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Ludgate Farms is a family owned and operated farm market in business in the Ithaca NY area for over 35 years. Products range from fresh organic and local produce, local dairy and cheese, organic and natural groceries and bulk foods to gourmet treats and locally crafted gift items. HOURS -- Our REGULAR HOURS: OPEN all seven days, 9 am - 9 pm all year round. OPEN New Year's Eve and New Year's Day regular hours. (607) 257-1765 [ Map and Directions ] [ Feedback ] |
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NON-Alcoholic sparkling beverages at Ludgate's - Ithaca Ginger Beer and
Root Beer, Reed's Ginger Beer, Martinelli's Sparkling Cider, NYS
Saratoga Sparkling Water, many more.
EPA Sued for Bee Colony Collapse Cover-Up OPEN New Year's Eve and New Year's Day regular hours 9 am - 9 pm -- Our NORMAL retail HOURS: OPEN all seven days, 9 am - 9 pm all year round. Need a Christmas TREE for an Eastern Orthodox Christmas? We still have them! :-) SKI Snacks at Ludgate's - Hundreds of CHOCOLATE bars, Clif Bars, Luna Bars, Lip Balm, Trail Mix and other and SKI snacks! Right on the way to Hammond Hill or Greek Peak from Ithaca - MAP http://www.ludgatefarms.com/map.html The Full Plate Farm Collective Pickup your local CSA share at Ludgate's! December 29 -- sign up for 2009 Summer Shares NOW! Ask for Ludgate Farms pick up option ... http://www.fullplatefarms.org/ New NYS Cheese ... Tom Murray from Muranda Cheese will be sampling out his cheese for a couple hours on Saturday December 20th. This NYS cheese is made from the milk from Tom's own cows! Stop in and try some. :-) Christmas Trees and Wreaths available now..... 12.18.2008 -- We still have a nice selection of exotic and more common firs; stop by and take a look!
As always (well for the past three and a half decades anyway) we have a full selection of quality locally grown freshly pre-cut Christmas Trees for you here. No hiking around in the woods - we've done all that for you! Included in our retail Christmas tree lot are many extraordinary and exotic  varieties:
Fir trees: Canaan Fir, Cork Bark Fir, California Red Fir, Concolor
(white) Fir, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, Grand Fir, Korean Fir, Niko Fir,
Nordman Fir, Pinsapo Fir, Subalpine Fir, Turkish Fir,
Colorado Blue Spruce, Engellmann Spruce and others.The evergreen Christmas Wreaths are handmade by a variety of local artisans including members of the Ludgate family. Our trees are 100% New York State grown on local farms in the Finger Lakes area. These are freshly cut for our retail lot every year at around this time. Because we are selling trees from multiple farms we can offer the very best quality and the hardest to find varieties. And as always: One of our staff will load the tree in your car for you and make a fresh saw cut on the bottom. Also these trees are grown with out the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Buy local and organic ...
The
average American consumes more calories on Thanksgiving Day than any
other day of the year. With the
 average
supermarket food traveling 2500 miles from farm to fork, the
Thanksgiving dinner cornucopia can add up to a substantial amount of
petroleum based energy consumption and greenhouse pollution. This
Thanksgiving, consider taking up the "buy local and organic" challenge.
You can do a world of good by voting with your consumer dollars for
organic and locally or regionally produced food. And don't forget that where you buy your food and other products is just as important as what you buy. Break the Chains of mindless consumerism by patronizing local, independently owned co-ops and businesses whenever possible. Why buy LOCAL?? Local businesses and farms produce more income, jobs, and tax receipts for local communities than big box stores do. Adapted
from - learn more at: http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc.cfm
Apples and other things ... We have at least 15 varieties of NYS apples in stock
now at Ludgate's.
 These are grown on real family farms right here in upstate NY.
these are not experimental apples - these are "the real deal!" :-)Hey - Also don't forget to watch your mailbox for the purple coupon book from the Ithaca Times. Remember the "Good Times Greenback Coupons"? This is very similar, except the coupons are direct mailed to your home instead of handed out on campus ... mmm: and they are purple ... Ludgate Farms is offering 2 coupons with deals on chocolate and plants[-or-wreaths]. See you in the store! -Mike :-) Gift Certificates ... Ludgate Farms of Ithaca NY has gift certificates all year around.  We
now accept GIFT
CERTIFICATE
orders by
telephone with a credit card. We will mail the gift certificate to the
recipient or the giver ... or they can pick it up in the store! Great
way to let your favorite
Cornell University Student or
Ithaca College student choose their own organic, gourmet and local
items from Ithaca, NY ... Some other gift
ideas ...
gourmet
pesto, locally
crafted in Ithaca ceramics (pottery), local greeting cards form ithaca
artists and music from dozens
of local Ithaca musician artists
and some
locally grown jumbo garlic.
