Heat in humidity isn’t great for farming apples. The muggy weather means nasty fungus, moth larvae, and bacterial disease, so farmers say in order to grow a marketable product they have to spray.

Meaning local farmers can’t go totally organic, but they’ve come up with a compromise.

They call it Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, which involves targeted use of chemicals, computer modeling, and monitoring weather and insect populations.

Farmers say IPM has helped them cut spraying by 25%, and some crops go 30 days without being hit with chemicals.

I’m not sure how much of a compromise it really is. If you want organic, you only buy organic. But maybe if you live in Georgia, where peaches are local, and apples are not, just eat more peaches instead–right?

Via Access Atlanta.

Image credit: Harvest Wizard.

But you hear a lot of bellyaching about organics being more expensive, which more often than not they are.

In a down economy this sounds like the kiss of death, but maybe not, being organic might actually help stimulate sales.

People like the word “organic” because it gives them a wholesome image of healthy food, and or a lush farm-like atmosphere that makes them feel good.

Either way, marketing products as organic—and hopefully they really are—is a great way to keep people buying them, even when the economy stinks.

Plus, in our new “green” world, people like the idea of buying and using products that go easy on the environment, i.e. low carbon footprint, sustainable production, recycling, etc. So advertising this message is another win-win.

Normally, I am very skeptical of marketing—even though I have a degree in it—but I think when it comes to luring people in with the organic message, it’s a cool idea.

Via The Blue Banner.

Image credit: ginnerobot

Claims of “getaway drug” aside, the marijuana grown in California by Mexican drug cartels is actually harming the Sierra National Forest.

Obviously, these hidden ganja plantations are illegal, so it’s not surprising that the way the plants are being grown creates a severe danger for local environments.

The plants, which have tremendous street-value, are painstakingly cared for, which often involves pesticides and fertilizers that are many times stronger than the stuff allowed for commercial use and the runoff ends up in local waterways.

This can ravage wetlands. Harsh pesticides can kill important insects and cause algae and weeds to build up, which blocks water flows and chokes out animals, like frogs and salamanders. This is why legal agriculture has so many rules and regulations.

But federal agencies are busting these plantations in California. In February, agents seized over 300,000 marijuana plants, worth about $1.1 billion. Good news for the environment, bad news for potheads and drug cartels.  

Via Greenwire.

Apparently, British organics lack one unified message—very unlike the orderly and proper Brits—organic farmers and grows want to develop a joint, essential message to share with consumers.

The heart of the initiative is to inform that organic products are free-range, local, pesticide-free, fair trade, seasonal and natural. They want no confusion.

A spokesperson said, “To cut through the confusion the organic movement needs to demonstrate more forcefully than ever that organic principles encompass all these single issues and deliver a set of interlocking benefits that can and will still motivate consumers.”

Officials hope a new cohesive approach will help grow the organic market by 15% each year. To hammer out the plans a conference will be held in October.

Via Food Navigator.

But this might be taking it a little too far. Farming with no animals involved, not even poop! That means no manure fertilizer.

Using poop seems totally natural to me, but for the Vegan Organic Network, it’s got to be totally animal-free.

The vegan agriculture movement promotes farming methods that involve no “animal inputs” which excludes many common kinds of soil-enrichments, such as fish meal, bone meal, manure or the remains from slaughterhouses.

That seems a little weird to me. I don’t know about the other stuff, but using animal poop is perfectly natural and it doesn’t hurt the animal. They have to poop! So why not use it? That’s where I think vegan farming is a little kooky.

But this part is cool. Since it’s an organic movement, it involves no artificial chemicals or pesticides. The group says the overall approach is for the well-being of humans, social justice, animal welfare, biodiversity and environmental sustainability.

This is all well and good, but you have to show poop some love!

Via TreeHugger.

Marion also writes a column for The San Francisco Chronicle and in her latest article, she answers some questions about organic food. Here are a couple good ones:

Q: What is the difference between “100% organic” and “organic”?

A: Organic has a precise meaning under the USDA’s organic program. Certified 100% Organic means that all the ingredients in a product have been grown or raised according to the USDA’s organic standards, which are the rules for producing foods labeled organic. Certified Organic requires that 95 to 99 percent of the ingredients follow the rules.

What, exactly, are those rules? Summarizing what’s in hundreds of pages in the Federal Register: plants cannot be grown with synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, genetic modification, irradiation or sewage sludge.

Q: Which is worse: eating nonorganic produce full of pesticides or not eating produce at all?

A: Research demonstrates substantial health benefits from eating fruits and vegetables. Although I wish we had more definitive research, these benefits appear to greatly outweigh any risks of pesticides.

If you want to compromise, you can save your organic dollars for the foods most likely to be high in pesticides. These, according to the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org), are peaches, nectarines, apples, bell peppers, strawberries, cherries, pears, raspberries, imported grapes, celery, potatoes and spinach.

