Grow Switch Blog

Corn Modified To Deter Agent Orange Nears USDA Approval

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:42:19 +0000

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(RTTNews) – On the heels of Dow AgroSciences’ development of genetically engineered corn, teams of farmers, scientists and consumer groups scheduled a news conference Thursday calling on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to end Dow’s regulatory application for a multi-crop project called “Enlist.” These groups believe the project will cause damage to the environment and human health. Dow’s new strain of corn is said to be resistant to the herbicide 2,4-D, the New York Times reported, and was submitted for U.S. regulatory approval.

The herbicide 2,4-D is also one of the active ingredients in Agent Orange, the widely known militarized defoliant cocktail that was used in Vietnamese jungles during the Vietnam War. Causing deformation in people and widespread cancers, Agent Orange impacted all those who were exposed to it.

Read the rest of the Story via Corn Modified To Deter Agent Orange Nears USDA Approval.

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“The Game Changer!”

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:43:35 +0000

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By Lexx

Could ask, how would you like to make more with less?

Root Formation with Full ON

I already know what the answer will be, so let me tell you about the Real Game Changer, GROW SWITCH.

This is not some chemical trickery, or Hormonal accelerant, or even a booster, or blaster; what it is, is a 100% Organic and Natural way to, putting it simple, “Get more, while using Less!”

As a 100% Organic farmer for the past 47 years, every way to boost my yield while using Beneficial methods to enrich my soil, has had my undivided attention.

My Editor sent me a tip about this product that I immediately looked into; his guidance has now given me an advantage over every other grower, till they find this Real Game Changer too!

This product, Grow Switch, enables the plant to utilize every drop of Nutrient and fertilizer, lessening the amounts needed while increasing the yield Significantly; and 35-40% More is truly a Significant amount!

Having been consulted on this product during its development, it was necessary for me to learn how to use this new Tool to gain its full potential.

It is contrary to my ways to start with less of my amendments in the soil, as well as using my “Teas” at half strength. However, this really, really works!

The evidence of its working is the Vitality, the Vigor, the over all Healthy growth and deep rich color in the leaves demonstrating how well it is working immediately!

Grow Switch Full On - 1100 ml bottle

For Gardeners who regularly use exotic formulas, costly amendments and fertilizers, the immediate pay back by using half as much, is why to make it the first product you buy for the garden!

The reasonable cost of Grow Switch, its effectiveness, while saving on nutrients and fertilizers, makes this a No Brainer Game Changer!

Try it, you’ll love it!

Lexx

http://www.GrowSwitch.com Grow Switch Blog

The Life of Flowers – Video

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:29:03 +0000

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The Life of flowers (Жизнь цветов) from VOROBYOFF PRODUCTION on Vimeo.

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Monsanto Threatens to Sue Vermont if Legislators Pass a Bill Requiring GMO Food to Be Labeled

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:42:01 +0000

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Alternet| by Will Allen and Ronnie Cumming

What it really comes down to this: Elected officials are abandoning the public interest and public will in the face of corporate intimidation

April 4, 2012 | Despite overwhelming public support and support from a clear majority of Vermont’s Agriculture Committee, Vermont legislators are dragging their feet on a proposed GMO labeling bill. Why? Because Monsanto has threatened to sue the state if the bill passes.

The popular legislative bill requiring mandatory labels on genetically engineered food (H-722) is languishing in the Vermont House Agriculture Committee, with only four weeks left until the legislature adjourns for the year. Despite thousands of emails and calls from constituents who overwhelmingly support mandatory labeling, despite the fact that a majority (6 to 5) of Agriculture Committee members support passage of the measure, Vermont legislators are holding up the labeling bill and refusing to take a vote.

Instead, they’re calling for more public hearings on April 12, in the apparent hope that they can run out the clock until the legislative session ends in early May.

What happened to the formerly staunch legislative champions of Vermont’s “right to know” bill? They lost their nerve and abandoned their principles after Monsanto representative recently threatened a public official that the biotech giant would sue Vermont if they dared to pass the bill. Several legislators have rather unconvincingly argued that the Vermont public has a “low appetite” for any bills, even very popular bills like this one, that might end up in court. Others expressed concern about Vermont being the first state to pass a mandatory GMO labeling bill and then having to “go it alone” against Monsanto in court.