Click [ here
] for more photos of our store and some gift ideas ... local Ithaca
music on CD.
Fair trade craft items in Ithaca NY: These gourd Christmas ornaments are hand-made by  artisans in
Huancayo, Peru
where there's a long
and rich tradition in craft production.In Pre-Columbian times, decorated gourds were used throughout the Andes. Gourd vessels were elaborately etched in scenes that told stories - the latest news or ancient legends. Vessels thus decorated were used locally but also to carry messages between regions. Now, the only area where this 2000 year old tradition survives is in the twin villages of  Cocha Chicas and
Cochas Grandes, a short drive from the city of
Huancayo.Gourds are available in a variety of sizes, so artisans usually contract with growers for a certain approximate size in the sowing season, October. The gourds are ready to be worked the following June. The gourds are smooth on the outside and velvety on the inside. The sun-dried gourd is trimmed and washed, readying it for decoration. Decorations are carved, etched and burned into the gourd. Sometimes they are only burned or "toasted", making a design with softer edges than those with carved or etched designs. After a gourd is decorated, it is washed again, and then dried further in a kiln or over a flame. Sometimes a gourd is further decorated by being rewashed and finished. USDA To Deregulate Genetically Engineered Crops December 2008 -- The
U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking to fast-track the
deregulation of Genetically Engineered (GE) corn for ethanol
production, despite growing evidence that GE crops are dangerous for
human health and the environment. GE crops have been forced on
consumers without mandatory labeling or adequate assessment of negative
human health and environmental impacts. A recent study by the Austrian
government even demonstrated how a type of GE corn causes infertility
in lab rats. The current industrialized processes of creating biofuels,
like ethanol, are inherently unsustainable and actually cause more
total greenhouse gases and use more petroleum than gasoline.
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26307 Doubling of Vitamin D for Children Is Urged Appearing in the NY Times Oct 14th Published: October 12, 2008 CHICAGO (AP) — The
country’s leading group of pediatricians is recommending that
children receive double the usually suggested amount of vitamin D
because of evidence that it might help prevent serious diseases. To
meet the new recommendation of 400 units daily, millions of children
will need to take vitamin D supplements each day, the American Academy
of Pediatrics said. That includes breast-fed infants — even those
who get some formula — and many teenagers who drink little or no
milk.
Baby formula contains vitamin D, so infants fed only formula generally do not need supplements. However, the academy recommends breast-feeding for at least the first year of life, and breast milk is sometimes deficient. Most commercially available milk is fortified with vitamin D, but most children do not drink enough of it — four cups daily would be needed — to meet the new requirement, said Dr. Frank Greer, who helped write the report. MORE http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/health/policy/13vitamind.html Hardy Mums are here! :-) SEPT 25th -- Our favorite hardy mum
grower just now delivered another huge truckload of mums! They look
great this year, nice and compact and loaded with flower buds. These
are classic "garden mums" the word "hardy" refers to their ability to
take a frost and keep on blooming - they are not usually expected to
come back next year (if they do for you, that's always a nice bonus!).
Here is a photo http://www.ludgatefarms.com/
Maybe we need a new definition of "sustainable"? I was really shocked to read a campus newspaper article tauting the
genetically engineered rBGH as "safe, harmless and sustainable". See
Cornell Daily Sun on Aug 29 2008. "It's only a protein" one
professor was quoted as saying to the Ivy League audience. Oh?
