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Separating the Grain from the Chaff in Agriculture & Food
Browsing All posts tagged under »organic«
Why Is It…?
Originally posted on Carolyn CAREs:
My Twitter feed is increasingly making me crabby. I follow a pretty diverse group, both conventional and organic farmers, a variety of agriculture businesses, and a wide range of bloggers. Why is it that every morning, my twitter feed is clogged with more conventional farmers putting down organic agriculture? The…
Video: “It’s Who We Are, Organic Meadow Farmers”
August 14, 2013
Dairy products have featured prominently in my Twitter feed today, so I wanted to share this series of videos featuring the farmers of the Organic Meadow Co-operative. In my opinion, this is an ideal way to promote a food product: the producers telling their own stories, sharing their own thoughts and experiences, communicating their pride […]
Mid-Summer Update: Guest Posts & New Ideas
August 13, 2013
Hi all, I’ve been pretty quiet on this blog for the past couple of months: the demands of the farm, kids on summer vacation, and other projects have taken their toll on my writing time. Nevertheless, I’ve been compiling ideas for future posts, and I have even been invited to author guest posts on other […]
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 […]
Wordless Wednesday: This is Your Milk. This is Your Milk on Grass.
May 23, 2013
Today’s post came to me this morning while I was milking Bonnie, our Jersey cow, and watching the golden milk froth into the pail. The difference in colour between these two glasses of milk can probably be partially attributed to a difference in butterfat (the store-bought milk is 2% and our own is probably testing […]
Bees & Neonicotinoids: An Organic Farmer’s Perspective
May 3, 2013
The Debate The past several months have seen a lot of coverage of the alleged links between neonicotinoid insecticides (neonics) and widespread, puzzling, and distressing bee deaths. This week saw the European Commission ban the use of neonics for two years, starting in January of 2014. Many groups are calling for similar action on this […]
It’s Time to Re-Focus the GMO Debate
April 20, 2013
Dear friends (anti-GMO and pro-GMO), I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of the debate over genetically modified crops and food. Tired of the constant claim and counter-claim, the hyperbole, the exaggerations, the fear-mongering, the mis-quotes, the lack of context, the narrow perspectives, the sniping and snarking, the name-calling, the disrespect – all […]
The GMO Song: A Ditty About Co-Existence
April 18, 2013
I discovered this video last week over on the Biofortified Blog (a good place to visit for science-based information and discussion on GMOs, despite – or because! – of the pre-dominance of those who support the technology). The video is a good reminder that despite differing opinions, at the end of the day, we’ve all […]
Thoughts on GMO Alfalfa’s Potential Release in Eastern Canada
April 8, 2013
The issue of GMO alfalfa is a hot topic in Canada these days, especially considering the series of protests planned for tomorrow, April 9th, across the country. There’s been a lot of hype around the issue, but here I’ll try to boil it down to a few key points: The End of Organic Farming? Some people claim […]
Does Mark Lynas Represent Leadership or Divisiveness in Agriculture?
April 4, 2013
Background A lot has been said and written about Mark Lynas since his infamous speech to the Oxford Farming Conference in January. To the pro-biotech community, he’s their latest hero: a self-declared “leader” of the anti-GMO movement who “suddenly discovered science” and now offers his unwavering support to genetically-modified crops. To others he’s a “traitor” […]
The Blog of Rob Wallbridge
Occasional posts on food, farming, and related topics from an organic farm in Western Quebec, Canada.
The Fanning Mill 
August 20, 2013
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