We recently had the opportunity to serve as contributing authors to the US Food Safety Blog, a leading resource for consumer information on food alerts, recalls, and safe food handling, and our guest post highlighted an important issue that could impact organic food production in our country.
This month, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) could approve a patent for a genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa seed. As the fourth largest crop grown in the US, it is a common food source for organically-raised cattle and livestock and a critical component of the organic food chain.
If the USDA approves this patent, alfalfa seed will become a protected corporate product. As we have learned with corn and soybeans (more than 80 percent of these crops are genetically engineered), this action could dramatically impact the cost and availability of organic foods and threaten the economic viability of many of our nation's small community farmers.
To read our full blog post on the importance of protecting organic food and farming, click here.
Christina Plourde and Allison Brown





