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Kathleen
Merrigan, deputy secretary at the Agriculture Department, sat down
with The Washington Post to discuss the agency's eight-year-old National
Organics Program and the challenges ahead for the organics market,
which is growing as much as 20 percent a year. In an investigation
published last year, The Post pointed to several problems in the
program, including the agency's failure to discipline violators and to
properly test products labeled organic. The USDA's inspector general

This past Friday night I watched Jamie Oliver (formerly the Naked Chef) in the two-hour premier of his new prime-time TV show, called Food Revolution. It was a shocking show to watch -- and a good look into the problems we face as a country, or better yet, as humanity.

Living out here at the end of my dirt road, I welcome spring with simple rituals around my small farm. One of my favorites involves turning rows of earth into a new garden and sowing heirloom seeds I've saved from last season's harvest. These are things I know to be good.

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The current crop of superweeds plaguing farmers who rely on Monsanto's RoundUp pesticide represents by now a well documented crisis. But watch out, world! Here come the superbugs.

That’s right, Monsanto’s other flagship product, its "Bt" line of genetically modified seeds which emit their own pesticide in the form of a naturally occurring toxin, is now under threat from resistant insects. Science Magazine has the details.

It’s always made sense to me to choose organic foods and products. After all, who wants a side of toxic pesticides with her luscious spring strawberries? But attending the Organics Matters panel at the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim inspired me to recommit myself to the organics cause. Let me tell you why.

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WOW: So tell us, I mean I don’t want to steal your thunder – I seem to know more about you than you do at this moment, but you come from a fantastic family background that makes you just right to have written this important book. Maybe you just tell us a little bit about your grandfather and your dad.
   

Is organically grown food safer or more nutritious? Consumers should weigh the cost vs. benefits

Some consumers are more than willing to pay higher prices for organically grown food. But are organic strawberries worth the extra dollar?

A new documentary, co-produced by a local man, is touring the nation in a campaign to unveil the world of organic foods, and will be making a stop at the Gainesville Environmental Film and Arts Festival on Wednesday.

The film "What's Organic About Organic?" - co-produced by Marty Mesh, a locally based former organic farmer and executive director of Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers Inc. - examines organic farming and its effects on society. It will be shown at the Hippodrome State Theatre starting at 8:25 p.m.

PLATTEVILLE — The cows turning out "certified" milk for Aurora Organic Dairy will get a guaranteed 120 days in the rolling pastures here under federal rules taking effect in June.

The change will help ease concerns among consumers about the purity of organic product, government officials and industry executives say.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's current rules require only that organically raised livestock have access to pasture.