This is hot off the newswire:
“EcoGrain” Marketing Blitz — Greenwashing New Bread Produced with Toxic Agrochemicals as Something /Better/ Than Organic
*Cornucopia, Wisconsin:* With the growing success of organics, and increasing consumer interest in buying foods that were grown on sustainable farms without toxic chemicals, Sara Lee Corporation has launched, with much [...]

As food safety concerns continue to be topics of discussion among growers and policy makers, I thought I would pass along this following information.  There will be a hearing in Columbus on Oct. 6, 2009.  Details are below.

What does “local food” mean to you? As Bear wrote in SlowFood Columbus recently.  As big food industry scrambles to redefine their products as “local”, we must keep in mind the values we embrace as we support local food.
The locavore movement arose at a time when “local” meant not just “from nearby” but also “made [...]

Governor Pat Quinn recently signed into law legislation that will help put more Illinois-grown food on Illinois tables. The law is designed to increase demand for locally grown food by building a reliable market for it at state agencies and facilities that receive significant state support.  Read the Article

Frito Lay is trying to co-op the “local” label by claiming that their chips are locally grown. This revealing article shows why this is an obvious ruse. It is important to know what it means for something to be “local” so that we can respond to attempts to water it down.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/142071?page=entire

GE seed manufacturers stifle independent research
A leading scientific magazine has criticized Monsanto and other major producers of biotech crops for limiting scientists’ work on GE varieties. The editors of Scientific American recently spoke out against the companies’ user agreements that forbid anyone from using GE seeds for independent research. The user agreements prevent anyone from [...]