What it really comes down to this: Elected officials are abandoning the public interest and public will in the face of corporate intimidation.

Monsanto has used lawsuits or threats of lawsuits for 20 years to force unlabeled genetically engineered foods on the public, and to intimidate farmers into buying their genetically engineered seeds and hormones. When Vermont became the first state in the nation in 1994 to require mandatory labels on milk and dairy products derived from cows injected with the controversial genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone, Monsanto’s minions sued in Federal Court and won on a judge’s decision that dairy corporations have the first amendment “right” to remain silent on whether or not they are injecting their cows with rBGH – even though rBGH has been linked to severe health damage in cows and increased cancer risk for humans, and is banned in much of the industrialized world, including Europe and Canada.

Monsanto wields tremendous influence in Washington, DC and most state capitals. The company’s stranglehold over politicians and regulatory officials is what has prompted activists in California to bypass the legislature and collect 850,000 signatures to place a citizens’ Initiative on the ballot in November 2012. The 2012 California Right to Know Act will force mandatory labeling of GMOs and to ban the routine practice of labeling GMO-tainted food as “natural.”

All of Monsanto’s fear mongering and intimidation tactics were blatantly on display in the House Agriculture Committee hearings March 15-16.

During the hearings the Vermont legislature was deluged with calls, letters, and e-mails urging passage of a GMO labeling bill – more than on any other bill since the fight over Civil Unions in 1999-2000. The legislature heard from pro-labeling witnesses such as Dr. Michael Hansen, an expert on genetic engineering from the Consumers Union, who shredded industry claims that GMO’s are safe and that consumers don’t need to know if their food is contaminated with them.

On the other side of the fence, Monsanto’s lobbyist and Vermont mouthpiece, Margaret Laggis employed inaccurate, unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims to make Monsanto’s case. She warned during the hearings that if this law were passed, there would not be enough corn, canola, and soybean seed for Vermont farmers to plant.

Laggis lied when she said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had done exhaustive feeding tests on genetically modified foods. Hansen corrected her, testifying that all of the GMO feeding tests submitted to the FDA were conducted by Monsanto and other GMO corporations and that the FDA had not done any GMO testing of its own.

Laggis lied again when she claimed that a recent Canadian study showing that more than 90% pregnant women had high levels of a genetically modified bacterial pesticide in their blood resulted from them “eating too much organic food” during pregnancy. Again, Hansen refuted this nonsense by pointing out that the Bacillus thuingensis (Bt) bacterium spray used by organic growers is chemically and materially different from the GMO Bt bacterium which showed up in the pregnant women’s blood and the umbilical cords of their fetuses. Hanson pointed that the high levels of Monsanto’s mutant Bt in the women’s blood was due to the widespread cultivation of GMO corn, cotton, soy, and canola.

The committee heard testimony that European Union studies have been conducted which showed that even short-term feeding studies of GMO crops caused 43.5% of male test animals to suffer kidney abnormalities, and 30.8% of female test animals to suffer liver abnormalities. Studies also have shown that the intestinal lining of animals fed GMO food was thickened compared to the control animals. All of these short-term results could become chronic, and thus precursors to cancer.

Studies like these have prompted 50 nations around the world to pass laws requiring mandatory labels on GMO right foods.

In the end, none of the scientific testimony mattered. Monsanto operatives simply reverted to their usual tactics: They openly threatened to sue the state.

Unfortunately in the US, industry and the government continue to side with Monsanto rather than the 90% of consumers who support labeling. Monsanto’s biotech bullying is a classic example of how the 1% control the rest of us, even in Vermont, generally acknowledged as the most progressive state in the nation.

Vermont activists are organizing a protest at the state capital on April 12 to coincide with the next round of hearings on H-722, and are asking residents to write letters, make calls, and e-mail their legislators and the Governor. For more information, please go to the website http://www.vtrighttoknow.org or the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/vtrighttoknow of the Vermont Right to Know Campaign.

