Le Lézard
Classified in: Environment
Subjects: SVY, EXE, STP, AVO

The Cornucopia Institute's New Guide Separates Hydroponic (Soil-less) 'Organic' Produce From the Real McCoy


CORNUCOPIA, Wis., Dec. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A prominent organic industry watchdog, The Cornucopia Institute, has released a report on "organic" hydroponics, exposing a rapidly accelerating trend in organic fruit and vegetable production: the shift to growing produce in industrial settings, with nutrients primarily coming from a liquid fertilizer solution, instead of rich fertile soil, as required by federal law.

The Cornucopia Institute logo

In addition to the report, Cornucopia published a mobile-friendly, buyer's guide, revealing the brands that clandestinely market hydroponic production as organic.

Hydroponic produce is explicitly prohibited from being labeled as organic in Canada, Mexico, and most other developed countries. The European Union recently voted to close a loophole that was permitting a few northern EU states to label hydroponics as "organic." Many countries where growers are prohibited from marketing hydroponic produce as organic, such as Holland, are major exporters to the U.S.

"With hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of venture and equity capital being invested in industrial-scale greenhouses the size of football fields, parking lots filled with thousands of containers with drip irrigation, or 'vertical farms' in cities, consumers and wholesale buyers need a way to discern which certified organic fruits and vegetables are truly nutrient-dense and produced according to the law," said Mark A. Kastel, Executive Director of The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group.

No federal or state regulations require labeling or signage in grocery stores to differentiate conventional or organic hydroponic products from those grown using traditional farming practices, in soil.  The largest hydroponic brands in the country, like giant berry producer Driscoll's and Wholesum Harvest, with massive greenhouses of tomatoes in the desert Southwest and Mexico, say nothing about their production practices on their cases or product labels.

"This is especially egregious in the production of organic food, as consumers are willing to pay a premium based on published research indicating true organic management practices result in nutritional superiority and flavor," noted Kastel.

Thousands of organic consumers have downloaded and signed proxy letters, addressed to the CEOs of major retailers of organic produce in this country, asking them to create in-store signage to help them choose what produce to buy. Cornucopia says that they are currently in discussions with some of the retailers, including Costco, Target, Safeway, Kroger, and Walmart.

"Consumers deserve the right to know," Kastel added.

See more:  https://www.cornucopia.org/2018/12/weeding-the-organic-garden-ferreting-out-corruption/

Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2042

 

SOURCE The Cornucopia Institute


These press releases may also interest you

at 15:05
Ohmium International ("Ohmium"), a leading green hydrogen company that designs, manufactures, and deploys advanced Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, is pleased to announce that it was selected to equip the first green hydrogen project in...

at 14:46
HASA, Inc. (www.hasa.com), a leading provider of Safe, Clean and Clear water treatment for recreational, municipal, and industrial water sanitization, today unveiled the official opening of its new package product manufacturing facility in the...

at 14:16
The board of directors of?Lennox?, a leader in energy-efficient climate-control solutions, approved a 4.5% increase in the quarterly dividend from $1.10 to $1.15?per share of common stock, payable July 15, 2024, to stockholders of record as of?June...

at 14:05
ADM has been recognized as one of "America's Greatest Workplaces for Women 2024" by Newsweek, underscoring ADM's unwavering commitment to fostering an inclusive environment that values diversity, equity and inclusion in all roles and at all levels...

at 14:01
University labs around the world are catalysts for breakthrough discoveries that improve humanity, but their work can be shrouded in mystery. Inside the Lab, a new video and Q&A series from the University of Chicago, pulls back the curtain for a...

at 13:49
Scala Data Centers, the leading Latin American platform of sustainable data centers in the Hyperscale market, celebrates the success of its Proof of Concept (POC) confirming the technical feasibility of using hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO), known...



News published on and distributed by: