Just Label It News Roundup 5-18

U.S. government researchers have uncovered evidence that some popular weedkilling products, like Monsanto’s widely used Roundup, are potentially more toxic to human cells than their active ingredients by themselves. After seeing parents fall ill from cancer or die, many farmers are switching to organics to protect themselves and their children. A recent study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production assessed the environmental impacts of organic grass-fed beef and non-organic grass-fed beef production, finding organic and non-organic grass-fed beef production practices were more environmentally friendly than conventional production. Studies show that inhaling Mycobacterium vaccae, a common soil microbe, can ease depression. The European Commission has learned its lesson from the glyphosate controversy and is coming forward with “bold proposals” on transparency. The raw data of all industry-funded pesticide studies will be made publicly available. The New York Times uncovered stories of farmers using organic farming to sequester carbon. The essential insight is one often overlooked when we talk about climate change: The element that threatens to smother civilization is also, in different forms, the fundamental building block of life.

First wave of stakeholders weighs in on ‘bioengineered’ labels: ‘Exemptions make the useless rule even more useless…”

If the first wave of comments to its proposed rule on GMO labeling is anything to go by, USDA’s agricultural marketing service faces a daunting task as it seeks to nail down its national bioengineered food disclosure standard, with early feedback revealing significant disagreement over every issue from the interpretation of ‘bioengineered,’ to the merits of the term itself.

Weedkiller products more toxic than their active ingredient, tests show

US government researchers have uncovered evidence that some popular weedkilling products, like Monsanto’s widely-used Roundup, are potentially more toxic to human cells than their active ingredient is by itself.

These Farmers Switched to Organic After Pesticides Made Their Families Sick

After seeing parents fall ill from cancer or die, many farmers are switching to organics to protect themselves and their children. 

Organic grass-fed beef has less environmental impact than non-organic grass-fed beef

A recent study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production assessed the environmental impacts of organic grass-fed beef and non-organic grass-fed beef production. Researchers used a lifecycle analysis to analyze data collected from one grass-fed farm prior to conversion to organic and then after its conversion to organic, as well as data from conventional non-grass-fed farms. They found that organic and non-organic grass-fed beef production practices were more environmentally friendly than conventional production, with reduced impact on acidification, eutrophication (over-growth of algae and decrease of oxygen in bodies of water due to nutrient runoff), and energy consumption. The global warming potential for organic grass-fed beef and conventional beef was not statistically different, although both out-performed non-organic grass-fed beef production. Overall, the study found that organic grass-fed beef production has fewer environmental impacts than both conventional beef and non-organic grass-fed beef production.

7 Gardener-Approved Must-Haves to Grow Your Own Food

It doesn’t matter if you have a windowsill planter, a plot in a community garden or a backyard orchard—growing your own organic fruits and vegetables is a small but tangible way to bypass Big Ag and create habitat for butterflies, bees and birds. Gardening also nurtures the gardener: Studies show that inhaling Mycobacterium vaccae, a common soil microbe, can ease depression.

EFSA Boss: EU Food Law Overhaul ‘A Big Step Towards Transparency’

The European Commission has learned its lesson from the glyphosate controversy and is coming forward with “bold proposals” on transparency, says Bernhard Url. The raw data of all industry-funded studies related to pesticides will be made publicly available under Commission plans, he told EURACTIV in an interview Wednesday.

Can Organics Help Rural America Rebound?

Some see organic farming as a sure-fire way to improve struggling farm communities. Others say it will take a lot more than higher premiums to make a lasting economic difference.

Can Dirt Save the Earth?

When John Wick and his wife, Peggy Rathmann, bought their ranch in Marin County, Calif., in 1998, it was mostly because they needed more space. Rathmann is an acclaimed children’s book author — “Officer Buckle and Gloria” won a Caldecott Medal in 1996 — and their apartment in San Francisco had become cluttered with her illustrations. They picked out the 540-acre ranch in Nicasio mostly for its large barn, which they planned to remake into a spacious studio. Wick, a former construction foreman — they met when he oversaw a renovation of her bathroom — was eager to tackle the project. He knew the area well, having grown up one town away, in Woodacre, where he had what he describes as a “free-range” childhood: little supervision and lots of biking, rope-swinging and playing in the area’s fields and glens.