The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter

Missouri man pleads guilty in huge organic fraud scheme

A $142 million scheme selling non-organic grain as organic ended in five people being ordered to prison. A sixth man, Steven N. Whiteside of Chillicothe, MO pleaded guilty to falsely signing a document stating he owned or farmed parcels of land he wasn’t connected with. He also claimed in a Land Use History Verification that […]

New research reveals measurable benefits of organic cotton production

Study by Iowa State University with The Organic Center finds important environmental benefits Conventional cotton is a chemically intensive crop with serious consequences for the Earth’s air, water, soil, and climate—as well as the health of farm workers and cotton processors. By contrast, organic cotton is grown, processed, dyed, and finished with methods that focus […]

National Organic Program ends Organic Recognition Agreement with India

Indian organic exporters to the U.S. must now be USDA-NOP certified The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) recently ended its Organic Recognition Agreement with India due to concerns over the organic integrity of Indian products coming to the United States. In announcing the change on its website, NOP said: “Currently, USDA does […]

Number of organic farms continues to grow in the U.S. and worldwide

The number of organic farms and processing facilities certified to the National Organic Program (NOP) rules continues to grow in the United States and the world, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2020, there were 28,454 organic operations in the U.S. NOP-certified, a growth of less than 0.69% over the 27,494 certified organic […]

Buy now—to avoid garden seed shortages

Beginning mid-March of 2020, an unusual thing occurred—seed sellers were suddenly overwhelmed with orders from home gardeners (or would-be ones) concerned about pandemic food shortages and ways to spend time during quarantine. That skyrocketed demand has surfaced again this winter, with some seed companies reporting potential shortages for this year’s orders. “The demand has been […]