You mean like these kind of harmless proteins? "The deadly properties of protein toxins and venoms is less widely appreciated. Botulinum toxin A, from Clostridium botulinum, is regarded as the most powerful poison known. Based on toxicology studies, a teaspoon of this toxin would be sufficient to kill a fifth of the world's population. The toxins produced by tetanus and diphtheria microorganisms are nearly as poisonous. A list of highly toxic proteins or peptides would also include the venoms of many snakes, and ricin, the toxic protein found in castor beans." Source http://www.cem.msu.edu/~reusch/VirtualText/proteins.htm Seriously: educate yourself and you will learn that a large protein like this probably does not actually pass into the milk itself (whether it is ":harmless" or not is another question ....), but it stresses the animals' endocrine systems severely enough to cause secondary problems such as smaller molecular weight hormones to pass to the milk ... follow the links :-) OK. I am not an expert on "carbon-footprints" of cows, but I don't really need to use my agriculture degree to figure out that if, the cow doesn't live as long, there is probably not going to be any net gain. Really, I think most people who write about the genetically engineered growth hormone are completely missing the point: by supporting this kind of mega-dairy-agri-business we are further removing ourselves from the true concept of local and family friendly. How "carbon friendly" is it if your milk comes from a 5000 cow mega-herd in Califonia? Instead of a little 100-200 size family size farm that NYS used to be full of? By the way, there is a farm in Dryden NY that belongs to the Organic Valley Co-op! No growth hormones there. :-) The latest news, actually, is that Monsanto, growing weary of all the bad press, finally gave up on this product and sold their interest in the hormone to another corporation, but that's another story. Below are some snippets on the genetically engineered growth hormone from one of the most reliable supporters of local agriculture and small family farms and retailers: The Organic Consumer Association ... please note the quotation marks. -m :-) "As someone who has spent the past 15 years tracking the socioeconomic impacts of genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH) and its widespread adoption, primarily on factory-scale farms. The first bald-faced and outrageous bit of propaganda that this think tank presented was their claim that the genetically engineered rBGH is a ³carbon copy² of what the cow naturally produces, and that use of the drug ³doesn¹t change the milk one bit.² Although the drug, produced through recombinant DNA technology, is quite similar to what the cow¹s pituitary gland manufactures, its chain of amino acids and genetic makeup are "novel." The FDA readily admits this, and of course Monsanto (the drug¹s developer) used these unique characteristics to win a patent for their product. But you don't have to trust groups like the Farmers Union, Rural Vermont, or The Cornucopia Institute, all of which unabashedly support family-scale farmers in their fight to survive the draconian agribusiness juggernaut that has forced so many farmers off the land in Oregon and other states. All you have to do is read the warning insert that the FDA requires in every package of Monsanto's artificial hormone. Based on preapproval testing, it lists numerous serious dairy cow maladies that can result from use. Preapproval testing revealed virulent mastitis infections, commonly requiring stronger and increased treatments with antibiotics, and sometimes causing the death of the cow, among a number of other serious problems related to the cow¹s metabolism and reproduction. Besides increasing milk production, this drug causes an exponential increase in the stress on the animal and statistically shortens its lifespan." SOURCE http://www.organicconsumers.org/rBGH/disinfo32905.cfm ======== another ======= "In the early 1990s, the Food and Drug Administration reviewed a very flawed study funded by Monsanto, the sole manufacturer of the genetically engineered bovine growth-hormone rBGH. If you want to know just how flawed that study actually was, read the detailed reports from the University of Vermont. It is clear from their report they feel pretty bad about being duped into complicity with Monsanto and how such a flawed study could be used to support a product causing such clear problems in animals -- over 15 different problems in fact -- from increased rates of painful mastitis (and subsequent overuse of antibiotics to control it, thereby contributing to the ever increasing problem of human antibiotic resistance), to higher rates of teratogenic defects in offspring of injected cows. Better still, read any of the reports from the scientists of the European Union who unanimously rejected the use of rBGH due to concerns over exactly these animal health concerns, as well as a growing body of human health concerns. After you've finished with those, you might want to read the May 2008 report titled "Monsanto's Harvest of Fear" in Vanity Fair from the double Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist team of Donald Barlett and James Steele. I promise it will be an eye opener, not only on the use of rBGH, but also on the generally horrific (to put it mildly) business practices of its manufacturer, Monsanto. Then read how no long-term studies have been conducted on animals with rBGH; the longest toxicological study conducted prior to the FDA approving rBGH was only 90 days. But as Barlett and Steele so aptly point out, humans drink milk over a lifetime, not over a mere three months. Long-term studies to this day are not forthcoming and Monsanto funded the short studies that exist. Did I mention that those on the FDA approval committee for rBGH had deep professional ties to Monsanto? After you've finished that, then read everything from respected scientists, medical professionals, healthcare and consumer advocates from the Consumers Union, Healthcare Without Harm and Food & Water Watch, just to name a few." SOURCE http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_14203.cfm Over
the past two years, beekeepers have reported an alarming and
potentially catastrophic loss of bees from their hives ranging anywhere
from 30-90 percent. This "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD) isn't just a
problem for beekeepers and farmers, but for consumers as well, since
bee pollination is essential for crop production. The USDA claims that
one out of every three mouthfuls of food is dependant on bee
pollination. Experts have been researching CCD and have linked the
die-off to a number of likely culprits.