Will Allen is the co-manager of Cedar Circle Farm in East Thetford, Vermont. He is also the Author of The War on Bugs, a history of farm pesticides and fertilizers since 1810. He is on the policy advisory boards of The Organic Consumers Association and Willing Hands. He has attended all of the agriculture committee hearings on H-722, where the testimony referred to above was delivered.

Ronnie Cummins is the National Director of the Organic Consumers Association and its Millions Against Monsanto campaign. He also is a member of the Steering Committee of the California Ballot Initiative to Label Genetically Engineered Foods, and co-author of the book, Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers.

Via http://www.alternet.org/story/154855/monsanto_threatens_to_sue_vermont_if_legislators_pass_a_bill_requiring_gmo_food_to_be_labeled?page=entire#disqus_thread

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Avondale farmer in national movement to preserve seed stock

admin — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:33:47 +0000

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CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/JOHN JAQUES Jamie Dunston tends her seedlings in the greenhouse at the Avondale farm.

By CHRIS WOODKA | cwoodka@chieftain.com

Like many farmers, Dan Hobbs spends his spring days wondering when it will rain or if the wind is ever going to stop blowing, raking weeds out of ditches newly filled with irrigation water and nurturing seeds in various stages of growth toward their eventual destiny as fully grown garlic, bean or vegetable plants.

Those are the rituals of the season.

Last winter, however, he had a longer-range goal in mind.

In January, the organic farm advocate traveled to New York to lend his support — and testimony, if needed — to a federal court case brought by the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association against Monsanto. Hobbs was not called on to testify during the oral arguments, but joined about 200 others from food safety groups and Occupy Wall Street in a rally near the courthouse after the courtroom action wrapped up.

The farmers lost their challenge to Monsanto’s patents on genetically engineered seed on Feb. 24. Monsanto admitted to filing 144 lawsuits between 1997-2010 and settled another 700 cases out of court for undisclosed amounts with gag orders on the farmers, which the association says amounts to harassment of farmers.

“Our goal is to protect farmers from patent infringement charges by Monsanto when their organic crops are contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically altered seed,” Hobbs said.

Last week, a federal appeals court agreed to hear an appeal of the New York decision.

Hobbs was not called upon to testify in the January hearing, but as an organic farmer and farm developer, he has a vested interest in trying to limit the encroachment of genetic engineering into crops.

While farmers have manipulated the genetic material of plants on a trial-and-error basis for about 10,000 years, the gene-splicing by Monsanto and other companies in the last 20 years has created an uncertain situation. Some of the benefits and harm have been overstated, and there are urban legends — rural legends? — about the impacts. For Hobbs, there isn’t enough scientific proof to determine that genetic manipulation is completely safe.

“We believe the precautionary principle should be followed,” Hobbs said. “The first genetic crops appeared in the 1990s, and they pushed them without any review. Now, 94 percent of soy is genetically modified, and that wipes out the genetic diversity.”

For Hobbs, 43, who has farmed on 30 acres at Avondale since 2000, there is no direct threat to the types of food he grows, both as cash crops and for seed: garlic, squash, beans and vegetables. In all, he and partner Jamie Dunston raise seed for eight varieties of garlic and a couple dozen other vegetables.

Hobbs relocated to Pueblo after learning about organic farming and training others in Northern New Mexico in the late 1990s. He was lured here by the climate — cool nights, hot days during growing season — and plentiful water on the Bessemer Ditch.

So far, genetic modification has focused on field crops like soybeans, corn, canola, rice and cotton, and left his corner of the world alone. But other crops could be targeted in the future, and he wants to prevent further encroachment.

“It’s anybody’s guess where all this is going,” Hobbs said.

In his opinion, it was not farmers who asked for genetic modification of crops, but the majority would make a choice to use seed that is more resistant to disease or produces a higher yield as a business decision.

“The organic seed market is relatively undeveloped,” Hobbs said. “Think of where we would be if the same resources had gone into traditional plant breeding.”

