The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter

Pacific Northwest universities receive $50 million grant for climate-smart potato production

Potato growing that improves soil health and reduces carbon footprint—that’s what a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to farmers and Native American Tribes is betting on. One of 70 projects of the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program, the initiative will identify practices and crop rotation options to prevent the soil […]

Study finds 300% increase in weedkiller levels in pregnant women in the Midwest

A new study has found that the average level of the controversial herbicide dicamba in the urine of pregnant women has increased 300% since 2017, the year widespread planting of dicamba-tolerant GMO crops began. Chuck Benbrook, executive director of the Heartland Health Research Alliance, which conducted the research, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “We knew […]

Jack’s Solar Garden produces clean energy and nutritious food

By Patrick Bosold In Longmont, Boulder County, Colorado, there is a farm—Jack’s Solar Garden—that has an array of over 3,200 solar panels generating 1.2 megawatts (MW) of community solar power. This is enough electricity to power over 300 homes. At the same time, the farm produces a wide range of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and livestock […]

Students nationwide push to rid campus lawns of toxic pesticides

With so many students majoring in environmental studies these days, it’s not surprising they’re re-examining the pristine, grass-filled quads of their alma maters. From University of Michigan to Princeton to UC Berkeley, they have joined forces and now operate through the organization Re:wild Your Campus, which invites 20 or so student fellows each year to […]

FAO promotes dangerous advice on Syngenta’s deadly paraquat herbicide—compromising its independent status

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has partnered with pesticide lobby group Croplife International—and is now nodding approval regarding the formula of a deadly herbicide associated with Croplife member Syngenta. The partnership has been condemned by civil society organizations with critics saying it is like the World Health Organization teaming up […]