WASHINGTON - The issue of mandatory country-of-origin labeling for red meat and other agricultural products was raised to the level of the 2004 presidential campaign last week.

Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean, a former Vermont governor, issued a statement criticizing President Bush and congressional Republicans over their plans to delay labeling for most products until 2006. Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who supports labeling, said he hopes labeling does become an issue in the campaign, and a coalition of 165 farm groups wrote Bush urging him to intervene with Congress to stop the delay.

The fiscal year 2004 omnibus appropriations bill filed in the House last week would delay implementation of a provision in the 2002 farm bill that requires country-of-origin labeling at the final point of retail sale for red meat, peanuts and fresh fruits and vegetables until Sept. 30, 2006, but would allow provisions requiring labeling for wild and farm-raised fish to go into effect Sept. 30, 2004.

For the complete article go to: COOL

A trade war is looming over America's insistence in using European names such as Champagne and Chianti to describe its wines. Washington is already under fire from major trading partners over tariffs protecting its steel industry, which were recently ruled illegal by the World Trade Organisation. The European Union Japan and China have threatened retaliation.

For years the $2bn (£1.2bn) US wine industry has used geographic place names such as Champagne, Chianti, Madeira, Port and Sherry to brand its wine.

But that has been challenged by Europe during talks to renew a trade agreement due to expire on 31 December. The US has refused to budge, and last week walked away from the negotiating table.

The European Commission is now weighing whether to continue talks or allow the trade agreement to lapse, a move that could close European markets to US wines.

For the complete article go to: Wine Battle

"Doc" Hatfield can control plenty of things about his eco-friendly Oregon Country Beef label, from the ranchers who contribute cattle to the cooperative to the "Graze Well" principles meant to ensure the health of the land where they roam.

But he can't guarantee that a retailer, looking to increase profits, won't stick his prized label in a case that holds factory-farmed meat. He turns down four out of every five requests for his premium beef, stocking only those retailers he thinks share his values.

Phil H. Webber / P-I Bob Sanders, Madison Market's meat department manager, stocks organic meats. The store has been certified as organic. So Hatfield was "astounded" by the news last month that Puget Consumers Co-op, one of his long-standing retailers, had apparently misled customers by selling some ordinary fish under a national "Ecofish" program that was meant to be committed to selling only environmentally sound seafood.

The scandal has highlighted one of the messy truths of today's dolphin- safe, free-ranging, rain-forest-crunching, hormone-free grocery shopping: Some of the labels meant to appeal to the nation's growing ranks of environmentally conscious consumers are sound. But others are virtually meaningless.

Read the rest of the article at: Faulty Labels

LAFARGE, Wis., -- By staying independent, going organic and using the cooperative system, U.S. farmers can get 60 percent more pay and buck the trend that is putting 330 of them out of business each week, according to George Siemon, founding farmer, Organic Valley Family of Farms, the only national organic dairy to remain independent.

"Organic Valley's goal is to plough our profits back into the earth and our rural communities. Remaining independent ensures our farmers stay on the land, preserve the environment and give consumers safe, delicious food," said Siemon, whose cooperative has been 100 percent farmer owned since its founding in 1988.

In 2003, the Organic Valley model generated record success. The co-op stayed independent, met consumer demand for organic food, labeled its 130 products according to the new USDA organic standards, brought 118 new farmers into the co-op for a national total of 633 farmers in 16 states and one Canadian province, and added 2,675 cows and 15,000 acres into the organic system for a national total of 20,475 cows and 90,000 acres.

Find out more at: Organic Valley

Residents of San Francisco's tony Noe Valley, still seething over the sudden closure of a local health-food store and the firing of 30 unionizing workers, have a message for big, out-of-state companies that won't play ball with the community:

Our way or the highway.

As Utah vitamin giant Nutraceutical International proceeds with a makeover of the temporarily shuttered Real Food Co. outlet on 24th Street, and as the sacked workers pursue grievances with federal authorities, local residents are preparing to open a first-ever Noe Valley Farmers Market on Saturday.

If successful, the farmers market, located on 24th between Sanchez and Vicksburg streets, could evolve into a neighborhood-run co-op, organizers say. It could even lead to a buyout of the Real Food store if Nutraceutical decides it doesn't have the stomach for all this grassroots activism.

For the rest of the article go to: Workers' Move

AMES, Iowa - Consumers who participated in a recent marketing survey for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture were enthusiastic about locally grown food and supportive of the farmers who grow it.

The term locally-grown, when combined with family farms, appears to be a powerful marketing message," said Leopold Center Marketing and Food Systems coordinator Rich Pirog. "Consumers said that if price and appearance were equal, they would choose products with these features over organic options."

Pirog's observations stem from an Internet study that tested prototypes for food ecolabels - seals or logos indicating that a product has met a certain set of environmental and/or social criteria. The study included survey responses from more than 1,600 consumers in Iowa and seven other Midwestern states and the Boston and Seattle metropolitan areas.

To read more about the study's findings go to: Ecolabel Values

Research conducted by the Food Systems Research Group (FSRG) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, analyzed consumer buying behavior in a 12 metropolitan markets over five years. Researchers found that, among dairy products, consumers pay up to $1.50 per gallon more for milk labeled as rBST-free. RBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin) is an artificial growth hormone given to some cows to increase milk production. Researchers also found consumers pay $3.00 per gallon more for milk labeled as organic.

To download the research report, titled "Milk Buy Any Other Name...Consumer Benefits From Labeled Milk," visit the FSRG website: http://www.aae.wisc.edu/fsrg/

The site also contains information, fact sheets and resources on animal production in the United States.

Check it out: Eat Well Guide

For more information go to: The Conscious Consumer

The workshop is part of the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) Annual Conference weekend. Registration is $15 registration for PFI members, (those postmarked by December 17 receive a $10 discount, for a total cost of $5). The registration fee for non PFI members is $20, minus a $5 discount, if postmarked by December 17.

To learn more about the workshop, visit PFI's website: PFI Conference