Monsanto’s protection of its patent puts the burden of proof on the small farmer, Hobbs added.

Read the rest of the story via Avondale farmer in national movement to preserve seed stock – The Pueblo Chieftain: Metro.

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Sri Lanka: Big Demand for Organic Farming

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:23:25 +0000

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Ishara MUDUGAMUWA

There is a big demand for organic agriculture products all over the world. Organic farming is not a new topic for us. As Sri Lankans, we have practiced organic farming from ancient time.

Organic farming is our heritage. Most of the people in our society have realized the value of organic farming and they are now not going behind profit making agriculture, said Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane participating in the opening ceremony of the Organic Fertilizer Promotion Centre in Weligama.

“The main objective of the establishment of this organic fertilizer centre is to encourage people to grow fresh fruits and vegetables free from chemicals. The Promotion Centre was established at a cost of Rs. 4.5 million. People in those areas have an opportunity to purchase organic fertilizer, quality seeds and plants at the centre,” he said.

The minister also said that the Agriculture Ministry conducted a large number of organic fertilizer projects all over the country. “I think universities have come at the correct time to support us to develop organic farming in the country”, he said.

“Faculties of Agriculture presently conduct a large number of programmes to promote organic farming. The government can save valuable foreign exchange spent to import chemical fertilizer”, he said.

“The government spends a lot on fertilizer. Most of the fertilizer used is chemical fertiliser, which if used for long periods affects soil fertility. Researches shows that with the production and promotion of organic fertilizer, the government could reduce the amount of imported fertilizer. Farmers can get the maximum use of their cultivations without doing any harm to the environment.” the Minister said.

He further said that the Agriculture Ministry introduced the organic fertilizer production and promotion programme in 2008 with the objectives of increasing crop productivity, improving soil fertility and reducing chemical fertilizer imports. Sri Lankan farmers use to make compost in their home gardens.

“There are two types of raw materials we can use for compost production. Some raw materials easily decompose and others take a longer period to decompose. Green leaves, animal waste, aquatic plants, garbage decompose quickly. We use dried raw materials, such as, dried weeds, hay, etc.

A number of raw materials can be used to produce high quality compost,” he said.

“There are a number of benefits of using organic fertilizer, such as, increases overall soil fertility, provides vitamins, hormones and plant enzymes which are not supplied by chemical fertilizers, acts as a buffer to changes in soil pH, free from pathogenic organisms, weeds and other unwanted seeds and easy to use when compared to other organic manures.

via Sri Lanka News | Online edition of Daily News – Lakehouse Newspapers.

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Saudi Arabia looks to organic farming methods

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:46:57 +0000

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Farming to move to organic in Saudi Arabia.

Anne-Beatrice Clasmann

Riyadh (dpa) – Farming in Saudi Arabia has long been considered an ecological nightmare due to the country’s high temperatures and arid climate, in which cowsheds are air-conditioned and non-renewable water sources used to irrigate wheat crops.

But organic agriculture is slowly gaining in popularity – not least because it helps to save water in one of the world’s driest countries.

Saad bin Abdullah, who supervises the kingdom’s organic farming development project, says that the authorities are working to develop a clear policy to boost it.

“This farming technique is important, because it helps to curb the effects of conventional agriculture, which uses chemical fertilizers,” the official told dpa.

According to him, organic farming is also expected to reduce water use by 70 to 80 percent.

In 2008, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Agriculture created a Department of Organic Agriculture (DOA), which has been tasked with applying the newly established Saudi Organic Farming Legislation.

Government support has already prompted more than 60 farmers to switch to organic farming methods in recent years.

“More than 300 (more) people will shift to the organic agriculture in the coming years,” Saad bin Abdullah predicted.

In the capital Riyadh and other large cities, it is now possible to order boxes of organic fruit and vegetables, including potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and dates from palms on which no pesticides have been used. Organic produce is clearly labelled as such.

“The initiative came from the Ministry of Agriculture, which was primarily concerned about the production of healthy foods before later coming around to the idea of sustainability,” says Marco Hartmann, a German agricultural economist.

