The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter

EPA risk assessment of dicamba herbicide admits extensive, ongoing damage to plants but falls short of a ban

In August, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its required risk assessment of the widely used weedkiller dicamba. While acknowledging unprecedented drift damage to crops and non-target plants, the agency stopped short of banning the chemical. Bill Freese of the Center for Food Safety calls the recent assessment “schizophrenic.” “EPA must end all over-the-top registrations […]

Organic cotton seed varieties available in India for first time 

Good organic seeds for cotton in India were hard to find. Not anymore: over ten years of breeding resulted in success. Two new organic cotton varieties have recently been made available to India’s cotton farmers. These are the first ever cotton varieties of India bred under organic conditions. The varieties were developed through a decentralized […]

More than half of all plant-based foods are Non-GMO Project Verified

Plant-based food sales rose to $7.4 billion last year, growing three times faster than total sales. Health, climate, and affordability concerns played a role. The Non-GMO Project’s butterfly seal appeared on 52% of those sales. Non-GMO Project Verified frozen plant-based meat alternatives rose 71.7%, for example, compared to 10.4% growth for unlabeled products. A current […]

Albert Lea Seed House acquires Blue River Organic Seed 

Expanded product line to bring farmers the largest selection of organic seeds in the U.S. Albert Lea Seed House, owner of Viking Corn & Soybeans and one of the largest suppliers of organic field seed in the U.S., recently announced it has acquired Blue River Organic Seed, the nation’s longest-established organic seed corn brand, from the Farmers Business […]

University of Idaho finds correlation between cancer and agricultural chemicals in 11 states

Adults and children in Idaho and other Western states are vulnerable to cancer events due to farm chemicals, primarily fumigants, a new study reports. Researchers at University of Idaho analyzed federal and state health and agricultural data and published their results in GeoHealth. Forty-four of Idaho’s counties and 459 counties in the Western U.S. were […]