One of the likely killers is a new pesticide, clothianidin, approved by the EPA in 2003. Germany and France have banned this type of pesticide to protect their bee population. In the U.S., clothianidin was approved after Bayer CropScience, the chemical's maker, submitted required studies to the EPA regarding the chemical's impact on bees and the environment. Now the EPA is suspiciously and illegally refusing to release these public documents. To expose this cover-up and hopefully to save the bees, last week the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit against the agency. Learn more here School Lab Rats Freak Out on GE Food Ithaca Festival Photos ... Ithaca Festival 2008 Parade Photo Album The SIXTH year of photos from the Ithaca Festival on Ludgate Farms 
website! I'll confess; my initial motivation for this was because
my son, Bryan and daughter, Megan
were stilt walkers in  previous years ... see previous photos
(way) below ... (this year Megan was on a uni-cycle again). But the parade
is such fun and involves so many
local folks - I now try to capture images of the whole
procession to
share each year. Thanks to the unicycle club
members at F.L.O.W. for teaching my
kids and Raylene to Uni-cycle (Keith, Robbert, Brendan, Lesley) This
photo album has 12
pages of thumbnails
for a total of 359
images of the parade Thursday June 19th, 2008. Sorry, if I
missed anybody. These
images are low resolution so they will load over the web fairly quickly
- if you have a favorite and want a hi-res image send me an email
request, I'll try and
accommodate. -Mike :-)The Horse Flies New CD: UNTIL THE OCEAN is NOW ON SALE at Ludgate's [map]
The Flies’ new album, Until the Ocean, is their first
since the passing of
 their beloved bass player of 17
years, John Hayward, in 1997. Recorded at Electric
Wilburland, Pyramid Sound, and the band’s Gray House,
it was mixed by Canadian, Kevin Doyle (Sinead
O’Connor, Van Morrison, Ron Sexsmith, Alannah Myles,
and many more) and mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling
Sound in Manhattan.
The band is excited to celebrate the album release
with Ithaca in a free, outdoor concert, Thursday, June
12 on the Commons in downtown Ithaca from 6:00-8:00
p.m.
This concert is part of the M& T Bank Summer Concert Series, produced by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance. For more information about the series: http://www.downtownthaca.com For more information about the Horse Flies: http://www.thehorseflies.com Withdraw
the National Marine Fisheries
Services Proposed Rule Our oceans are in trouble.
Fisheries are collapsing, pollution is creating dead zones, global warming
is causing the death of corals, and now the National Marine Fisheries
Services (NMFS) is proposing a rule which threatens to completely undermine
application of the law that protects ocean ecosystems. Congress
and President Bush recently revised our nation’s primary fishing law,
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, with bold new provisions to strengthen ocean
fish management. So far, however, successful implementation of
these improvements is being hindered by the very agency charged with
protecting and managing our ocean fisheries. This is evidenced
by NMFS’ recent proposal to revise environmental review procedures
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA’s goal is to ensure
that public officials make informed decisions about the environmental
consequences of their actions. The law requires a thorough environmental
review with full public participation. NEPA reviews have a long
history of environmental success; the law has made it possible to protect
thousands of square miles of coral formations, reduce mortality of endangered
sea turtles and begin the rebuilding of depleted fish populations. Unfortunately, NMFS recently
proposed a new environmental review process which would severely weakens
the application of NEPA to ocean fisheries management and threatens
the ocean legacy of the Bush administration. This proposal is
so fundamentally flawed that we urge NMFS to withdraw it completely
and craft a new rule that will ensure the protection of our ocean ecosystems. Under the current NMFS
proposal: Fishery managers would be
allowed to make decisions without adequately considering the impacts
on other marine life such as seals, corals and endangered sea turtles. The rule proposed by NMFS creates
loopholes which would allow fishery managers to conduct inadequate environmental
reviews of proposed fishing activities by limiting the scope of the
analysis and the management alternatives that may be considered, thus
undermining informed decision-making. The public’s ability to
participate in decisions about the future of our oceans would be significantly
limited. NMFS has the ability to reduce
the public comment period for draft environmental reviews from 45 days
to just 14 days. Furthermore, members of the public are prohibited
from future participation if they do not comment during this initial
round, while fishery managers are allowed to adopt last-minute
alternatives after the close of the comment period. We all have
a stake in healthy oceans, but the NMFS proposal unacceptably gives
the last say to a small group of fishery managers, many of whom have
a financial stake in the decision. Responsibility for conducting
environmental review is inappropriately given to the regional fishery
management councils who have mismanaged our ocean fish for decades. The Magnuson-Stevens Act and
NEPA clearly mandate that NMFS has a legal responsibility to oversee
the environmental review process for fishery management decisions.