Hartmann works for the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), which advises the Saudi government on the development of organic agriculture.

At the moment, less than 0.5 percent of agricultural land in Saudi Arabia is farmed according to organic methods – but things are changing.

The government has ended some of the excesses formerly practiced in the largely desert country, which cultivated wheat and vegetables on a large scale for export.

Although Saudi Arabia still has huge farms with thousands of high-yielding cows for milk production, the industrial-scale production of feed has been prohibited following the withdrawal of subventions for wheat growers.

Vegetable exports were also stopped to slow down the rapid depletion of fossil groundwater supplies – underground water supplies built up in prehistoric times that are not renewed by the present-day climate.

Read the rest of the story via Saudi Arabia looks to organic farming methods – Bikya Masr.

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Must See Interview with Dr. Vandnana Shiva on global food and ecological systems

admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 03:16:11 +0000

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Physicist, food activist and thinker Vandana Shiva visits and discusses her program that promotes local and ecological food models – Navdanya.

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Farmer’s continuing faith in organics reaps reward

admin — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:16:18 +0000

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BY KERRY BENJOE, LEADER-POST

OCIA Farmer of the Year

An organic farmer who puts a lot of heart into his business received international recognition for his efforts. Lyle Hamann, who owns and operates the Quinella Ranch near Zehner with his wife Robyn, couldn’t be happier with the honour.

On Valentine’s Day, he received the Organic Farmer of the Year Award from the Organic Certification Improvement Association (OCIA) at the organization’s annual general meeting in Lacrosse, Wis.

OCIA is one of the world’s largest certification agencies in the world. It has members from North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

Each country is made up of OCIA chapters and every year the international organization recognizes specific farming organizations through an award process. Quinella Ranch is a member of the No. 4 Saskatchewan chapter.

“Most chapters will nominate a producer in their chapter to receive the award,” said Hamann. “We were nominated and we were chosen overall and we’re very appreciative of the award.”

He and his wife operate an organic mixed-farming operation about 32 kilometres northeast of Regina.

Hamann believes in the benefits of organic farming. In 1986 he made the decision not to use any chemicals on his farm.

“Two years after we went this route, we noticed a difference in the bird population hanging around our farm yard,” said Hamann. “It’s simply amazing. The humming birds came back. The bluebirds came back and the robins came back.”

In 1995, Quinella Ranch became organically certified as organic producers.

He has no regrets about his decision, even though it hasn’t been easy at times.

“You have to have a psychological frame of mind to go this route,” he said. “You have to want to do it for the good of the environment and just feeling good about providing good food – free of chemicals.”

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.leaderpost.com/life/Farmer+continuing+faith+organics+reaps+reward/6316952/story.html#ixzz1pNoVATzm

via Farmer’s continuing faith in organics reaps reward.

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Protests Shut Down Monsanto in Davis CA.

admin — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 06:53:17 +0000

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Myles Boisen
Music producer, activist and independent photojournalist based in Oakland, CA.

A coalition of activist organizations demonstrating at the Monsanto office in Davis CA. successfully caused a shutdown of the multinational chemical and biotech company offices there on March 16.

The shutdown took place on the first day of a planned weekend of activities in Davis, intended to spotlight and oppose the activities of Monsanto in this country and abroad. Upon announcement of the shutdown, Monsanto instructed employees to stay away from work.

Monsanto is known for developing controversial chemical products for farming, landscaping and pest-control such as DDT, PCBs, Agent Orange, rBGH (Bovine Growth Hormone), and Roundup. Over the last 20 years the corporation has shifted its research focus to bio-engineered seeds and GMOs (genetically-modified organisms). Significantly, the University of California, Davis is a top-ranked research university recognized as a leader in agriculture and sciences.

Monsanto has been the target of legal action, moratoriums and/or outright bans in Brazil, Peru, Haiti, India, and several European countries including Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, and others. So far the company has been able to operate with little resistance in the U.S., due to its multi-million dollar lobbying efforts and close ties within the White House and Food and Drug Administration.

Sponsors of the weekend action included The Anti-Monsanto Project, Peace & Freedom Party, and Occupy Woodland/ Occupy Sacramento/ Occupy UC Davis.

