Organic Activists (page 26)

The so-called natural-foods industry just loves a good food scare. Citing "livestock afflicted with Mad Cow or foot-and-mouth disease, taco shells made with genetically modified corn not approved for human consumption, or dairy products laced with antibiotic residue and bovine growth hormones," the Walnut Acres brand of organic-only foods is on the warpath, trying to cash in on consumers' fears.

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) demonstrated in front of a Starbucks coffee shop near the White House today along with cohorts from Friends of the Earth, the Center for…

Organic- and “Natural-” foods activists are a devoted and committed lot, but they don’t always approach the subject rationally. Jim Suber, a Topeka (KS) agriculture columnist — and a farmer…

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Great Britain’s watchdog agency for deceptive ads, ruled this week that Friends of the Earth (FoE) is engaging in unwarranted scare tactics with its latest…

Dean Kleckner, former president of the American Farm Bureau, writes in Friday's Des Moines Register that "only biotechnology can bridge the gap between the growing population and shrinking amount of arable land." Still, commercial enterprises like the clothing manufacturer Patagonia seem bent on steering people away from biotech in order to appear "environmentally conscious"… and, of course, "to sell $110 fleece pullovers."

Noted without comment: "The output of land when growing organic food or supporting 'organic animals' is approximately half the usual yield. This is why organic food is often twice the price of ordinary food. The world could never feed itself this way. The growing methods may differ, but there is no scientific way, known to even our own Food Standards Agency, of distinguishing between organic and conventional foodstuffs. So what is magic about them?"Lord Vinson, Member of the British ParliamentWriting to London's Daily Telegraph on May 5, 2001

Despite the insistence of science that hooked fish feel no pain, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has finally come out in favor of a complete ban on fishing. No sport fishing, no food fishing, no recreational boy-scout fishing. No fun of any kind.

This headline brought to you by the Salt Lake City Deseret News. Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, told the Utah newspaper on Sunday that "The only thing healthy about organic food is the price."

Remember a simpler time when Earth Day was about recycling glass, discouraging litterbugs, and cleaning up oil spills? This Sunday, your local observance of this enviro-religious holiday is more likely…

A USA Today editorial today could go a long way toward dispelling the cultural myths promulgated by the Chefs Collaborative, a group of celebrity chefs bent on making as…