June 27, 2016 Senate Introduces Bill to Overturn Vermont’s Mandatory GMO Labeling Law in Favor of Watered-Down National Standard By Steven Hoffman GMO labeling proponents were planning on celebrating on July 1 – the date when Vermont’s GMO labeling legislation became the first mandatory GMO labeling law of the land. The small state’s bold [...]
U.S. Sales of Organic Products Grew 11% to $43.3 Billion in 2015 By Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural Driven by a groundswell of steadily rising consumer demand for healthy, environmentally friendly food produced without the use of toxic, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, antibiotics and growth hormones, irradiation, genetic engineering, and often inhumane treatment of animals, sales [...]
June 20, 2016 Guest Blog - Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural Today, more farmers are cultivating organically on more land in more countries than ever before, according to FiBL’s 2016 report, The World of Organic Agriculture, released in February 2016 in partnership with IFOAM Organics International. At the end of 2014, when data was last collected, [...]
Several new board members got down to business, Carrageenan was a Hot Topic, and an Expert Panel discussed Hydroponics. By Alesia Bock, AgriSystems International Since there were relatively few Sunset 2018 materials up for initial review, time was devoted to important discussions on the future of carrageenan on the National List, and whether Hydroponic/Bioponic methods [...]
Regulatory Follow up: FDA FSMA Produce Safety - FINAL RULE U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released final rules implementing Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), including the PRODUCE SAFETY RULE. By Alesia Bock, AgriSystems International After extensive public comment was received by FDA as part of their Proposed Produce Safety Rule earlier this year, the [...]
Regulatory Review – NOSB Fall 2015 Meeting Summary Marathon Meeting: Fall 2015 NOSB Meeting sets new record, Nearly 200 Materials Reviewed for 2017 Sunset By Alesia Bock, AgriSystems International The Fall 2015 National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting received a large amount of public comment, and successfully completed discussion and voting on nearly 200 materials [...]
People in the News -- OTA Annual Leadership Awards Thomas Harding, Jr., President - Lehigh Valley Organic Growers, wins “2015: Growing the Organic Industry Award” at OTA Annual Leadership Dinner, NPEE 2015 By Alesia Bock, AgriSystems International I was so very thrilled to be in attendance as my mentor, Thomas Harding, Jr., won this year’s [...]
January 26, 2016 Organic Trade Pacts Boost US Organic Exports An Organic Trade Association (OTA) report published last year finds an almost 60% upswing in US organic exports to Canada, the European Union and major Asian trade partners as a result of international trade pacts. U.S. organic exporters have greatly benefited from international accords that [...]
January 20, 2016 GMO LABELING UPDATE Guest Blog By Steven Hoffman In further attempts to derail Vermont’s mandatory GMO labeling law, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in January hosted a series of secret closed-door meetings with representatives from industrial agriculture and biotech, along with pro-GMO labeling advocates, to try to resolve GMO labeling in advance of [...]
