Organic Valley Reading Room

We've created this resource so you can learn more about the many issues surrounding organic farming and foods.

Please contact us if you have resources or reports to share with our readers.

Nutrition

Benefits of Organic

This article looks at published information that shows that organic food is substantially healthier than conventional food. Research published in a 2001 study showed that the current fruit and vegetables in the United States have about half the vitamin content of their counterparts in 1963.

Organic Center Report Indicates Organic Foods have Elevated Levels of Antioxidants

The Organic Center's second State of Science Review (SSR) concludes that organic farming methods have the potential to elevate average antioxidant levels, especially in fresh produce.

Influence of organic diet on the amount of conjugated linoleic acids in breast milk of lactating women in the Netherlands(pdf)

The aim of the present study was to find out whether the incorporation of organic dairy and meat products in the maternal diet affects the contents of the conjugated linoleic acid isomers (CLA) and trans-vaccenic acid (TVA) in human breast milk. Hence, the levels of CLA and TVA in human milk can be modulated if breastfeeding mothers replace conventional dairy and/or meat products by organic ones. A potential contribution of CLA and TVA to health improvement is briefly discussed.

When Soy meets Girl

Naturopathic physician Dr. Tori Hudson presents her candid opinions on the benefits of foods made with whole, organic soybeans.

Still No Free Lunch: Nutrient levels in U.S. food supply eroded by pursuit of high yields

Steady progress in increasing crop yields and animal production levels has often been achieved at the expense of food nutrional quality, the environment, and in some cases, food safety and animal health.

This "Critical Issue Report" documents the extent of nutrient decline, reviews ways that farmers and breeders can increase nutrient density, and explains the importance of doing so in order to improve public health.

Farming

One Nation, Organically Grown

How the National Organic Program affects organic foods and farming, today and tomorrow.

Doing Well by Doing Good

Organic Valley's milk, butter, cottage cheese and soy milk are on the shelves of more than 10,000 stores from coast to coast. But its chief executive officer, George Siemon, doesn't talk like a corporate chieftain: "We wouldn't mind if the growth slowed down," he says. "The most important thing to us is to keep our mission. Organic Valley's not looking to conquer the world. We do things our own way, because we care about things other than business success."

Organic Agriculture and the global food supply (pdf)

Organic agriculture has the potential to contribute quite substantially to the global food supply, while reducing the detrimental environmental impacts of conventional agriculture.

Sign of the Times in dairyfield.com (pdf)

The Organic Valley team says organics are the future, and their booming business suggests they may be right.

The incremental growth over the past two decades for the La Farge, Wis.-based cooperative is proof that organic can work on a national scale, a reach that's key to spreading the company's mission.

"Running a successful business model allows us to spread the mission," says Mike Bedessem, Organic Valley's chief financial officer. "We want to be innovative, practical and thrifty. If we have a successful business model, people will listen."

My Empire of Dirt

The "locavore" movement says we should only eat what is grown within a few miles of where we live. How about a few feet? An experiment in Brooklyn-style subsistence farming, starring smelly chickens, an angry rabbit, a freak tornado, a vegetable garden to die for, two psyched kids, and a marriage in the weeds.

Impacts of Organic Farming on the Efficiency of Energy Use in Agriculture (pdf)

The energy required to bring an agricultural crop to market is a key indicator of a farming system's environmental health, resiliency, and sustainability. Energy use is intimately linked to the health of soils and the internal effi ciency of on-farm nutrient cycles. Energy dependence is also a sign of a farm's economic vulnerability in this era of rapidly rising energy prices. Both diesel fuel and natural gas prices are projected to rise up to 50 percent in 2006, and have already about tripled since late 1999.

Environment

External Costs of Agricultural Production in the United States (pdf)

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability V. 2 No. 1, 2004

In this study from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, economists Erin Tegtmeier and Michael Duffy consider the external costs (i.e., costs to ecosystems and human health not recognized by the market) of conventional agricultural production in the U.S. By assessing the monetary costs (estimated at $5.7 to $16.9 billion annually) of these externalities, the authors move us toward more fully quantifying their impact.

Environmental And Economic Costs Of The Application Of Pesticides Primarily In The United States (pdf)

An obvious need for an updated and comprehensive study prompted this investigation of the complex of environmental costs resulting from the nation's dependence on pesticides.

The False Promise of GMOs

GMOs (genetically modified organisms) can have unpredictable consequences for the environment and for human health. When it comes to solving world hunger, GMOs are a dangerous step in the wrong direction. Learn more about this controversial technology, which is prohibited by organic standards.

The Myth of Pesticides

Conventional farming is dependent on synthetic biocides (pesticides, fungicides and herbicides). These poisons are used in food production to kill pests, diseases and weeds. A major myth is that most modern agricultural chemicals leave few residues. We are misled into believing that they break down and do not persist in our food.

Stroking the Columbia

"On June 4, 2002, I jumped into the Canadian headwaters of the Columbia River, and took the first of the 795,750 freestyle strokes that would carry me to the Pacific Ocean."—Christopher Swain