Contrary to Congressional intent, the new proposal transfers this power
to regional fishery management councils, which are often dominated by
fishing interests and have been responsible for decades of mismanagement
and declines in our ocean resources. With over 40 ocean fish stocks
in the United States currently subject to overfishing, combined with
declining ocean health due to pollution, coastal development, and global
warming, NMFS must implement fishery management measures based on sound
environmental review. Unfortunately, the agency’s recent proposal
does not do so. By withdrawing the rule and re-writing it to address
the above concerns, NMFS can protect ocean ecosystems and the livelihoods
of those who depend on them. For more information, please contact Lee Crockett, director of federal fisheries policy at the Pew Environment Group, at (202) 552-2065 or lcrockett@pewtrusts.org. Visit our new Web site at www.endoverfishing.org Rootwork Herbals NEW Local Handmade Herbal products at Ludgate's Extracts, Teas, Salves ... From Amanda's brochure: "Our Offering - Rootwork Herbals is our  family's
offering towards greater health and wholeness. To this end, we have
dedicated ourselves to providing our community with lovingly hand- made
herbals of the highest quality.We are a small home-based business located in the beautiful and abundant Finger Lakes region of New York State. We are fully committed to living a life in balance with the Earth. This commitment guides us to only use organically grown or consciously wildcrafted herbs along with other all-natural ingredients, sourced as close to home as possible. We do not use anything that we feel degrades the Earth and so our products are free from petroleum based ingredients, GMO's, parabens, synthetics, preservatives, fragrances and essential oils. We also strongly believe that the plants which grow near you, provide you with the best medicine. Therefore, we focus on utilizing the plants that grow in our own backyards and only offer our products regionally. The true quality of our products is rooted in the plants and our relationship to
them. We devotedly grow and wildcraft herbs so that we can guarantee
their freshness and vitality. We then gather our herbs at the peak of
their potency, closely following the plant's life cycle, as well as
seasonal rhythms. Once harvested, we immediately begin the medicine
making process so that the plant's energy is not lost. All of our
medicines are made by our hands in small batches with every detail
accounted for. We truly feel that our finished products give honor to
the sacred plants who have given their gifts, so that we all may heal. Our Family - It is our family's sincere wish to be able to assist people on their paths toward health and wholeness. To better facilitate this we have spent
years in study. The mother of the Rootwork Herbals family is Amanda
David. She has graduated from Dominion Herbal College, apprenticed at
Herb Pharm and with Susun Weed and is currently continuing her studies
at the Boston School of Herbal Studies and with Aviva Jill Romm. Her
partner, Cameron Murdock graduated from the New Mexico College of
Natural Healing with a degree in Herbalism and also brings his
experience as an organic farmer. The children of the family, Abiah and
Irijah are also deep in study and play with the plants and remind their
elders that the true wisdom of the plants is given to us from the
plants themselves."Another New local CD Now Available at Ludgate Farms! Glass of Water is pleased to present their debut CD: All the Other Fine Things After swapping a
few CD’s, Emily
and Sophia met to sing in a stairwell on
 the
Cornell University campus
and were delighted and shocked to find they couldn’t tell
their
voices
apart. Now as “Glass of Water,” they sing
a wide
range of
traditional and traditionally-based tunes, including ballads from
Appalachia and the British Isles, shape note hymns, and anything they
can arrange for tight treble harmonies. "They have a
remarkable
knack for creating distinctive arrangements and weaving intricate vocal
lines. Their blithe singing shows a deep affection and respect for
their eclectic sources.""All the Other Fine Things includes some of our favorite traditionals that we've been singing for years, and some newer arrangements of songs by contemporary composers and singer-songwriters. From the chilling harmonies of "The Summer Day" to the spunky lyrics of "Who's Gonna Shoe", we think you'll really enjoy this mix! The entire album is the two of us singing acapella, with a few surprises thanks to Will Russell at Electric Wilburland." http://www.glassofwatermusic.com/ Ludgate Farms has tickets for ... http://www.cornellfolksong.org/ New Old Time CD! "It's About Time" Great local Ithaca old-time music on sale at Ludgate Farms :-) Here's a rare note from Mac Benford, he's usually too busy playing music  to
write! "I
thought you might be interested to know that I have a new CD, just
recently released (see the attachment). It’s a collaboration
with
my long-time musical pal, John Hoffmann, and it features our two bands,
The Haywire Gang and UpSouth,. as well as many duets by me and John.
