NOSB meeting in Seattle

This article was originally published in January 2011

Mark your calendars: The National Organic Standards Board and the National Organic Program will hold their first meeting ever in Seattle on April 26-29. Consumers, vendors and other organic stakeholders may attend or testify.

The agenda isn’t final but it’s expected to focus on animal welfare and rules on “outdoor access” for organic poultry. Aquaculture also may be debated — whether only vegetarian fish should be certifiable in land-based systems, or whether carnivorous fish, such as farmed salmon and cod, also should be certifiable in open-ocean net pens. This is an unprecedented opportunity to witness the organic rule-making process.

What questions would you like to ask these experts about organic standards? You can sign up to testify before the NOSB at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nosbseattleslots

Visit our NOSB meeting Web page for more information.

We are what we eat and how we eat

Since returning from a Slow Food conference in Italy as a delegate, I’ve been noticing the American organic consumer’s tendency to focus somewhat obsessively on what we eat. It seems that our dietary rules — no gluten, sugar, dairy or nuts, for example — become the goal. Please, don’t get me wrong, I’m not denying the very real allergies and sensitivities that many of us have (me included).

NOSB meeting in Seattle

Also in this issue

What’s ahead in 2011

We are what we eat and how we eat

The Farm Worker Pesticide Project: protecting people and the planet