestrained restaurant review of Cage, a factory farm to table restaurant in California’s wine country.  Mason Kelflani, the owner and head chef, describes the dining experience at his St. Helena (Napa County) restaurant as “one that preserves the link between the food on […]

The paperback version of Michael Pollan’s illustrated Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual will be released on October 29, 2013.  This wonderful new version, with 19 additional rules for a total of 83 food rules, has been illustrated with humor and a colorful palette by Maira Kalman, the talented artist whose cover art and cartoons frequently […]

Less than two weeks from now, voting by mail will begin in Washington State on the initiative (I-522) to require labeling of products which contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs).  Readers will remember that California’s similar Proposition 37 was defeated in a campaign by the opposition, which was funded to the tune of $44 million  (as […]

Glynwood, in Putnam County’s river town of Cold Spring in upstate New York, is a remarkable organization with a mission “to strengthen the regional food system throughout the Hudson Valley,” an area of agricultural bounty and rural beauty, which is rich in history.   Glynwood’s Harvest Award, now in its 11th year, celebrates farmers, organizations and […]

The Daily Meal has issued its 2nd Annual list of colleges that “gave their students top-notch dining experiences.”   In publishing the list, The Daily Meal’s reporter, Dana Kaufman  noted that students on the whole are already passionate and knowledgeable about food when they arrive at campus, and  “want to know where it’s coming from.” The […]

The  2013 Farm Aid concert will be webcast from Saratoga Springs in upstate New York this coming Saturday, September 21st from 5:00PM-11:00PM.  The concert is completely sold-out, with all of the seats inside the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) amphitheater selling out in under 11 minutes and 20,000 general admission lawn tickets sold out a […]

Support for family farmers goes hand-in-hand with spending food dollars at farmers markets.   American Farmland Trust (AFT) reports in its Summer 2013 newsletter that  for every $10.00 spent on local food at a farmers market, farmers get close to $8.00 to $9.00 of the money spent.  This compares to the $1.58 farmers and ranchers receive […]

Twenty-eight years after the first Farm Aid concert in 1985, this inspirational day of music and praise for the American family farm will be taking place on September 21, 2013 in historic Saratoga Springs in upstate New York at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on the grounds of the Saratoga Spa State Park, a […]

A few weeks ago, the brigantine, Tres Hombres, operated by a company called Fairtransport, set sail from the island of Grenada in the Caribbean to Holland with a load of Grenada Chocolate bars.  Unloaded on to a large caravan of human-powered cycles pulling trailers, the approximately 18,000 chocolate bars were delivered throughout Holland to chocolate […]

Federal District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe, based in Albany, New York, has sentenced Craig Acton, who operated Hoosic River Poultry, a small upstate New York farm  in Buskirk (Rensselaer County) to serve two years on probation and complete 50 hours of community service for his “fraudulent use of a United States Department of Agriculture […]

Elizabeth Arneson of About.com has estimated that there are over 10,000 bed and breakfasts (B & Bs) in the United States, based upon information from the Professional Association of Innkeepers International and a nationwide listing of bed and breakfasts available from Abacus Computing.  The popular website, www.bedandbreakfast.com, has listings of over 4,000 bed and breakfasts […]

Seventeen percent of the 7,222 farmers markets in the United States are now operating winter markets.   According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) during 2011 (the latest calendar year with available statistics) there were 1,225 farmers markets operating in the winter, an increase of 38% from the 886 winter farmers markets operating in […]

The Slow Food movement has an extensive network of 100,000 members in 1,300 local chapters across 150 countries.  Described on its website as “committed to improving the way food is produced and distributed,” Slow Food has a strong presence in the United States with more than 200 local chapters, and at least one chapter in […]

David Montgomery in Dirt, The Erosion of Civilizations, argues that the twin problems of soil degradation and accelerated erosion (with an estimated twenty-four billion tons of soil lost annually around the world) eventually determine the fate of civilizations.   The pressure of growing world population intensifies these problems, with Montgomery noting that “to feed one human […]

Approximately 80 percent of all antibiotics used in the United States  are used in livestock.  Compared to the 3,000,000 pounds of antibiotics given to humans each year, 17,800,000 pounds of antibiotics are fed to livestock.  Jonathan Safran Foer in Eating Animals (New York, Little Brown and Co., 2009) notes that the Union of Concerned Scientists […]

Nelson Faria Dairy, a factory farm producing dairy products in the small farm community of Royal City  located in Washington State’s Grant County, has been held in contempt for violating the provisions of a consent decree, which had settled litigation brought by the Community Association for Restoration of the Environment (CARE) for pollution violating the […]

The National Endowment for the Humanities [www.neh.gov], which supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation, has honored Wendell E. Berry, the noted farmer, philosopher, poet, essayist, novelist, and conservationist, with perhaps the most prestigious honor the United States bestows […]

Fair Trade USA [fairtradeusa.org/] has resigned its membership in the Fairtrade International system [www.fairtrade.net/], a group of 25 organizations which “work to secure a better deal for producers,” and which owns “the FAIRTRADE Mark – the product label that certifies international Fairtrade standards have been met.”  A carefully worded statement on the website of Fairtrade […]

