Experts defend law from industry’s continued legal challenge

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Center for Food Safety submitted a legal filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in support of Vermont’s genetically engineered (GE) food labeling law, Act 120. The CFS brief was filed on behalf of a broad-based coalition, including five expert Ph.D. scientists, two farming organizations, and environmental groups CFS and the Sierra Club. Signed into law in May 2014, Act 120 was challenged in court just one month later by “Big Food” and Agriculture interests represented by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). In April 2015, the Federal District Court of Vermont rejected GMA’s claims, and upheld Vermont’s law as constitutional. GMA appealed the decision and the case, the first regarding whether States can require the labeling of GE food, is now before the Second Circuit. [Read more…]

Project seeks to address issues of agricultural intensification

DURHAM, NH — In the first study of its kind, new research from the University of New Hampshire shows that crop rotations, in isolation from other management factors, can increase the functions performed by soil microbial communities that benefit plant growth. The study was conducted by researchers with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station. [Read more…]

Nea-Tocht Farm in Ferrisburg, VT Holds First Free Breakfast and Farm Tour

FERRISBURG, VT — Hundreds of people experienced a day in the life of a dairy farmer and got a delicious meal at Vermont’s first Breakfast on the Farm on Saturday, Aug. 22 at Nea-Tocht Farm in Ferrisburg, VT.
The free, public event included a pancake breakfast served from 9 a.m. to noon, self-guided tours of the dairy farm and a peek into the life and business of dairy farming in Vermont where 63 percent of the milk in New England is produced, according to USDA data.
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by Laura Rodley

BUCKLAND, MA — When Edward Scott was a boy growing up in Ashfield, MA his family’s farm had an apple orchard, chickens and cows. He became well known for his gift of working with apple trees. “The kids would pick apples when the other apple pickers were away at war,” said his daughter, Donna Scott. Her mother, Janice, and Edward attended the same school. “During WWII, the high school closed and students went out to help farmers. Apples were a big crop in this area, a way farmers got money. They’d pick apples in the fall and ship them.” [Read more…]