In contrast, foods that you peel – onions, peas, bananas, sweet corn and tropical fruits, for example – tend to be low in pesticides.

MGUS is characterized as abnormal levels of plasma protein that can lead to multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting the plasma cells in bone marrow.

Printed in the journal Blood, experts examined 678 men, ages 30 to 94, who apply pesticides, taking blood samples and having them fill out a questionnaire asking about pesticide exposure and application methods.

Researchers compared this data against a similar group from a large MGUS-screening study taken from the general population. The comparison revealed MGUS was 1.9 times more prevalent in pesticide workers older than 50.

Certain chemicals heightened risk more than others. The insecticide dieldrin increased MGUS risk 5.6 fold, while the fungicide chlorothalonil only raised risk 2.4 fold. Either way, scientists insist people should be more aware of the dangers.

Fortunately, most of us aren’t spraying pesticides, but to help safeguard yourself, try buying organic cherries, strawberries and peaches, these fruits are among the most contaminated.

Via ScienceDaily.

Health officials say scientific uncertainty about the dangers of pesticides to human health is no reason to delay action, but the ban has angered and drawn a lawsuit from a major chemical manufacturer:

[Quebec and Ontario] have even banned weed killer 2,4-D even though it has been deemed safe by Health Canada – a move that sparked a NAFTA challenge of Quebec’s ban.

Dow AgroSciences LLC, which manufactures 2,4-D, has decided to sue the federal government and seek $2 million in damages, arguing that Quebec’s rules violate Canada’s trade obligations because it prohibits a product without any scientific basis.

The company wouldn’t say whether it will go after Ontario’s ban as well.

“Our legal action is focused solely on Quebec at this time, and I won’t speculate on any other action that we might take in Canada,” said spokeswoman Brenda Harris.

“What I do think is important is that when provinces or jurisdictions are considering these types of things, that they really look closely at science, and making sure that science is part of the process.”

However, Ontario’s environment minister says they’re not worried about any possible lawsuits and that pesticides can still be used for farming, forestry and any health and safety reasons, such as preventing West Nile virus.

Via TheStar.com.

Probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think McDonald’s is vegetables, but after all, those greasy French fries you’re eating started off as fresh potatoes and McDonald’s has announced plans to reduce pesticide use in its American potato suppliers:

McDonald’s has committed to survey its current U.S. potato suppliers; compile a list of best practices in pesticide reduction that will be recommended to the company’s global suppliers; and communicate findings related to best practices to shareholders, and in the company’s annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) report.

Bard College student Katherine Burstein, a member of the college’s Committee on Investor Responsibility, said: “Through our work with the Responsible Endowments Coalition–which works on responsible investment issues with colleges and universities across the nation–we learned about the measures companies can take to reduce the undesirable effects of pesticide use, and decided to engage McDonald’s on the issue.”

McDonald’s said in a statement that its U.S. potato suppliers are already working with their growers to “advance sustainable pesticide practices, such as reductions and alternative methods.”

Environmental advocates are hailing the effort, saying it will benefit the health of consumers, farm workers and local agricultural communities. The very same people McDonald’s horrible food is slamming with heart disease, obesity, stroke and diabetes.

Okay, pesticides are bad, but McDonald’s has bigger problems, like why their burgers don’t decompose. If you leave a McDonald’s hamburger in your jacket pocket and then check on it a year later, it’ll look exactly the same. No worse for ware.

Via SustainableBusiness News.

Actually, I’ve got five bags and they’re always in my car, ready to go. Now, while using them is better than traditional plastic shopping bags. They might not be as green as you think. In fact, some have a rather dubious upbringing. It’s pretty scary:

Reusable fabric bags are most commonly made from cotton, but the cotton-farming process is extremely fossil-fuel-intensive because of the machinery involved.

According to the Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA) conventionally grown cotton uses more insecticides than any other single crop. Worldwide, cotton growers use more than 10 percent of the world’s pesticides and nearly 25 percent of the world’s insecticides.

Cotton is also responsible for 25 percent of all chemical pesticides — insecticides, fungicides and herbicides — used on American crops. Chemical fertilizers are used to enrich the soil.

Well, then, what about organic cotton? Those crops generally yield less usable fiber, which means an organic farmer needs more land to make a profit.

Most of the cotton grocery bags are woven outside the U.S. where labor is less costly, but that increases the use of fossil fuels in getting them from the factory to these shores.

Typical shopping bags have drawn heavy fire lately with cities like Washington, D.C. considering fees for paper and plastic bags and New York State has passed legislation for statewide recycling of plastic bags.

But if you’re too leery about reusable shopping bags as they are, you could be like this whacky lady and use creepy bags made from cat fur. Eek!

Via ENN.