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Hope you have a good week!
10. Some
e-newsletters that may be of interest….
If you have others
you think are good please share this info on the listserv.
1. ORGANIC BYTES is a publication for
organic consumers and those interested in what is happening on the farm and
markets with regard to organic production, certification regulations, sales and
consumption.
ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION
Phone: (218)- 226-4164 Fax: (218) 353-7652
To subscribe to the electronic
version go to this web page: http://www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.htm
2. New Farm Newsletter offers
research and highlights from organic and sustainable farmers implementing new
ideas. http://www.newfarm.org/forms/newsletter.html
to sign up for this electronic newsletter
3. New Ag Network is for farmers,
researchers and educators teaming up for sustainable and organic ag solution in
the
4. Upper
5. Organic Farming Research
Foundation (OFRI) offers their information on line or via a paid subscription
to receive news through the mail. They foster the improvement and widespread
adoption of organic farming practices. You can get the subscription form at http://www.ofrf.org/policy/Policy%20alerts/OFAN_alert_form.html
6. ATTRA (National Sustainable
Agriculture Information Service newsletter offers information on all aspects
and types of organic and sustainable crop and animal production. http://attra.ncat.org/newsletter/archives.html
to subscribe to the newsletter
7. E-magazine is an online home of
the E/The environmental magazine with stories on environment including agriculture.
Here is their web site to sign up: https://www.kable.com/pub/enmg/spcOption.asp
. Here is their site to check out their e-magazine http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3079
11. Heads Up on the Aphid Front
Recent flight of aphids found on buckthorn
will impact 2007 population
All:
On Sunday/Monday, there was a huge
flight of soybean aphid gynoparae (winged females) from soybeans to buckthorn.
On Monday, I found females with tiny newly-deposited nymphs on every buckthorn
shrub I examined around MSU. Many of these were ant-tended (i.e being
protected), and I didn't see any ladybugs or other predators. These nymphs will
mature into oviparae and lay eggs in October. Suction trap catches throughout
Thus early indications point to
higher SBA populations in 2007.
Chris D.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Dr. Christina DiFonzo
Field Crops Entomology Program
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
By Jaye Beeler
The
This event has past but it highlights some of our
Lisa
Rose Starner, executive director of Mixed Greens, worries about what you eat.
She knows you can do better, so she is inviting you to a supper of locally
grown organic foods.
In
Thursday's Sprout! Mixed Greens fundraiser at The B.O.B., Todd Darby, executive
chef at The B.O.B., assisted by other Gilmore Collection chefs, will fill
plates with lime-chili-marinated beef skewers, beef and carrot chips with baba
ghanouj, melon and mint skewers with cucumber yogurt dip, tabouleh and humus
with pita chips.
Leave
enough room for
Also
on the menu -- smoked whitefish dip with pita chips, butternut squash puree in
phyllo cups, candied sweet potato skewers, roasted winter squash vegetables
with basil, apple strudel and black bean brownies.
Starner
made sure the majority of this food comes from local growers, such as Michael
and Anja VanderBrug of Jenison's Trillium Haven Farm, Paul and Nancy Keiser of
Marne's Agriculture and Health Alive and Steve and Kris Van Haitsma of
Hudsonville's Mud Lake Farm.
Through
her edible schoolyard gardens in
Modeled
after legendary chef Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard, Starner's Mixed Greens
program is, essentially, a garden and kitchen classroom.
About
300 elementary students tend raised beds of seasonal fruits, vegetables and
herbs. The kids learn about the food cycle from seed to table while engaging in
lessons from geography (i.e. where citrus comes from) to ecology (turning
vegetable scraps into composting.)
"The
public needs to know why it's important to feed kids good food -- that's the
main thing," Starner said. " Everyone can pull up a food story from
their childhood, like 'My mom had a vegetable garden, and she canned' or 'On my
grandpa's farm, they grew a lot of tomatoes, and we spent days playing there.'
"But
... that's becoming a lost memory for our kids. Their No. 1 food memory will be
chicken McNuggets because food isn't real anymore."
Through
Mixed Greens, Starner is hoping to prompt a lifestyle change through which more
Grand Rapidians incorporate local food into their diets and even grow the food
they consume.
"It
takes time to eat well," Starner said. "It is something that you have
to commit to. It's not easy, but isn't it worth it? We have to make a choice,
and it's a communitywide choice that our kids need to know."
Heirloom tomato, mozzarella and basil bruschetta
8
very ripe heirloom tomatoes, peeled and seeded
1
cup fresh basil leaves, washed, spun dry and chopped
4
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6
cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Sea
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2
French baquettes, (about 12 ounces each) sliced 1-inch thick into 36 slices
1
1/2 pounds fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
PREPARATION:
Dice tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces; drain over a bowl for 30 minutes to remove
excess liquid. In a nonaluminum bowl, combine tomatoes, basil, olive oil and
garlic. Stir well and season with sea salt and black pepper. Gently stir in
mozzarella cheese.
On
a baking sheet, line up baguette slices. Toast in oven for about 3 minutes or
until light golden brown. Spoon tomato mixture over each baguette slice. Place
bruschetta on decorative platter. Garnish with basil leaves.
