What is Monsanto’s relationship with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration? How about Monsanto’s relationship with Washington’s power brokers? In Part 2 of this series, the links between former Monsanto Executives, senior U.S. Bureaucrats and Politicians is considered. Watch out for the interview with Andrew Kimbrell from the Center for Food Safety. Andrew raises some very serious concerns regarding the independence of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Sphere: Related Content

The Organic Center performs a crucial role in combatting the myths routinely espoused and actively promoted by today’s global agrochemical companies. The Organic Center undertakes and commissions scholarly research across all aspects of both organic and conventional agriculture. As such, they are particularly well positioned to provide relevant insights into the benefits of leading an organic lifestyle. The following video provides a synopsis of the work performed by The Organic Center as well as offering some robust data supporting organic food consumption. It also introduces the Center’s Mission Organic 2010, which aims to increase organic food consumption in the US from its current level of 3% to 10% by 2010. This is a really...

Shade grown coffee requires higher levels of commitment to sustainable land management practices than conventional coffee growing. In this video, Gary Stenlin introduces us to La Patriana, the only certified bird friendly organic coffee plantation in Costa Rica. As Gary explains, shade grown coffee requires significantly higher labor inputs than conventionally grown coffee. This benefits the local community of San Ramon in a number of important ways, not the least of which is through its capacity to deliver employment and training opportunities to local people. If you’re someone who is contemplating a semester abroad, you might like to check out some of the experiential learning opportunities provided by Earth Education International. Sphere:...

The main threat to black pepper crops is the fungus Phytophthora capsici. This particular fungus causes root and crown rot in black pepper crops. In this video, Jose Elanjhimattam, an organic farmer from Kerala, India explains how, by applying the liquid captured from his compost heap, he is able to effectively eliminate the impact of the fungus on his organically grown black pepper crops. He also explains how the worm castings from the compost heap provide a rich source of soil nutrients. Sphere: Related Content

Like many organic farmers, Jose Elanjhimattam is both a practical and abundantly resourceful man. Starting with cow dung, Jose has created an ingenious system that simultaneously captures and separates nitrogen-rich organic manure and methane gas. Unlike dried cow dung, which tends to lose nitrogen throughout the drying process, the liquefied organic manure produced through Jose’s slurry provides soil with far higher levels of nitrogen. Additionally, the methane gas removed is used as a form of fuel. Jose estimates that the dung from two cows is sufficient to provide enough biogas to support the cooking requirements of a family of four. Resourceful, intelligent, simple – great stuff! Sphere: Related Content