Thanks for your interest and support -Mac Benford"It's About Time features John Hoffmann and Mac Benford, two powerful musicians in their first recording together. On 22 tracks, John and Mac demonstrate their versatility, with fiddle-banjo duets, banjo-guitar duets, twin banjo tunes, ballads and hot old-time fiddle tunes. Joining Mac and John on three tracks is Randi Beckmann. This trio forms the hot dance band UpSouth. Another trio configuration featured on this album is The Haywire Gang, which includes John, Mac and Paula Bradley (guitar, banjo uke & vocals). The Haywire Gang is featured on nine tracks. THE DARK SIDE OF ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL SUBSIDIES NY Times article Americans now understand that climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases are a major threat to our survival. Unfortunately, large corporations have convinced Congress to ignore real solutions to the crisis (like significant advances in fuel-efficiency), while providing billions of dollars per year in subsidies to big-agribusiness for agrofuels. More than a hundred U.S. based and international organizations, including the Organic Consumers Association, are calling for a moratorium on the more than $8 billion of annual government subsidies paid to large corporations producing agrofuels from industrial-scale genetically engineered crops. Family farmers currently receive only a small portion of annual funds allocated to agrofuels. While billions of dollars in subsidies for corn, soy and palm oil-based agrofuels, certainly result in higher profits for corporate giants such as Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, and Monsanto, their overall contribution to reducing reliance on foreign oil and greenhouse gases is negligible (see facts below). Government support for agrofuels in the U.S. costs taxpayers roughly $2 per gallon in subsidies at the gas pump. These misguided funding priorities have taken tens of billions of dollars of funding away from essential greenhouse gas reduction policies, such as energy conservation, solar and wind power, fuel-efficiency technologies, and mass transit. While the OCA supports the production of biofuels from recycled waste (such as used vegetable oil, manure or sewage) and biomass sustainably grown and harvested for the benefit of local communities, the current focus is a recipe for disaster. QUICK AGRO-FUEL FACTS ...
Source articles --
Learn more and sign the Agrofuel Moratorium Petition today: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_9980.cfm
Organic, According to Whom?
While the US currently has no organic seafood standard, it is on its way to establishing organic standards for at least some farmed fish in the not too distant future (see following section).
In the absence of US organic standards for farmed fish, the US has been allowing imported seafood to be labeled as organic within the US marketplace. Not only is there major concern among consumer advocacy and conservation groups that this practice leads to consumer confusion, but that some of this so-called “organic” seafood in our markets today does not meet US organic principles. For instance, “organic” farmed salmon certified by the UK Soil Association allows farmers to use toxic chemicals to treat parasites and allows them to discharge untreated wastes (including these chemicals) into the marine environment.
Furthermore, many of these groups in the US and Canada argue that carnivorous fish (require wild fish for feed) and open net cage systems are inherently incompatible with organic principles. Thus, carnivorous fish that are farmed in open net cages – such as salmon and cod – should not be even considered for the US organic label. If the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) agrees - and chooses not include carnivorous fish or fish farmed in open net cages in its upcoming organic standards - the question becomes whether or not the US will continue to allow imported “organic” seafood of this nature into the US market given there will still be no US standard.
The Pure Salmon Campaign argues that in order to maintain the integrity of the organic label, only those products for which there is an established USDA organic standard should be allowed to carry an “organic” label in the US market. And, if the USDA decides to abandon or postpone an organic standard for certain seafood like farmed salmon, then there should be no “organic” product of this nature in the US market. Period.
The Pure Salmon campaign's website is www.puresalmon.org, and the Conserve Our Ocean Legacy (COOL) campaign's website is www.oceanlegacy.org. King Corn King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. |
