Basics
The Bad Seeds: The Broken Promises of Agricultural Biotechnology
2009-10-14
Agricultural biotechnology has been promoted as a key tool to combat global hunger and poverty by increasing the productivity of farmers worldwide. The technology relies on genetically modified (GM) seeds and agrochemicals that are tailored to the genetic traits of the seeds. The biotechnology industry promised that farmers could increase their yields, lower production costs and reduce agrochemical use. Instead, American farmers have faced higher costs without higher productivity, risked lawsuits from seed companies, and applied more agrochemicals as weeds and insects developed resistance to the genetic crop traits.
Animal Identification Does Not Equal Food Safety
2009-07-22
Consumers get a lot of information about the things they buy, whether it’s monitoring the progress of a package making its way across the country or the label in a shirt that says where the fabric was made and the final product assembled. So should consumers expect any less when it comes to food?
Chinese Imports
2009-04-14
In the last year, thousands of people worldwide have fallen sick from eating unsafe food produced in China. Lax inspections abroad and at home mean that Chinese food producers have relied on dangerous additives, fertilizers and pesticides, leaving consumers to contend with the dangerous residue of China’s unregulated food production system. And consumers are growing weary of the neverending scandals surrounding imports from China, from tainted dog food, to cookies laced with melamine, to the rising incidence of avian flu.
Standards Needed for Organic Aquaculture
2008-12-10
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has been working for several years to establish organic standards for aquaculture products (farmed fish) and will be voting on a set of proposed standards after their meeting November 17-20, 2008. Although organic standards will likely never be applicable to wild fish, which in many cases may be a better choice for consumers than farmed fish, the development of USDA organic aquaculture standards could be instrumental in giving fish farmers a market they need to sustainably produce fish and shellfish. However, it is crucial that the standards be more stringent than those currently proposed, in order to protect the credibility of the “organic” label and live up to the principles of organic production intended to protect the environment and consumer health.
The Risks of Nanotechnology
2008-09-23
Nanotechnology is the process of manipulating matter at the molecular level — or nanoscale. Nanomaterials have at least one dimension that is 100 nanometers or less. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter — approximately 1/100,000 of a human hair.
Do You Know What's in Your Seafood?
2008-09-02
Consumers today try to shop smarter and eat healthier. People are turning to lean and low-calorie foods to maintain a well-balanced diet, and fish are among the most popular choices to make nutritionists’ lists for meeting such requirements. Seafood is often praised as a good protein source with low saturated fats and a high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to have a variety of excellent health benefits. However, not all seafood is created equal. Depending on where it is caught or raised, or how it is processed, some seafood can be contaminated with chemicals and other toxins that can be extremely harmful to consumers’ and their children’s health.
rBGH: Anything but Green
2008-07-02
One of the many factors contributing to factory-scale dairy operations is recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH or also sometimes called rBST), an artificial growth hormone developed by Monsanto to increase dairy cows’ milk output. Industrial agriculture proponents proclaim that farming on a large scale, and using technology such as rBGH, is better for the environment. That's just plain wrong.
Government Fails Seafood Inspections
2008-03-10
Import Alert: Government Fails Consumers, Falls Short on Seafood Inspections
Food Safety Consequences of Factory Farms
2007-03-27
Today, many of the meat and dairy products sold in the United States come from factory farms – industrial-scale facilities where tens of thousands of animals are crowded together in tight conditions and cannot carry out normal behaviors such as grazing, rooting and pecking.
Fact Sheets
Reports
- Unseen Hazards: from Nanotechnology to Nanotoxicity — Nanotechnology—engineering extremely small parti ...
- Bridging the GAPs — Although the vast majority of produce-related food ...
- rBGH: How Artificial Hormones Damage the Dairy Industry and Endanger Public Health — Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), also cal ...
- Where's the Local Beef? — Local beef. Sustainable sausage. They’re what a ...
- The Poisoned Fruit of American Trade Policy — Food & Water Watch Report - Poison Fruit of Ameri ...