NOC Archives · Roger Blobaum

Article published in “The Environmental Magazine” – Eating As If the Earth Mattered 1992

The Environmental Magazine | Eating As If the Earth Mattered Click for pdf file: January/February 1992 | Eating as if the Earth Mattered By Roger Blobaum and Lisa Lefferts January/February 1992 Environmentally savvy consumers steer clear of toxic cleaners, bleached coffee filters and plastic bags at the supermarket, and fret about the recyclability of containers.…

INSIDE ORGANIC: USDA’s Surprising Decision to Order a Rigorous Outside Audit of Its Organic Accreditation Program Is a Huge Step Forward (Sept/Oct 09)

by Roger Blobaum · Inside Organics · January, 2007 After seven long years of stonewalling to block independent review and oversight of its troubled organic program, it looks like the U.S. Department of Agriculture may have its hands full in the coming year with not one, but two, organic program audits.

INSIDE ORGANIC: National Organic Program Is Undermining Materials Review Authority Granted to the NOSB to Help Define Organic and Guarantee Its Integrity (Sept/Oct 08)

by Roger Blobaum · Inside Organics · Sept/Oct 2008 The authority Congress gave the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to help define organic and guarantee organic integrity is being seriously eroded by National Organic Program (NOP) actions involving approval of materials for the National List of substances allowed in organic production. Worse yet the NOSB,…

INSIDE ORGANIC: Farm Bill Includes Significant Gains for Organic Farming But Falls Far Short of Achieving an Organic ‘Fair Share’ (July/Aug 08)

by Roger Blobaum · Inside Organics · July/Aug 2008 The five-year farm bill that survived a relentless attack on farm subsidy payments and a Presidential veto before becoming law includes important organic farming advances and improvements and higher funding levels for organic programs. Overall, however, the $307 billion initiative does not go nearly far enough…

INSIDE ORGANIC: Controversial Congressional “Oink Oink” Funding Process Is Potential Source of More Organic Program Support (May/June 08)

by Roger Blobaum · Inside Organics · May/June 2008 After doing well in a long campaign to increase support for organic agriculture in the farm bill, organic advocates are looking ahead to USDA implementation of programs with newly mandated funding and the annual push to convince lawmakers who appropriate money annually to do more to…

INSIDE ORGANIC: IFOAM’s Drive to Ditch Its Basic Standards Stirs Up A Global Fight Over Organic Values (March/April 08)

by Roger Blobaum · Inside Organics ·March/April 2008 The organic community’s market expansion vs. organic values debate has heated up worldwide over a determined effort by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) to ditch the basic standards developed over 30 years as the gold standard for organic. The proposal to replace the IFOAM…

INSIDE ORGANIC: Organic Farmers Make Gains in Political Access and Support For Organic Appropriations and Farm Bill Organic Initiatives (May 07)

by Roger Blobaum · Inside Organics · May 2007 A series of recent developments strongly suggest that organic farmers and others in the rapidly growing organic sector have gained new political access and support that will enhance their ability to influence both annual organic program funding and the 2007 farm bill process unfolding on Capitol…