Read the rest of the story via Myles Boisen: Protests Shut Down Monsanto in Davis CA..

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Support the More than 300,000 Organic Farmers who Lost Their Court Battle to Monsanto

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:09:03 +0000

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By Natural News

Organic Produce

U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Buchwald’s recent dismissal of a massive class-action lawsuit filed by farmers against Monsanto (NYSE: MON) is truly disheartening, but it does not mean that we should now give up the fight for food freedom and justice. And as an expression of unified solidarity for the cause of food sovereignty, Jack Adam Weber from Wake Up World has created a hopeful petition letter to the farmers that conveys support and appreciation for their work, and encourages them not to give up — and he is asking everyone who appreciates clean, organic food to show their support by signing it.

The letter, which is posted over at Wake Up World as well as at Change.org, expresses solace and comfort to the farmers, but also a bit of hope and promise that, one day, we will win this war against food tyranny and take back our land and our freedoms from those who have stolen it away from us. It also specifically promises that, when an appeal is filed in response to the dismissal, those of us in the natural health community will be right there to support it.

“With each blow to our justice, to our health, to our peace of mind, to our children’s future, we will grow stronger, more united, and determined,” says one section of the letter. “And with each subsequent act of corruption we will come thundering back to take back our lives, our wealth, which we believe can still be free. Count on it. It’s a promise from all of us to you, fellow farmers. And it’s our promise to Monsanto, the soulless politicians who enable them, and to all Big Business Bullies.”

MUST READ You can access the petition letter at the following two links:

http://wakeup-world.com
http://www.change.org

And in case you missed our original piece on the legal filing itself, you can read it here:

http://www.naturalnews.com/031922_Monsanto_lawsuit.html

This particular battle may have been lost, at least for now, but the war is not over. As the Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association (OSGTA) gears up to file an appeal, we need to be right there with the group to make sure the case does not get dismissed again, and that all the facts are heard. We must ensure that the next judge who hears the case will not be able to get away with claiming that it has no grounds, since farmers have already been sued by Monsanto in years past, and will likely be sued in the future as well (http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org).

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035148_Monsanto_organic_farmers_petition.html#ixzz1oK6QbqPG

via Support the More than 300,000 Organic Farmers who Lost Their Court Battle to Monsanto – International Business Times.

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Bihar farmer sets ‘world record’ in potato production organically

admin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 22:17:04 +0000

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Submitted by admin4 on 14 March 2012 – 12:50pm

India News
By Imran Khan, IANS,

Organic Potato Field

Patna : Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s dream of India’s second green revolution taking off from Bihar seems to be coming closer to reality. A young farmer of Darveshpura village in his native Nalanda district has set what is claimed to be a world record in potato production through organic farming.

Three months ago, a group of farmers in the same village had created a “world record” producing 224 quintals of paddy per hectare using the SRI (System of Rice Intensification) method.

The potato farmer, Nitish Kumar, has harvested 72.9 tonnes of tuber per hectare. The world record so far was 45 tonnes per hectare held by farmers in the Netherlands, officials said.

Nalanda District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agrawal said that several officials and agricultural experts were present in the field at the harvest time to verify the claim and record it.

“The world record is the result of hard labour and experiment with organic farming,” Agrawal told IANS.

Kumar Kishore Nanda, a soil scientist, who helped Nitish in his farming, said success was a result of the organic method of farming. “Once again the organic method of farming proved superior to other methods of farming.”

Nanda said that the loam soil of the village is suitable for several crops, including the potato.

Rajesh Umath, a district horticulture officer, said the new record will certainly go a long way in removing doubts about low production associated with organic farming and encourage other farmers to adopt it.

Nalanda, the home district of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is already the leading potato producing district in Bihar with farmers growing the crop on over 27,000 hectares.

Bihar is the third largest potato producing state after Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Last year, five farmers of the village are said to have created a world record when they produced 224 quintals of paddy per hectare.

