Organic cotton acreage is booming. If you know anything about the conventional cotton industry, which uses some of the most hazardous chemicals available, you'll agree this is a good thing.

First, the numbers: The 2008 Organic Cotton Farm and Fiber Report published by Organic Exchange shows organic cotton production increased by 152% in 2007/2008 compared to 2006/2007. This figure includes 22 countries. The top ten organic cotton producers are India, Syria, Turkey, China, Tanzania, USA, Uganda, Peru, Egypt, and Burkina Faso.

The increased acreage reflects the growing demand for organic cotton products, like T-shirts and bedding, and Organic Exchange expects this market to grow as interest in green products expands, even in the face of hard economic times.

There are a lot of organizations and businesses working to reduce our "fiber footprint" and provide cotton growers fair prices. Check out the Sustainable Cotton Project and Fair Trade Labeling Organization International for starters.

Source: The Independent

A debate is taking place in London today called "Irreplaceable -- The World's Most Invaluable Species." Five experts will present their case for five of the world's most important animals and plants: primates, bats, bees, fungi and plankton. (The list is quite short, if you ask me.)

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List has 869 species classed as extinct or extinct in the wild. About 17,000 species are now labeled as threatened by extinction.

What do these species have to do with food? Everything. Because all species are connected (hence my comment about the length of the list).

Take bats and bees. These are two of the most important pollinators on the planet. We've told you about the looming threats to both, including white-nosed fungus in bats and Colony Collapse Disorder in bees. Bats not only pollinate food crops, they manage pests as well. Many crops would fail without the services of these two organisms.

Then there are plankton, which feed species large and small, from almost all fish larvae to the Blue Whale. Believe it or not, half of the world's oxygen is produced by these tiny organisms.

Raising goats for meat is on the rise. And producers are finding that goats make ecological and financial sense for their farms.

USDA says that demand is growing because populations of various ethnic groups in the U.S. that traditionally consume goat, including Middle Eastern, Latin American, and Caribbean, are increasing. In West Virginia alone, the number of meat goats has increased by 14 percent since last year. West Virginia producers have sold a lot locally, but they've also been filling demand in other states.

Goats are easier to raise than cattle because they eat weeds and other brush, harsher gound that typically doesn't sustain other livestock. They can also be raised on a smaller acreage. Not to mention that goats provide milk and wool in addition to meat. (And they're becoming a popular pet.)

Still, much of the goat meat consumed in the U.S. is imported. Each week, goat meat valued at $1.5 million is imported to the U.S.

Since female goats sell for around $400 locally, and male goats about $150, it's a profitable business venture on two fronts: selling goat products and turning devastating weeds into feed.

Source: West Virginia Media

A recent National Marine Fisheries Service ruling found three pesticides culprits in the endangerment of 28 species of Pacific salmon in the West.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that malthion, diazinon and chlorpyrifos—all chemicals long banned in household use—are contaminating rivers and wreaking havoc on salmon. The chemicals interfere with salmon's sense of smell which makes it hard for them to sense predators, find food and even to find their native spawning streams which are crucial to their reproductive process. If the chemicals are concentrated, they'll simply kill the fish.

The US Geological Survey has also found the chemicals in drinking water.

Tens of millions of these compounds are still used on fruit and vegetable farms across the West to combat boll weevils, mosquitoes and termites. Most often used with apples, cherries and potatoes, these pesticides were originally allowed aerial spray parameters of 300 feet and ground spraying at 60 feet. The new parameters allow 1000 feet for aerial spraying and 500 for ground.

Plaintiffs under the Endangered Species Act hope to eliminate use of these pesticides all together, which isn't popular, of course, with farmers who use them. The ruling carries weight and the EPA has to either implement the rule or find an alternative.

No word on how the new rule would be enforced.

Sources: The Daily News Online, The Seattle Times, Plenty

Urban agriculture is hitting the classroom. And we're not just talking about school gardens and farms, which are getting a lot of attention these days.

