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Separating the Grain from the Chaff in Agriculture & Food
Browsing All posts tagged under »organic«
“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 […]
Trading Places: Two farmers step out of their comfort zones
December 18, 2015
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to step across the “conventional/organic divide”? During the first week of December, we (Jen Christie and Rob Wallbridge) did just that. Rob (an organic vegetable grower) had been invited to speak on a social media panel at Agri-trend’s Farm Forum Event in Saskatoon, SK; an annual […]
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 […]
Academics Review: Selling the Fear of Organic Marketing
June 6, 2014
It’s been a little over four years since I joined Twitter and a year since I started blogging. What I originally considered a way to share information about my farm has evolved into something that feeds my passion for informed discussion and logical debate. The farmers, scientists and bloggers I’ve encountered have radically altered the […]
Walmart and Organic Food: Help or Hype?
April 10, 2014
According to a news release published yesterday and widely parroted around the web, Walmart is poised to take its “lowest price is the law” approach to some of its organic offerings, promising to make organic food “affordable” to all. According to their own research, 91% of its shoppers would buy organic food if the price […]
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 […]
GM Alfalfa Coexistence, Part 2: Assessing Practises
September 21, 2013
Shortly after I published my last blog post on GM Alfalfa Coexistence, a couple of people contacted me, wanting to know my reaction to the specifics of the Best Management Practices that were included as part of the plan. Of course, shortly after the post went up, it was also confirmed that the hay exported by […]
GM Alfalfa Coexistence Plan: Evidence or Ideology?
September 14, 2013
This week, the Canadian Seed Trade Association (an industry lobby group composed of seed and seed treatment suppliers), published “Planning for Choice: A Coexistence Plan for Alfalfa Hay Production in Eastern Canada.” Judging by the “Facilitating Choice Through Coexistence” webpage, this publication appears to be positioned as a “flagship” plan for a larger “coexistence project.” […]
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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