A young farmer, Sumant Kumar, produced 224 quintals of paddy per hectare beating the world record of Yuan Longping of China with 190 quintals of paddy produce per hectare.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has certified Sumant Kumar’s record.

The SRI method of paddy cultivation was introduced in the state three years ago. Initially the farmers were reluctant to adopt this new technique despite the state government providing free seeds, fertilisers and experts to guide them. But now more farmers are interested in adopting this method in paddy cultivation.

An upbeat chief minister had then termed it “a big achievement” in the agriculture sector in the state. The next green revolution in the country would be ushered in from Bihar, he had said.

(Imran Khan can be contacted at imran.k@ians.in)

via Bihar farmer sets ‘world record’ in potato production | TwoCircles.net.

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Organic Milk: Are You Getting What You Pay for?

admin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:30:13 +0000

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Andrew Gunther
Program Director, Animal Welfare Approved

On the heels of a previous report highlighting the lack of enforcement and oversight in our food system., the U.S. Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) new report on whether milk marketed as organic actually meets the National Organic Program’s standards is a real wake-up call to the organic community.

And so it should be. Consumers pay a significant premium for organic products and rightly expect transparency and oversight. However, the OIG’s new report, Agricultural Marketing Service National Organic Program – Organic Milk, exposes major failings of the National Organic Program’s (NOP) certification and auditing systems. At a time when consumers are turning their backs on industrialized farming systems — and genetically modified (GM) farming in particular — the new report raises real questions about exactly what people are paying for when they buy organic milk.

Between 2000 and 2008, figures show that annual sales of organic dairy products increased by 23 percent,totaling approximately $3.9 billion in 2010 alone. One of the key drivers behind the dramatic growth in demand for organic food is the mounting concern about the impact that GM farming is having on the environment, as well as the potential health risks of consuming GM food. Since the use of GM feed and forage (soybean, corn and alfalfa) is prohibited under NOP regulations, many consumers buy organic milk because they believe it comes from dairy cattle that are not fed GM material.

So it may come as a shock to know that while organic certifying agents are required to periodically test organic products for some prohibited materials, the NOP regulations do not explicitly require testing for GM material. Given the widespread use of GM and GM-contaminated seed, feed, and forage, the OIG report highlights the risk that organic milk could be contaminated as well — either inadvertently or intentionally. Yet rather than requiring organic certification agents to carry out regular GM testing, the OIG reports that NOP officials believed it was “better to allow the certifying agents to decide what they should test for, based on local agricultural conditions, proximity to conventional farming operations, and the product being inspected.” However, as the OIG’s report says, without testing “there cannot be reasonable assurance that certifiers are identifying and ensuring that GM material is not contaminating organic feed and forage.”

The OIG’s report goes on to highlight a number of other concerns with the NOP’s auditing, including the likelihood of milk contamination by NOP-prohibited substances during transport, and the fact that few if any organic certification agents are currently carrying out unannounced inspections, which are known to be particularly important in monitoring whether organic dairy operations are fully complying with the recent so-called “access to pasture” rule.

The final criticism in the Organic Milk report is aimed squarely at the NOP itself. Under law, the NOP is required to maintain a list of all USDA-certified organic operations as a central point of reference, where organic certification agents, food businesses or members of the public can access information about farms and food businesses that claim to be certified organic. However, the OIG found that the NOP’s list of organic businesses is only updated once a year and it is not updated to reflect the details of any organic certificates that have been suspended, surrendered or revoked. In other words, the list is effectively out of date as soon as it is produced.

Read the rest of the story via Andrew Gunther: Organic Milk: Are You Getting What You Pay for?.

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How Organic Farming Is Better For The Earth

admin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:09:56 +0000

Enhance Your Plant's Growth with Full On from Grow Switch and IGS

by Carrie Thompson

Did you know that just an acre of an organic farm will remove about 7,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air throughout the year and sequester it within the soil? According to research from The Rodale Institute, this means that if all of the current croplands within the U.S., some 434 million acres, were converted to organic croplands, enough carbon dioxide would be removed from the air to be as if 88% of all of the automobiles in the country suddenly disappeared into thin, but clean, air. This fact alone is a pretty powerful statement about how organic farming is better for the earth, but it doesn’t stop there.