We're talking about a Chicago technical school and its new urban agriculture program. Daley College's West Side Technical Institute is working with the Chicago Botanic Garden to offer students six months of training in greenhouse agriculture, a three-month paid internship in the field, and lessons in distributing and selling a product. The program hopes to accept its first 15 students in January.

The people behind the program say the goal is to give students skills to grow their own food and feed nearby residents. They hope graduates will move on to do great things in urban agriculture, be it rooftop gardens, urban greenhouses, or urban landscaping.

Source: Associated Press

We know our fisheries are in trouble. As conscious eaters, we do what we can to avoid eating fish at risk. Some of us even carry around one of those handy cards in our wallets -- you know, the one that lists "good fish" and "bad fish" in separate columns. Like these from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

But it's not all doom and gloom says a new report published by the Environmental Defense Fund called Oceans of Abundance.

First the bad news: The report is made up of studies that illustrate the troubling situation of our oceans. Most of the world's fish populations continue to decline rapidly. And around the globe a billion people depend on seafood for much of their diet. In fact, a quarter of our fish populations are already ruined and thousands of fishermen have lost their jobs as a result. In some cases, they're catching more jellyfish than desirable seafood.

Now the good news: The Environmental Defense Fund brought together leading scientists and politicians to come up with solutions. One of their top recommendations is to focus on "catch shares," which are a proven way to reverse current trends by supporting both fish populations and the fishing industry. Here's the gist:

Catch share programs allow fishermen to own shares, or quotas, of the overall scientifically determined catch so they have a direct financial stake in the fishery. They can sell these shares, or buy them from other fishermen. As the fishery recovers, shares grow in value, giving fishermen a vested interest in the health of the ocean.

And the working group is certain that the U.S. Congress and new President can ensure these catch shares work. They recommend legislation that requires catch shares be considered in all fishery management plans by 2012.

"This is one environmental crisis that President-elect Obama can actually solve in the near-term," says Secretary Norm Mineta, Departments of Commerce (2000-1) and Transportation (2001-6).

Read the full report here.

Source: Environmental Defense Fund

Talk about stretching the truth. Tyson Foods, the largest meat producer in the U.S., was labeling its chickens as "raised without antibiotics" before admitting it injected the eggs with antibiotics. Even as USDA pressed the company to be more truthful, Tyson continued a $70 million advertising campaign to convince consumers that its products were "antibiotic-free."

Tyson's competitors, including Perdue, Sanderson and Foster Farms, filed a lawsuit this past spring. They called themselves the "Truthful Labeling Coalition." In May, 2008, a federal judge ordered the poultry giant to stop using the label, and in June, USDA found that Tyson was injecting chicken eggs with an antibiotic that hadn't been disclosed to the agency, called gentamicin.

Although Tyson has now agreed to stop using "raised without antibiotics" labels, it has filed a lawsuit aimed at changing USDA regulations to allow for injecting antibiotics into eggs. We'll see how far they get. There's clearly a pattern in large agribusinesses keeping truth off our food labels through strong lobbying efforts, as we explained earlier today.

Source: Natural News

The Kansas State Department of Agriculture is considering a regulation that would limit dairy processors' ability to label milk products as "rBGH-free."

Sound familiar? We told you about similar initiatives in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and that the Organic Trade Association filed a lawsuit over a Ohio rule that bans rBGH-free labels. The International Dairy Foods Association also joined this case, arguing that the regulation will provide an economic burden to manufacturers that choose to make production claims on their products. Think about all the printing costs a company would face if forced to change its labels. For example, in Kansas, less than 20 percent of the dairy cows are given rBGH. Why should the producers not using the hormone pay the price of stricter labeling?

In February, the Kansas Senate considered a bill that prevents companies from using messages about hormone use on food labels. It hasn't passed, and opponents say the bill and now the proposed department regulation are a result of heavy lobbying efforts by the hormone's manufacturer.

On December 2, 2008, a public hearing will be held at the Kansas Department of Agriculture. You can also submit written comments prior to the hearing. Learn more here.

Sources: Kansas Rural Center, Grand Forks AgWeek