Category Archives: Agricultural Policy

Investing in Organic Plant Breeding for a Secure Food Future

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Kristina Hubbard

In the Fall 2011 issue of Edible Madison, Melissa Hughes with Organic Valley discusses the illusive promise of GE technologies in her piece Searching for the Silver Bullet. The piece is well written, and highlights the need to look beyond … Continue reading →

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USDA Wants to Know: How Can It Support Organic?

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Kristina Hubbard

USDA is convening a public listening session on September 20, 2011, in Washington, DC, to gather input on the department’s activities and priorities related to organic agriculture. To provide comments in person, reserve your spot by registering here. Email written … Continue reading →

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The President and Seed

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Kristina Hubbard

Cross-posted from Daily Yonder Last week President Obama held a town hall meeting on the grounds of Iowa’s Seed Savers Exchange, an organization dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds. The stop was part of a larger strategy to appeal … Continue reading →

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Eight Ways the NOP Can Support Organic Seed Systems

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Kristina Hubbard

OSA submitted comments today to the National Organic Program (NOP) in response to its “Draft Guidance: Seeds, Annual Seedlings, and Planting Stock in Organic Crop Production” (June 13, 2011). After carefully reviewing this much anticipated document, we believe the NOP … Continue reading →

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OSA’s Role in Building Organic Seed Systems

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Kristina Hubbard

Cross-posted from Seedstock.com According to a 2010 nationwide survey conducted by the Organic Seed Alliance (OSA), organic farmers are faced with a seed market that neither possesses sufficient available quantities of certified organic seed to meet demand nor the specific varieties … Continue reading →

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Time for USDA to Support Public Plant Breeding

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Kristina Hubbard

The National Organic Coalition recently released an analysis of the state of classical plant breeding and past efforts to improve funding for this fundamental sector of agricultural research. The report’s summary states that despite a clear mandate from Congress and … Continue reading →

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OSA’s Comments on New GE Corn Trait

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Kristina Hubbard

OSA’s letter to USDA on a petition to deregulate drought-tolerant, genetically engineered corn Dear Secretary Vilsack: We appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on the broad consequences of deregulating MON 87460 (Docket No. APHIS-2011-0023), a new corn trait genetically engineered … Continue reading →

Posted in Agricultural Policy, GMOs, Organic Seed Alliance | 4 Comments

Take Action by July 11 on New GE Corn

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Kristina Hubbard

Cross-posted from the Center for Food Safety On May 11, 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) on the first-ever genetically engineered (GE), drought tolerant corn, MON 87460. USDA is currently accepting comments on … Continue reading →

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U.S. Supports Global Guidance on GE Food Labeling

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Kristina Hubbard

The U.S. has long opposed a guidance document from the Codex Alimentarius Commission (made up of the world’s food safety agencies) on the labeling of genetically engineered ingredients. But today, at the annual summit in Geneva, more than 100 countries, … Continue reading →

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An Open Letter from Dr. John Navazio

Posted on June 24, 2011 by John Navazio

As a geneticist and plant breeder who specializes in breeding crops that are adapted environmental stresses using classical plant breeding techniques, I was very heartened to read such a powerful argument for the effectiveness and success of using this kind … Continue reading →

Posted in Agricultural Policy, Organic Seed Alliance, Seed Industry | 1 Comment