Organic Farming Helps the Soil
Conventional farms grow whatever crop is profitable, wherever that crop may be, and rely heavily on chemical-based pesticides to keep pests away. These poisonous pesticides build up in the soil and make the soil harsh and unhealthy, thus requiring the conventional farmer to have to use large amounts of chemical fertilizers just to get the crops to grow. This cycle continues and gets worse and worse, requiring the use of more and more pesticides and fertilizers as the soil ecosystem is eventually destroyed.

Conversely, organic farms not only keep healthy soil healthy, but tend to actually increase the health of the soil being farmed. Organic farms work with the natural functions of the earth and the environment to produce high-yielding and healthy crops. By using natural manure or composted fertilizers, organic farmers are actually feeding the soil and helping to maintain a perfectly balanced, healthy ecosystem with in. This leads to increased and long-lasting soil health that can only get better in time.

Organic farms do not rely on poisonous pesticides to keep pests away. Instead, a meticulous method of crop rotation is used which allows farmers to grow a crop that attracts a certain kind of pest next to a crop that attracts a type of pest that the first pest feeds on. Not only does this help the natural ecosystem in general, but allows for healthy crop rotation, complimentary crops to be grown near each other, and the avoidance of the use of harsh pesticides which have detrimental effects on the environment, animals, and humans alike.

Organic Farming Helps the Health of Mother Nature
While organic farming is no-doubt better for the earth, what really makes it so good is actually just how downright bad conventional farming is for the earth. Pesticides and fertilizer run-off from conventional cropland is one of the biggest environmental pollutant today. These chemicals are responsible for birth defects in animals ranging from fish to birds, as well as for polluted waterways from runoff from conventional farmlands.

A 2006 study resulting from the Global International Waters Assessment Project found that there are large areas in water all over the world that are completely depleted of oxygen, which is a direct result of agricultural chemical runoff from conventional farmland throughout the world. Herbicides have been found in plankton in the ocean and have caused them to have a decrease in protein retention, weakening their bodies and making survival more difficult. Bird eggs in North America and Canada still show effects of the chemical DDT even though it has been banned for decades.

Read the rest of the story via How Organic Farming Is Better For The Earth – Greener Ideal.

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France to restore GMO maize ban within days

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:13:53 +0000

Enhance Your Plant's Growth with Full On from Grow Switch and IGS

Anti-GMO activists rip open bags containing 'MON 810', a variety of genetically modified maize (corn) developed by Monsanto company after entering a Monsanto storehouse on January 23, 2012 in Trebes near Carcassonne, southern France. – AFP Photo

Reuters
PARIS: France will reinstate a ban on the cultivation of Monsanto’s MON810 maize (corn) in the next few days, in time to prevent the genetically modified grain being sown this year, an official at the farm ministry said on Tuesday.

Paris banned MON810 maize in 2008, citing environmental risks. The decision was overturned by the country’s highest court in November on the basis that it was not sufficiently justified, leading the government to say it would look at all ways to maintain the freeze.

France, which will face a presidential election next month and where public opinion is fiercely opposed to genetically modified organisms (GMO), asked the European Commission last month to suspend the authorisation to sow the maize, the only GMO crop allowed for cultivation in the European Union.

The ministry will publish a safety clause banning the growing of MON810 maize based on evidence sent to the EU executive and on any new evidence coming out of a public consultation it launched after sending its request to Brussels, the official said.

“A safety clause will be taken in the coming days on the basis of what was given to the Commission and the return of the public consultation,” the official told Reuters.

The source declined to say whether comments submitted during the consultation, which closes on Tuesday evening, contained new evidence the ministry could use to back its upcoming decision to ban cultivation of the insect-resistant MON810 maize.

The French government’s request to the EU Commission was based on “significant risks for the environment” shown in recent scientific studies, mainly one by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) in December on “bt11” GMO maize which said its conclusions also apply in some respects to the MON810.

Read the rest of the story via France to restore GMO maize ban within days-ministry | Sci-tech | DAWN.COM.

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