Michael Pollan’s fundamental and simply-stated food rules have become well-known, especially his easy-to-comprehend mantra: “Eat Food, Real Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants.”  Mr. Pollan, the author of one of the most significant books of the new century, The Omnivore’s Dilemma (The Penguin Press, New York, New York, 2006), in an often humorous and crowd-pleasing […]

It’s hard to miss Monsanto Corporation’s latest marketing and self-promotion campaign with full-page advertisements running in newspapers: “9 billion people to feed. A changing climate. NOW WHAT? Producing more. Conserving more. Improving farmers’ lives. That’s sustainable agriculture. And that’s what Monsanto is all about.”   There is no doubt that this sophisticated advertising campaign has a […]

The National World War II Museum [www.NationalWW2Museum.org] in New Orleans is promoting an elementary school curriculum entitled the Classroom Victory Garden Project.  The museum has created a unique website [http://classroomvictorygarden.org/]  to promote its project “that includes an interdisciplinary curriculum taught through gardening, including social studies, literacy, math, science and art modules.” During World War II, […]

According to a Federal lawsuit recently filed by the Public Patent Foundation [www.pubpat.org] in the Southern District of New York on behalf of the Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter, Inc. [www.nofamass.org] and 59 other plaintiffs, Monsanto Corporation has bullied farmers who have  resisted its Round-Up Ready Technology [Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association, et al. […]

McDonald’s Corp has credited the addition of oatmeal to its menu, as well as its McCafe hot chocolate and Chicken McNuggets, for a 5.3 percent rise in sales in January 2011 at its locations opened more than a year [http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97876&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1526194&highlight=]. As someone who has oatmeal for breakfast nearly every day of the year, the success […]

In The Omnivore’s Dilemma (The Penguin Press, New York, New York, 2006), Michael Pollan describes in vivid prose the nightmare world of CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) and the “polluted water and air, toxic wastes, novel and deadly pathogens” they have produced “in their short history.”  It is with some relief that Mr. Pollan also […]

The 2011 Statistical Abstract of the United States recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau [www.census.gov/compendia/statab/] should brighten the day of organic food advocates.  Organic farmland in the United States has increased from 1,776,000 acres in 2000 to 4,817,000 in 2008, an increase of 171.2%.  Still, there is the sorry statistic also reported that Americans […]

A new study conducted by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] has determined that there is an association between high levels of the antioxidant alpha-carotene and longer life spans.  The researchers analyzed alpha-carotene levels in blood samples from more than 15,000 adults.  The New York Times reports that according to Dr. […]

This fall’s food festival of the Slow Food movement (the eighth Salone del Gusto [Assembly Room of Taste]) held in Torino [Turin], Italy attracted record attendance estimated at over 200,000, including 30% from outside Italy, to five days of events.  The Slow Food’s 2010 biannual food festival showcased 910 quality, small-scale food producers from around […]

Information on the fronts of food packaging would be most useful to shoppers if they highlighted four nutrients of greatest concern – calories, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium – says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.  These food components are routinely overconsumed and associated most strongly with diet-related health problems affecting many […]

The first seeds of an idea for a garden at Colgate were planted in February 2001, when Heather Schoen ’02 did an Environmental Studies project that described the successes of student-run gardens at 12 other colleges and universities, and outlined a plan to start a student organization called “Green Thumbs,” focused on promoting local, sustainable […]

American Farmland Trust has announced the winners of its 2010 “America’s Favorite Farmers Market” contest.  Over 50,000 people cast votes, with 1,200+ farmers markets enrolled in the contest.  In the category of Large Markets, with 56+ vendors, Upstate New York’s City of Rochester Public Market took 1st place, with nearly double the votes cast for […]

It’s positive news that an increasing number of applicants to America’s colleges and universities consider the green credentials of the colleges they may attend [www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/7-out-of-10-college-bound-students-prefer-green-universities.php].  In the Sierra Club’s most recent annual ranking of planet preserving colleges and universities, the Ivies’ Yale University ranked 14th overall in the ranking of 135 schools [www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200909/coolschools/allrankings.aspx], but in […]

The best of all worlds equates to local foods, grown organically.  But when that is not a possibility, there is an ongoing debate whether local foods, not grown organically, are a superior source of food to organic food grown hundreds, if not thousands of miles away.  Complicating this debate is the fact that it is […]

The 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize, known as the Green Nobel Prize, has been awarded to Lynn Henning, a farmer from Clayton, Michigan, a small town in south-central Michigan.  Ms Henning has led a campaign in her hometown to challenge the environmental degradation created by local concentrated animal-feeding operations (CAFOs).  Lorrae Rominger, the deputy director of […]

The 2010 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting was awarded to Michael Moss and members of the New York Times staff, in the words of the Pulitzer Prize committee, for “relentless reporting on contaminated hamburger and other food safety issues that, in print and online, spotlighted defects in federal regulation and led to improved practices.”  In […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (Department) has amended the National Organic Program (NOP) regulations to clarify the use of pasture in raising organic ruminants including dairy cows.  After receiving over 26,000 comments from producers, retailers, consumers, organic associations, animal welfare organizations and others, the Department’s rule, which goes into effect on June 17, 2010, requires […]