Press release by Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Waterville, Maine: August 5–8, 2016 — Johnny’s Selected Seeds greeted the fifth annual Student Organic Seed Symposium (SOSS) with a full-day tour of its research farm and facilities in Albion and Winslow. From their base at Colby College, a group of 50 students and global leaders […]
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OSGATA Cites Betrayal Over Monsanto-Backed GMO LABELING BILL Washington, ME, July 13, 2016 – By a unanimous vote of its Board of Directors, the organic farmer-controlled Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) has withdrawn its membership from the Organic Trade Association (OTA). OSGATA’s decision was prompted by OTA’s duplicity towards organic farmers and consumers […]
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The Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) has just released their updated report on the State of Organic Seed for 2016. Building upon an initial assessment of organic seed released in 2011, the 2016 edition of the report synthesizes stakeholder data compiled in 2014 and 2015. One conclusion drawn from both editions: […]
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The latest issue of GeneWatch, published by the Council for Responsible Genetics, is dedicated to GMO labeling. Martin Levin, J.D., OSGATA Board member and environmental lawyer, discusses the flaws in the current regulation of genetically modified (GM) foods in his piece “The Public Policy Imperative for GM Food Labeling.” Levin writes: “Profit-motivated businesses engaged […]
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Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Organic and non-GE potatoes are considered at low-risk from genetically engineered (GE) potatoes. Since potatoes are propagated vegetatively (from tubers) there is no risk of pollen-caused GE contamination for potatoes grown as seed or tablestock. The highest risk for GE contamination of potatoes is inadvertent […]
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Meet Organic Seed Grower Ryan Batalden Farm Name: Batalden Farms Location: Lamberton, MN Ryan says… “When I think of organic seed, I think of seed that is better adapted to organic systems and hard to find. I am a full-time farmer, all certified organic, working on our family farm […]
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The word “natural” is derived from the word “nature,” and leads consumers to believe that foods bearing the natural label are derived from nature. However, the natural label, in its current application by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is misleading to consumers. A December […]
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OSGATA President and Maine organic seed farmer Jim Gerritsen examines organic integrity and why farmers’ rights matter in his recent at the 34th National Pesticide Forum, ‘Cultivating Community and Environmental Health,’ in Portland, ME, on April 15th-16th, 2016. Gerritsen’s presentation, entitled “Organic Integrity: Soil, Seeds and Government & Corporate Responsibility,” covers […]
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Cotton (Gossypium spp) Cotton has a relatively low risk of gene flow via pollen in comparison to other GE crops on the market. However low the perceived risk, cotton contamination is still real. In Texas, where over 90% of cotton grown is genetically engineered, most organic cotton farmers acknowledge the […]
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Papaya (Carica papaya) GE contamination of papaya is classified as either air contamination or seed contamination. Papaya flesh always has the same genetic make-up as the seed of the tree that it came from. Trees grown from GE seeds will have GE leaves and fruit flesh, and at least 75% […]
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Soybean (Glycine max) Soybeans have the distinction of being the first GE crop deregulated in the US in 1994. Just twelve years later, in 2006, 95% of the U.S. soybean acreage had been converted to GE. Soybean is considered a low-risk candidate for GE contamination due to its nature […]
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At the upcoming meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) in Washington, D.C., on April 24-27, many important issues are on the docket. Organic law grants NOSB sole authority to make recommendations regarding what materials are allowed in organic (those appearing on the National List), as well as recommendations on a wide variety […]
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Sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris) Sugarbeets engineered to resist glyphosate were first deregulated in the U.S. in 1998. Market hesitancy, however, stalled the adoption by commercial producers until nearly a decade later. In the U.S., most of the sugarbeet seed production is controlled by a handful of agribusiness corporations and is focused […]
Read more →Internationally known organic farmer and OSGATA President will speak about agroecology & organic farming systems this Earth Day. Considered an Agrarian Elder, Gerritsen has farmed organically for more than 30 years. He and his wife Megan own and operate Wood Prairie Farm, in Bridgewater, ME. The event, held by FAMU StateWide Small Farm […]
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Canola (Brassica napus; B. rapa) Canola is a high-risk crop in terms of contamination from GMOs. Its basic biology along with its ability to persist outside of cultivation in disturbed habitats (like field edges and roadsides) presents multiple avenues of potential contamination. And contamination poses threat beyond canola seed […]
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Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) In 2005 alfalfa became the first perennial GE crop to attain approved status in the U.S. Within a year of GE alfalfa’s initial commercial release, contamination had occurred in the commercial sector. The Roundup Ready™ trait was identified in conventional non-GE plantings of alfalfa in Montana, Wyoming, […]
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Corn (Zea mays) Ninety percent of all corn grown in the U.S. is genetically engineered. This fact, coupled with corn’s outcrossing nature, equals significant risk of GE contamination for organic corn growers. Of course, the individual degree of risk differs based on various factors: the region in which the organic […]
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The 34th National Pesticide Forum will be convening on April 15-16, at the University of Southern Maine, in Portland, ME. The Forum is an opportunity for grassroots advocates, scientists, and policy makers to build local, state, and national strategies to protect human health and the environment, as well as organic land management strategies. The event […]
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Since the genetically engineered Flavr Savr tomato was first approved for the American marketplace in 2004, GE crops have grown to become part of the agricultural mainstream. Plantings of GE crops in the U.S., measured in acres, increased by 68% between 2000 and 2005 and climbed another 45% between 2005 and 2013. In 2013, American farmers planted […]
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On March 17, 2016, Boulder County’s Board of County Commissioners ordered a draft plan for the phase-out of GE crops on publically owned farmlands. The current directive allowing select GE crops to be planted on public land will remain in effect until the end of the year, with the phase-out anticipated to span three-to-seven years. Since 2011, Colorado’s […]
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