Post Script

That's one less nasty toxin to worry about ... and one more to worry about

Grist reports that a decade-long fight by consumer advocates has finally resulted in an EPA ban on the pesticide endosulfan. Similar to DDT, but perhaps more toxic, endosulfan has been banned in the European Union since 2007 but was commonly used in the United States on tomatoes in Florida and cotton in California and Nevada. Other items treated with the substance include melons, cucumbers, squashes, potatoes, apples, blueberries, eggplant, lettuce, pears, peppers and stone fruit.

Of course, this victory is offset by the worrying development in California; the pending and possible approval of methyl iodide as a pesticide to be used by strawberry growers. Methyl iodide is more toxic than the now-banned methyl bromide that it may replace.

What happens when organic goes BIG?

OrganicNation wanted to know the pros and cons of organic brands being snapped up by big corporations. They interviewed Ken cook, president of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and asked him for his thoughts. The video is posted here and is worth a few minutes of our time.

Has industrial farming slowed global warming?

The New Scientist addresses a complex issue, with arguments for and against.

Where is your milk from?

So... your milk says organic on the label, that's good! But what if it came from a massive dairy operation out of state where the animals aren't given much space or time to graze? Or maybe it came from a local dairy where the cows are few and pampered. Sometimes it's hard to know. Good thing we have the internet to save us! Go to this cool website: Where Is My Milk From?, enter your milk carton's code and get the dairy details. We tested it on a carton of Organic Valley half-and-half, which came from Smith Dairy in Richmond, Indiana.

Thanks to Nancy Quinn at Third Sector Creative.

Big Ag responds to superweeds with more chemicals

We blogged about Monsanto's super weeds back in early May, and now Grist.org addresses how the agricultural giants are handling the problem. Weeds are growing resistant to the chemicals in Roundup? Then the answer must be more chemicals!

An excerpt: "As application rates have ramped up, the superweed menace has become so obvious the mainstream press has taken notice. 'Superweeds Hit Farm Belt, Triggering New Arms Race,' declares a Wall Street Journal headline from last week. (...) Rather than spark a reassessment of the wisdom of relying on toxic chemicals, the failure of Roundup Ready has the U.S. agricultural establishment scrambling to intensify chemical use.

The Journal reports that Dow Chemical, DuPont, Bayer, BASF and Sygenta are 'together spending hundreds of millions of dollars to develop genetically modified soybean, corn, and cotton seeds that can survive a dousing by their herbicides,' most of which are 'many decades old' and highly toxic.' "

Sigh.

Bringing food and art into the city

Driving around Milwaukee's streets this summer, you'll notice a little bit of the countryside has been brought in. And you'll be able to take a piece for yourself.

Karen Herzog of the Journal Sentinel wrote this morning about some new -- but definitely old-style -- farm stands that are rolling into the city in time for farmer's market fever.

The project was the idea of the Wormfarm Institute  - a Wisconsin non-profit dedicated to agriculture and the arts; to fostering links between people and the land. With the roadside stands, the organization is bringing a rural aesthetic and fresh food to highly urbanized areas. Art and agriculture.

Herzog writes that another benefit of the project is that the rural artists are able to preserve their culture and heritage; taking wood from barns that are soon to disappear from the landscape, and recycling them into a new, functional form.

The full story and photos at the Journal Sentinel.

Fresh and local foodie? Here's your book

 If you buy your produce at the coop, farmer's market or you subscribe to a CSA, you want to make the best use of all that fresh, organic leafy goodness before it spoils.

That's why we love this new cookbook, stuffed with recipes to help you make the most of all those fresh ingredients. Eating Local: The Cookbook Inspired by America's Farmers features 150 recipes organized by main ingredient to help you figure out exactly what to do with all that zucchini or arugula.

And here's the kicker: "Eating Local also takes you on a wonderful editorial and photographic journey to 10 small farms across the country. An up-close look at these noteworthy small farms and the people who cultivate them reveals how hard work and a passion for sustainability yield wholesome and delicious products perfect for eating and living locally."

Oh, and the ultimate locavore/celebrity chef Alice Waters helped write it. Can't be bad!

Via Sur La Table.

Disaster relief for state's ginseng growers

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that some of Wisconsin's 200 ginseng growers will receive relief loans due to crop damage caused by snow and ice in early May.

We might be known for dairy production, but Wisconsin growers provide the country with 95% of its ginseng. From the Journal Sentinel.

Food fight: Debating GMOs and organic

On the subject of food security, agriculture, poverty and hunger, there is little to no consensus. One side argues for GMOs and pesticides to help poor farmers increase their yield and improve their economy. The other side argues for an organic agricultural model, claiming that it can sustain the world. Who is right?

SEED Magazine has attempted to answer that question, or at least to hear both sides of the argument laid out. The editors recruited two academics to debate the issue:

• M. Jahi Chappell, ecologist and post-doctoral researcher at Cornell University focusing his studies on food security and sustainability.
• Robert Paarlberg, professor of political science at Wellesley College whose research interests are in international agriculture and biotechnology.

The debaters addressed the causes of hunger and the meaning of sustainable agriculture. The debate quickly became focused on one vital issue: the question of yield. According to SEED: "Paarlberg has mostly argued in favor of technology-intensive agriculture, going as far as to argue that elitist foodies in wealthy nations imperil Africa by spreading their anti-biotech sentiments."

Chappell's response is to argue that "the scientific foundations of organic and agro-ecological farming are sound. (...) Agroecology empowers small-scale farmers, he argues, and by shrinking farming's outsized ecological footprint - including its impact on wild biodiversity - conserves the public goods that benefit us all."

Read the full debate here.

Can organic feed the world?

The Kathleen Show in Madison asks that question in an interview with Maria Rodale, author of "Organic Manifesto" and you can listen in at 2 p.m. central time, today.