Organic Food

Campbell McCreary drives a tractor through a field in Toledo, Iowa. He raises organic soybeans, corn and other crops with his father, Craig McCreary.

USDA strengthens rules and enforcement to make sure organic products are really organic

Elizabeth Rembert

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reinforced oversight on organic certification and enforcement to prevent mislabeled products, in what advocates are calling the biggest update in decades.

Much of the bioengineered labeling winds up on products that contain ingredients made from four GMO foods: corn, canola, soybeans and sugarbeets. But this presents a sort of loophole because not all ingredients are required to be disclosed as bioengineered if their modified genetic material is undetectable.

GMO food labeling has been required in the U.S. for a year. Have consumers noticed?

Katie Peikes

Genetically modified foods have been on supermarket shelves since the 1990s, but they’ve only required a label for the last year. The USDA says implementation and compliance with the program have been “successful,” while experts suggest consumers aren’t noticing the labels.

Turkeys being raised at Buttonwood Farm in California, Missouri, a free range farming facility

Economy & Business

Thanksgiving Will Look Different This Year, But Small Turkey Farmers Say They'll Be OK

Jonathan Ahl

The coronavirus pandemic has led to fewer and smaller Thanksgiving gatherings, hurting turkey sales overall. But the niche turkey farmer is somewhat immune from the trend.

Organic products often have a number of labels on them, but the USDA Organic lable is the only one that's federally certified by accredited agents. Some in the food system are trying to pass off conventional food as organic as a way to make more money.

Missouri Farmer Pleads Guilty To $140 Million Organic Grain Fraud Scheme

Frank Morris

A Missouri farmer has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges after he charged customers more than $140 million for conventionally produced grain sold...

In Organic Labels Consumers Trust, But Fraud Threatens The Industry

Kristofor Husted

Peyton Manning, the NFL quarterback-turned-pitchman, apparently has another side hustle: Certifying shipments of grain as organic for a Nebraska-based...

Health, Science & Environment

Supporters of organic agriculture question Beachy's appointment to research institute

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 9, 2009 - When Roger Beachy took over in October as the first director of the National Institute…