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8 Substances Removed from USDA’s Approved National List for Use in Organics
iStock/katso80 The USDA has published its final rule on approved non-organic ingredients allowed foruse in organic products for 2017. The new rule, effective August 7, removes eight substances from the...
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USDA Awards $7.6 Million in Grants for Pest Control Research
iStock/fotokostic The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded $7.6 million in research grants related to pest control and the management of beneficial species in agriculture. Grants...
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USDA’s Animal Welfare Records Still Obscured Despite New Public Search Tool,...
iStock/nemar74 After removing thousands of vital animal welfare records from the USDA website earlier this year, the agency announced last week it had restored many of the data. But the announcement,...
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Negligent Inspections, Misuse of Pesticides on Organic Imports, Revealed in...
iStock/eclipseimages An audit of seven major U.S. ports conducted by the USDA’s Office of Inspector General finds negligent inspections are failing to verify the status of products claiming to be...
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5 Things You Need to Know About the National Organic Standards Board
image via Les Jay/Unsplash With the passage of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, the National Organic Standards Board or NOSB was created to help regulate USDA organic label standards. The...
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National Chicken Council Lobbies for Deregulation of Poultry Processing Speeds
iStock/andresr Appealing to the Trump administration’s calls to reduce “regulatory burdens on the industry,” the National Chicken Council has submitted a petition to remove a cap on the speed at which...
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Organic Farmers Lose Battle Over Soilless Hydroponic Growing
iStock/LouisHiemstra The National Organic Standards Board voted last Wednesday to reject proposals prohibiting hydroponic and aquaponic production methods from being certified USDA organic. This...
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New Changes to SNAP Benefits Could Allow States to Restrict Purchases of Soda...
iStock/gilaxia The USDA announced last week that it would be making major changes to SNAP benefits (also known as food stamps), including the possibility for states to restrict beneficiaries’ purchases...
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U.S. Egg Prices to Rise in 2018
iStock/HadelProductions Egg prices are predicted to rise more than 35 percent in the first three months of 2018 as compared to the same period last year, reports the USDA’s Economic Research Service....
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Organic Leaders Demand USDA Reinstate Animal Welfare Rules
iStock/buhanovskiy Leaders of the organic food movement have appealed to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to reinstate the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule issued in January 2017 and withdrawn...
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USDA Proposes Lifting Meat Processing Line Speed Caps in Pork Plants
iStock/IP Galanternik D.U. The USDA released a proposed rule Friday to lift caps on line speeds in meat processing plants, granting individual facilities the power to determine how quickly pork can be...
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USDA Denies Petition for Unlimited Chicken Slaughter Line Speed
iStock/roibu Earlier this week the USDA denied a request by the chicken industry to increase slaughter line speeds. The decision comes after the agency received more than 100,000 comments urging the...
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Organic Trade Group Fights USDA Over Animal Welfare Standards
iStock/sal73it In a lawsuit filed against the USDA, the Organic Trade Association aims to expedite new organic livestock and poultry standards that would improve the quality of life for countless...
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USDA Requests Comments on Dietary Guidelines for the First Time Ever
iStock/gilaxia The USDA announced Monday that it would be inviting public comments on the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans for the first time since the guidelines were established in 1980. The...
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You May Soon Be Drinking Almond Milk Waste…In Your Beer
iStock/franckreporter Here’s a fun thought experiment: someone you know will probably drink almond milk today. It’s probably not just your vegan friend, either. And someone else you know? Well, they...
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USDA Reverses Course on Carrageenan Rule, Says It’s ‘Necessary’ for Organics
iStock/wundervisuals Despite the recommendation of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), the USDA says it will not move to keep carrageenan, a controversial food additive, out of certified...
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Organic Industry Organizes ‘New Era’ After USDA Cancels Checkoff Program
iStock/vgajic After the USDA’s withdrawal of the checkoff program for the nation’s certified organic label, several key groups and figureheads in the organic movement say they’re moving forward with...
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OTA Moves Forward With Organic Checkoff Program (Without the USDA)
iStock/eclipse_images The Organic Trade Association has announced that it will be establishing its own version of the organic checkoff program abandoned by the USDA three months ago. The program will...
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You May Soon Be Drinking Almond Milk Waste…In Your Beer
Here’s a fun thought experiment: someone you know will probably drink almond milk today. It’s probably not just your vegan friend, either. And someone else you know? Well, they will be drinking beer...
View ArticleUSDA Reverses Course on Carrageenan Rule, Says It’s ‘Necessary’ for Organics
Despite the recommendation of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), the USDA says it will not move to keep carrageenan, a controversial food additive, out of certified organic food.The...
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