Or so says a study conducted by Montreal’s Concordia University:

The cultural revolution a generation ago in the 1960s was all about sex. Now, the latest research shows, it’s all about sustainability.Not as titillating a revolution, perhaps, but the outcome is sure important — young adults participating in the new research equate the threat of global warming with the threat their grandparents felt with the onset of the Second World War.

A survey of 8,000 adults from 20 countries revealed that sustainability is the vision and mission for today’s college graduates. So there IS hope after all!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Center for Food Safety reported this week that the U.S. Court of Appeals would uphold an earlier ruling over the impacts of Monsanto’s genetically engineered “Roundup Ready” sugar beets. The previous rulings that favor farmers and conservation advocates will remain in place!

Center for Food Safety (CFS) attorney George Kimbrell:

“Today’s order cements a critical legal benchmark in the battle for meaningful oversight of biotech crops and food.  Because of this case, there will be public disclosure and debate on the harmful impacts of these pesticide-promoting crops, as well as legal protections for farmers threatened by contamination.”

To help in the fight against GE foods, which threatens both our personal health as well as the safety of the entire food supply, visit Organic Consumers for more info.

“The reality is that no grocery store in the United States, no matter what size or type of business, can claim they are GE-free. While we have been and will continue to be staunch supporters of non-GE foods, we are not going to mislead our customers with an inaccurate claim… We have advocated for mandatory labeling of GE foods since 1992…”

—  Whole Foods Market Internal Company Memo 1/30/2011

“Whole Foods claim they support mandatory labeling of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). Well, where are the labels on the vast array of non-organic foods in their stores that contain genetically engineered soybeans, corn, canola, cottonseed oil, or sugar beets? Where are the labels on their so-called “natural” meat, eggs, or dairy products, reared on GMO grains and animal drugs?”

—  Protester at San Francisco Whole Foods Market, April 11, 2011

Fed up? TAKE ACTION.

First up is a brand new page about compost bins for sale that reviews the various types of bins on the market.

Secondly we added a new section in the worm composting page to mention the popular kit Can O Worms composter. Never been a better time to dive into composting!

The Rodale Institute has been doing side-by-side comparisons of conventional and organic farming plots growing soybeans and corn for nearly 30 years and the latest stats are here. The result? The plots continue to have similar yields, but the organic areas performed much better in building soil carbon (which is good for the climate) and retaining nitrogen in the soil, which is a necessity for long term cultivation.

Tom Philpott of Grist Magazine had this to say about the data:

As the globe warms up, increased droughts are likely to reduce global crop yields. The ag-biotech industry is scrambling to come out with “drought-resistant” GMO crops. But organic ag might already have that covered: “In 4 out of 5 years of moderate drought, the organic systems had significantly higher corn yields (31 percent higher) than the conventional system.”

Organic wins again!

• 53% grow vegetables in their gardens
• 90% plan to eat the produce fresh
• 66% will share with friends
• 36% will can or preserve produce
• 24% will donate food to others

A different survey by the National Gardening Association, looked at the reasons people start gardens:

• 58% desire better tasting food
• 54% want to save money on food bills
• 51% want better quality food
• 48% want to grow food they know is safe

You go gardeners! Read the rest of the story from the Mayo clinic.

Monsanto is trying to destroy the food supply, entire ecosystems and all that is good and holy on this little blue ball we call home. While this may seem like hyperbole, it’s not. Sometimes we need to call things like we see them, or in this case — as they ARE. This nasty corporation is trying to re-engineer the entire food system of this planet in their image. Fortunately, the people are fighting back:

A coalition of farmers and environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on March 18 to challenge the agency’s recent decision to fully deregulate Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa.

About 93 percent of the alfalfa planted in the US is grown without herbicides, but up to 23 million more pounds of herbicide could be sprayed annually following the introduction of Roundup Ready alfalfa into America’s fields, according to USDA estimates.

Read more and take action against Monsanto.

Whenever there’s some kind of organic food story in the news, the authors invariably counter any statements about organics with a mention of “conventional farming”. Excuse me? Conventional??

Conventional is defined as “based on or in accordance with what is generally done or believed.” In one very limited sense of the word, that’s true, but as soon as one takes an historical view, the insanity of calling pesticide farming “conventional” is revealed.

Current “conventional” farming practices based on the dumping of vast quantities of petroleum products (AKA fertilizers and pesticides) onto the soil is an aberration in 10,000 years of agriculture. It’s a blip, only practiced in .01 percent of human agricultural experience. Viewed historically, organic farming is conventional and the use of pesticides is an anomaly. A nightmarish one at that.

Vast dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico due to chemical pesticide run-off, poisoned watersheds, dead soils, physical contamination beyond measure… this experiment has run it’s course and to bring about its swift end, we should start by calling it what it is — unconventional farming.

“To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available. Today’s scientific evidence demonstrates that agroecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live – especially in unfavorable environments.

To date, agroecological projects have shown an average crop yield increase of 80% in 57 developing countries, with an average increase of 116% for all African projects. Recent projects conducted in 20 African countries demonstrated a doubling of crop yields over a period of 3-10 years.”

Read the rest of this inspiring eco-farming story.