Makes
36 pieces
Nutrition
information per piece: 122 calories, 5 grams fat, 7 grams protein, 12 grams
carbohydrate, 1 grams fiber, 11 milligrams cholesterol, 216 milligrams sodium
13. Two dairies to end use of artificial
hormones
Hope to compete with organic milk
By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff | September 25, 2006
The region's biggest dairies are rushing to rid their
bottled milk of artificial growth hormones in a bid to draw back customers who
have switched to organic milk.
Dean Foods, which operates the Garelick plant in Franklin,
and H.P. Hood, which operates a plant in
Over the next few weeks, jugs of Hood and Garelick milk with
labels pledging ``no artificial growth hormones" should start filling
supermarket shelves -- a strategy the dairies hope will satisfy the chief
concern of consumers going organic and do so at less than half the retail price
of organic milk.
``The phenomenal success of organic milk, with growth rates
of 20 percent or more, is driving our demand for milk from cows not treated
with artificial growth hormones," said John Kaneb, the chief executive of
Chelsea-based Hood.
Under federal standards, organic milk is from cows not treated
with synthetic hormones or antibiotics; these cows are fed only organically
grown food and have access to pastures.
By halting the use of synthetic hormones, which are marketed
under the brand name Posilac by Monsanto Corp. of
Smaller dairies have previously marketed conventional milk
produced without synthetic hormones, but the changes taking place now in
southern
``Even though conventional milk is completely safe and
POSILAC is completely safe, some people don't feel comfortable with it,"
said Marguerite Copel, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Dean Foods. POSILAC is a
trademarked bovine protein product marketed by Monsanto .
Copel said Dean intends to see how consumers react to its
new Garelick milk before expanding its hormone-free operations. Dean operates
100 dairy plants nationwide; eight will now be operating with milk from
artificial-hormone-free cows.
Whole Foods Markets sells organic milk and a store-brand
milk produced from cows not treated with POSILAC. At the chain's
But Nasser Hussain, a teacher from
Monsanto won Food and Drug Administration approval for
POSILAC in 1993. The product, also known by the acronym rBST, is a synthetic
version of the milk-inducing growth hormone that cows produce naturally. The
company says a third of the nation's dairy herd is injected with POSILAC.
Even though the FDA and other researchers say POSILAC is
perfectly safe for humans, many consumers remain troubled by its use. They fear
that synthetic hormones cause cancer or premature development in children, and
many have shifted to organic milk to avoid exposure. Other countries have
banned POSILAC -- though primarily because of harmful side effects in cows.
Sales of organic milk represent only about 2.4 percent of
total milk sales, but they are growing quickly, particularly in the Northeast.
Nationally, sales of organic milk have nearly doubled over the last three years
to $1.1 billion, according to the Organic Trade Association in
Wal-Mart
recently showed just how big the organic milk business is becoming by unveiling
a private-label product that will cost less than most branded organics. Even
Dean and Hood produce organic milk. Dean, in fact, owns Horizon Organic of
Boulder, Colo., the nation's largest organic milk producer and owner of Organic
Cow milk.
Monsanto sued Oakhurst Dairy in
Monsanto isn't saying what it plans to do in response to
Dean and Hood. A spokesman for the company said the two dairy processors are
depriving farmers of an FDA-approved technology.
There is no test that dairies can use to distinguish between
artificial and naturally occurring growth hormones, which is why processors ask
farmers to sign affidavits stating that they don't use artificial growth
hormones.
The big farmer cooperatives in the Northeast are not telling
their members to stop using POSILAC, but they are warning that their milk may
have to be used in lesser-value dairy products.
Some dairy processors plan to pay a slight premium for milk
from untreated cows, but farmers who are using POSILAC fear any increase in
price will be more than offset by a dropoff in production.
Richard Woodger, a dairy farmer in Granville, said his gross
income is already off $20,000 this year because of depressed milk prices. If he
takes his cows off POSILAC, he said, his production is likely to drop by 25
percent.
Bruce Mohl can be reached at [log in to unmask].
Article can be found on Boston Globe online. http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/09/25/2_dairies_to_end_use_of_artificial_hormones/
Saturday, September 30, 2006
By Ted Roelofs
The
Tom
Leonard, executive director of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council,
is leaving the organization after 11 years at the helm. His departure was
announced Friday by WMEAC board President Karel Rogers, who praised Leonard as
a passionate environmental advocate.
"Tom
has deep knowledge and understanding of environmental issues and he will
continue to be a catalyst for change,"
Until a
permanent successor is found, he is to be replaced by interim Director Kayem
Dunn.
Dunn, who
for 18 years was executive director of the Grand Rapids-based Council for
Interior Design Accreditation, said she was approached about taking the interim
position within the last week.
"I
am not a candidate" for the permanent position, Dunn said. "My role
as interim director is focused on organization development."
One board
member who did not want to be identified said Leonard might not fit the
direction the organization looks to take in the years ahead, toward greater
efficiency and community accomplishment.
"I
think WMEAC wants to be a different organization and move to a different
place," the board member said.
Leonard
was appointed executive director in 1995. During his tenure, WMEAC has
increased in size and has received national recognition for its work in
business sustainability and water quality.
A number
of new programs were established during Leonard's tenure, including
He serves
as chairman of Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell's Environmental Advisory
Committee.
Send e-mail to the author: [log in to unmask]
END of Michigan Organic News for weeks of Sept 18-Oct 1
Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist
C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems
303 Natural Resources Bldg.
517-353-3542
517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (fax)
http://safs.msu.edu/
http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/
