Natural Society, By: Christina Sarich, 10/23/2013

Why does it take a lawsuit to get the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to listen? After a 4-year petition to try and convince the FDA that arsenic-laced additives used to feed our chickens, turkeys, and hogs should be removed immediately, the government institution is finally paying attention.

Arsenic occurs naturally in trace amounts on the earth’s surface and in our ground water, but when pumped into our food supply via animal feed and environmental waste, it can cause cancer and other serious health concerns – in every form of life – from plants to human beings.

For more on this story visit www.naturalsociety.com.com

Nytimes, By: Mark Bittman, 10/15/2013

Big Ag uses 70% of agricultural resources to produce 30% of world’s food; small landholders produce the remaining 70% using only 30% of the resources. If we want to ensure that poor people eat and also do a better job than “modern” farming does at preserving the earth’s health and productivity, we must stop assuming that the industrial model of food production and its accompanying disease-producing diet is both inevitable and desirable. I have dozens of friends and colleagues who say things like, “I hate industrial ag, but how will we feed the poor?”

Let’s at last recognize that there are two food systems, one industrial and one of small landholders, or peasants if you prefer. The peasant system is not only here for good, it’s arguably more efficient than the industrial model. According to the ETC Group, a research and advocacy organization based in Ottawa, the industrial food chain uses 70 percent of agricultural resources to provide 30 percent of the world’s food, whereas what ETC calls “the peasant food web” produces the remaining 70 percent using only 30 percent of the resources.

By: Ted Swenen, 10/10/2013

Apples may seem like the last bastion of pesticide-dependent gardening. In many commercial orchards, apples are sprayed 10 to 20 times per year. It’s not hard to find organic home gardeners who still believe it’s nearly impossible to grow good fruit without pesticides. Furthermore, most people probably expect organic fruit to come with a few spots or chew marks. I used to rely on insect traps and biological sprays, and I would still have fruit that was covered with disease and infested with worms. Then I found a way to grow pristine apples without using any kind of spray. Successful organic fruit-growing starts with selecting varieties that are inherently disease resistant. This important first step eliminates half the problem.

For more on this story visit www.realfarmacy.com

By: Sunday Independent, 08/25/2013

A GROUNDBREAKING new Irish technology which could be the greatest breakthrough in agriculture since the plough is set to change the face of modern farming forever. The technology – radio wave energized water – massively increases the output of vegetables and fruits by up to 30 per cent. Not only are the plants much bigger but they are largely disease-resistant, meaning huge savings in expensive fertilizers and harmful pesticides.

Extensively tested in Ireland and several other countries, the inexpensive water treatment technology is now being rolled out across the world. The technology makes GM obsolete and also addresses the whole global warming fear that there is too much carbon dioxide in the air, by simply converting excess CO2 into edible plant mass.

For more on this story visit www.independent.ie