Organic Farm Receives $1M Verdict Over Pesticide Contamination

"SANTA CRUZ, California, September 29, 2008 (ENS) - A Santa Cruz County jury has awarded $1 million to an organic farm in Santa Cruz whose edible herbs were contaminated by pesticides applied to vegetables on nearby farms.

Lawyers for Jacobs Farm / Del Cabo said today that organophosphate pesticides evaporating after application and then blowing onto the organic herbs made it impossible for Jacobs Farm to sell significant portions of its 2006 and 2007 harvests of sage, rosemary and dill.

While there are rules in place to control pesticide drift from aerial spraying, neither federal nor state governments regulate evaporative drift of pesticides."

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Organic Rice from Cambodia to be Exported to U.S. and Germany

"THE Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC) will export more than 230 tonnes of organic milled rice to Germany and America, Yang Saing Koma, president of CEDAC, told the Post on Thursday.

The shipments would include 200 tonnes to Germany for Rickmers Rice in November and another 30 tonnes to America for the Lotus Food Co early next year.

"We now have more than 600 tonnes of organic milled rice to sell locally and to export to Germany and the United States," Yang Saing Koma Koma said.

This year, CEDAC plans to buy about 2,000 tonnes of organic paddy rice, up from 1,200 tonnes it bought last year."

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Paul Newman's Legacy of Healthy, Philanthropic Foods

"As much as Paul Newman, who died today, was known for his acting, he also had a large impact on the food industry.

He founded Newman's Own Foods in 1982 with a neighbor, and since then all proceeds have gone toward charity. To date, Paul Newman and the Newman's Own Foundation have donated more than $250 million to charities worldwide.

His food proceeds go to good causes and many products are good for you as well."

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Pacific Natural Foods Almond Beverages Are Going Organic

"Industry reports show consistent growth in organic food and beverages and Pacific® Natural Foods is responding to this high demand for organic beverages by converting its entire all-natural non-dairy Almond Beverage line to organic, becoming the only brand in the marketplace with a full line of organic non-dairy almond beverages.

The complete line includes: Organic Almond Original, Organic Almond Vanilla, Organic Almond Unsweetened Original and Organic Almond Unsweetened Vanilla in 32oz aseptic containers; and Organic Almond Chocolate and Organic Almond Vanilla in 8 oz. four packs. The suggested retail prices for the 8 oz. four packs are $3.49-$3.99 and the 32 oz. beverages are priced at $2.49-$2.99.

Kevin Tisdale, director of marketing at Pacific Natural Foods, said the new Organic Almond Beverages are a natural progression for the company – a leading manufacturer of non-dairy, alternative beverages."

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Bush Administration Says Pesticide Testing is "Too Expensive"

"WASHINGTON—The Bush administration has abruptly halted a government program that tests the levels of pesticides in fruits, vegetables and field crops, arguing that the $8 million-a-year program is too expensive—a decision critics say could make it harder to protect consumers from chemicals in their food.

Data from the 18-year-old Agricultural Chemical Usage Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture were collected until this year, and the Environmental Protection Agency used the data to set safe levels of pesticides in food.

The information was also widely used by university and food industry researchers, including a University of Illinois program to help farmers reduce the amount of pesticides they use."

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Annie's Sustainable Agriculture Scholarships

"Sustainable and organic agriculture is at the very root of our philosophy: Planet to Food. Food to People. People to Planet. We believe that healthy soils and healthy farms are the foundation for healthy foods, which help make healthy people! Therefore, we’re proud to support the next generation of farmers.

Through our Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship program, we will award $50,000 in scholarship assistance each year to some very deserving students.

We are currently accepting applications for the 2009/2010 school year. Please click here for eligibility guidelines and the application."

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CLIFBAR to Release Benefit Album

"CLIF(R) GreenNotes(TM), a powerful collaboration of musical acts and environmental action from the maker of the all-natural and organic CLIF(R) BAR energy bar, celebrates its fourth year with five new artists, a benefit album and musically inspired clean-up events.

CLIF GreenNotes (www.clifgreennotes.com), which helps musicians reduce the environmental impact of their tours and engages music fans to protect
the planet as well, today introduced the five new, emerging artists participating in the program:

-- Missy Higgins, a 25-year-old Melbourne, Australia, native who crafted Australia's best-selling album of 2005;

-- Josh Ritter, named one of the 100 Greatest Living Songwriters by Paste Magazine;"

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