What is Biological Farming?

Biological Farming is any method of farming or gardening that primarily utilizes natural, biological processes and methods for managing crops and livestock. The goal of biological farming is to produce high-quality, healthful food and other farm products by ecologically sound means that protect and enhance water, soil, air, wildlife and other environmental resources, both on and off the farm.

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Begins Strategizing for the 2012 Farm Bill

Yes, you read that correctly. Even as we are just beginning to reap the benefits of 2008 Farm Bill wins such as the new Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and its 82 member organizations are already working on our advocacy strategy for the 2012 Farm Bill. Initial hearings related to the next Farm Bill have already taken place in Congress, and we want to engage with the process early, and with a clear, focused plan, in order to initiate a gradual transformation of the nation's agriculture and food system.

Food Safety Legislation Update

From Annette Higby, Grassroots Coordinator of National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC):

Senate Food Safety Legislation, Information Alert
August 13, 2010

The Food Safety Modernization Act (S 510) was reported out of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee in November of last year. The bill as reported out of committee would ramp up FDA regulation on farms that even minimally process their crops and sell them to restaurants, food coops, groceries, schools and wholesalers.

Yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a copy of the "manager's amendment" to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510). These amendments have the support of HELP Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY) as well as the four lead sponsors of the underlying bill, Dick Durbin (D-IL), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Chris Dodd (D-CT), and Richard Burr (R-NC) and will be adopted if and when the bill comes to the Senate floor in September when Congress returns from its summer recess. The full manager's package is available here.

In releasing the new version of the bill, Senator Harkin said, "For far too long, the headlines have told the story of why this measure is so urgently needed: foodborne illness outbreaks, product recalls and Americans sickened over the food they eat. This 100-year-old plus food safety structure needed to be modernized."

Pesticide Aldicarb Banned

Twenty-five years after the worst outbreak of pesticide poisoning in U.S. history, an agreement is announced that phases out all uses of aldicarb. Read the news here.