Organic News

New paper: Organic farming significantly lessens reliance on pesticides, reduces dietary risks of pesticide residues in foods

A new paper from the Heartland Health Research Alliance (HHRA) published in the peer-reviewed journal Agronomy reports significantly lower use of pesticides in organic farming and reduced risks of pesticide residues in foods. Organic farms use pesticides far less often and less intensively than on nearby conventional farms growing the same crop (see the chart […]

Study associates organic food intake in childhood with better cognitive development

  Photo: Robo Wunderkind / Unsplash A study analyzing the association between a wide variety of prenatal and childhood exposures and neuropsychological development in school-age children has found that organic food intake is associated with better scores on tests of fluid intelligence (ability to solve novel reasoning problems) and working memory (ability of the brain […]

Continued drought conditions threaten organic wheat supply

Widespread weather challenges are set to impact harvest, quality The record-breaking heat wave in the Northwest, paired with the continued drought across a broad range of crop-producing states, may challenge the organic wheat supply heading into harvest. According to the recently released Mercaris Monthly Update, the prolonged drought will likely move harvest earlier this year […]

Organic Trade Association fraud fighting program draws robust interest

A ground-breaking fraud prevention program is drawing strong response from organic businesses as the organic sector readies for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s upcoming new rules to strengthen oversight of organic imports and the organic supply chain. Forty organic businesses are currently enrolled in the trade association’s Organic Fraud Prevention Solutions program, with another 125 […]

Pesticide contamination in soil significantly lower on organic farms in EU

When pesticide residues in soil from organic and conventional farms across the EU were compared in a recent study published in Environmental Pollution, organic farms had up to 90% less residue concentration. Existence of any residues in organic soil is due to either highly persistent chemicals that last beyond organic transition or contamination via pesticide […]