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Separating the Grain from the Chaff in Agriculture & Food
Browsing All posts tagged under »myth-busting«
“Big Organic”: Threat or Opportunity?
I’m proud of the growth in the organic sector. According to the Organic Trade Association, organic sales in the United States have increased from $3.6 billion in 1997 to over $39 billion in 2014. This double-digit rate of growth holds true for Canada, too, which is now the fourth-largest organic market in the world. This […]
Feeding the World: Beyond the GMO/Organic Dichotomy
August 19, 2014
We should all recognize by now that “feeding the world” is much more a logistical and political challenge than an agricultural one. As a farmer, however, I spend a lot of time thinking about producing food economically, efficiently, and ecologically. Conventional wisdom dictates that genetically-engineered crops are a vital part of the overall solution, while organic […]
Organic Farming and Modern Technology: Friend or Foe?
June 27, 2014
I just listened to a recent interview with Julie Borlaug, associate director for external relations for the Norman E. Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M. Julie is the daughter of the scientist who is often referred to as the ‘father of the Green Revolution,” which saw the introduction, beginning in the late 1950s, of […]
Deconstructing Don Huber – A Tale of Two Talks
January 10, 2014
This is a story of two talks, both of which are almost identical. It’s also the story of two people, both of whom are also the same person. What separates both are a couple of years, perspective gained, and perspective lost. I first heard Dr. Don M. Huber, Emeritus Professor of Plant Pathology at Purdue […]
An Organic Farmer Walks into Monsanto…
December 13, 2013
The story of how I came to be touring Monsanto starts back in late April and a blog post where I questioned the current tenor of the GMO debate. It caught the attention of Janice Person, a Social Media Director for Monsanto, who commented, “if you ever want to see what we do at Monsanto, I would love […]
Are GMOs Used to Make Organic Cheese?
June 7, 2013
Recently, I’ve been part of some discussions relating to the use of enzymes derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in organic cheese production. The concern, or the assumption, is that they are employing the same GMO-derived chymosin (known less precisely as “rennet”) as about 70% of the cheese on the market today. That didn’t sound […]
Is There “Illegal GMO Wheat” in Kraft Mac & Cheese? NO!
May 31, 2013
This is going to be quick and dirty, but I just came across a flurry of tweets regarding this topic and feel the need to address it. Vani Hari, aka “the Food Babe” is acting like she’s uncovered the conspiracy of the century because she discovered a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese that, upon […]
The Blog of Rob Wallbridge
Occasional posts on food, farming, and related topics from an organic farm in Western Quebec, Canada.
The Fanning Mill 
February 10, 2016
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