Robert Paarlberg’s “The World Needs Genetically Modified Foods” (op-ed, April 15) gets it exactly backward. The technology does not help the hungry—the majority of whom are farmers in the developing world. Why not? Because GMOs leave cash-poor farmers dependent on buying seeds, fertilizer and chemicals while providing uneven results, increasing weed resistance and undermining biodiversity. Almost all commercialized GMO seeds are limited to two types: Either they’ve been developed to resist a proprietary herbicide or engineered to express a specific insecticide. (No surprise, since the product development is led by agrochemical companies like Monsanto, MON +0.85%DuPont DD +0.70%and Dow.)

Meanwhile, evidence from some of the world’s most important institutions—from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to the World Bank—is clear: Agroecological methods outperform GMOs, especially during drought years, improve nutritional qualities of crops and benefit biodiversity and soil health, all without leaving farmers in debt and dependent on companies for ever-more expensive inputs.

Anna Lappé

Frances Moore Lappé

Small Planet Institute

Cambridge, Mass.

Efforts to change the way foods are marketed in our country because of irrational fears of celebrity CEOs will have serious consequences in higher prices for all foods. The purpose of GMO technology is to lower production costs by reducing or eliminating costly inputs like agricultural chemicals. These savings will be lost if actions by anti-GMO activists increase food marketing costs.

As an agricultural economist (Auburn University), I am socially conscious and I have worked in charity food banks in the U.S. and abroad. Among the hungry people I have served, no one ever asked me for non-GMO food. Hungry people do not care about this information, only the well-fed do.

James Patterson

San Francisco

Mr. Paarlberg is correct in pointing out that GMO technology is a necessity to feed 6.4 billion people. We will rummage forests, destroy wildlife and natural beauty of nature by not using high-yield technology.

Look at us, it took 85 million years to evolve from the first mammals to homo sapiens. We are a genetically modified version of our ancestors, and so is the rest of the biology around us. We breed horses, cows, pigs and whatnot for a better breed without much of a problem. What is wrong with breeding or genetically modifying seeds for higher yields and healthier crops? Nature will do the genetic modification as it has done in the past, but at a very slow pace, and we will have a human catastrophe if we wait for nature to do it.

Amar Dave, M.D.

Ottawa, Ill.

Mr. Paarlberg’s assertion that labeling genetically modified foods will have “surprisingly small” impacts is insulting to the majority of Americans clamoring for the right to know what processes their food has undergone before reaching their plates. Because GMO foods contain novel genetic combinations that do not occur naturally in our food system, the least that consumers deserve is that these foods are labeled that way in the grocery store. Even if processed-food companies decide to use non-GMO crops, labeling eventually must be required for animals fed GMO feed.

Consumers want transparency and it is only fair for biotechnology and food companies to provide the market with adequate information.

Wenonah Hauter

Executive Director

Food & Water Watch

Washington

A version of this article appeared April 24, 2013, on page A14 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: GMO Food Technology Doesn’t Help the Poor Very Much.

In In The News | Tagged with Food Related, GMO, sustainability

By Randol White for Eat, Drink, Explore, September 4, 2012

AmByth Estate is Paso Robles’ first and only winery to produce Demeter certified Biodynamic wines and are 100 percent dry-farmed.

According to the California Agricultural Water Stewardship Initiative, dry farming is not to be confused with rainfed agriculture. Rainfed agriculture refers to crop production that occurs during a rainy season.

Dry farming, on the other hand, refers to crop production during a dry season, utilizing the residual moisture in the soil from the rainy season, usually in a region that receives 20” or more of annual rainfall.

Dry farming works to conserve soil moisture during long dry periods primarily through a system of tillage, surface protection, and the use of drought-resistant varieties.

Click here to learn more about AmByth Estate

In AmByth Estate, In The News | Tagged with ambyth, california, Demeter, education, natural wine, organic wine, paso robles, sustainability

This past week, The Woodlands hosted its Wine and Food Week 2012, sponsored by H-E-B. Most of the events, including wine and cheese tastings, multi-course dinners and conversations with winemakers, were held in The Woodlands, with one important exception: the much anticipated Bottlenotes First Annual 80 Sips Around the World event, which took place inside Minute Maid Park’s Union Station.

Though 80 Sips Around the World is four years old, it’s the first Houston appearance for the event series, which was inspired and created by author and Bottlenotes (a media company dedicated to educating wine enthusiasts) founder and CEO Alyssa Rapp, who wrote the book Bottlenotes Guide to Wine: Around the World in 80 Sips in 2008. The first 80 Sips Around the World events were held in San Francisco, Chicago and New York, and they have now spread to 12 markets, including Houston. Rapp was the “wine wizard” for Wine and Food Week 2012 — that is, she was the official master of ceremonies throughout the seven-day celebration.

According to Rapp, 80 Sips Around the World is a crash course in in wine for neophytes.

“The expectation is that you’re new to wine,” Rapp said.

Not quite. For a $125 cover fee, guests strolled in last Friday evening, grabbed a glass, and got to the task of tasting samples from the winemakers — there were 120 instead of the expected 80.There were also palate-cleansers – cheese, grapes and assorted vegetables. While 80 Sips was already a challenge for the uninitiated, discovering there would be 120 potential pours upon arrival was downright daunting. Getting through the event required more than a rudimentary knowledge of wine. Luckily, there was some help: each “vendor’s” table was stocked with two or three (or four or five) different wine brands and types, a cheerful assistant to help pour wine, and a representative from the company to explain each wine’s origin and flavor.

There were wines present from every corner of the globe: California, Spain, France, even some from South Africa, and it was quite a delight learning of the stories behind each. Notable “destinations” included Mt. Brave Wines, a single vineyard concoction grown on the top of Mt. Veeder in Napa Valley, California.

“We’re this little piece of land,” said the table’s wine rep, emphasizing the greater concentration of grapes and thus, the stronger potency of the resulting wines. “The flavors are a lot more pronounced.”

Brooks Winery, an Oregon-based wine institution owned by 16-year-old Pascal Brooks after the passing of his father Jimi Brooks, and managed by his aunt Janie Brooks Heuck, prides itself not only on possibly being the winery with the youngest owner on the planet, but on the purity of its wines: no additives, no sugars and no acids, said Heuck.

“They taste like grapes, they taste like the earth from where they came from,” she said, beaming.

H-E-B’s station, manned by wine department manager Sean Ballesteros, stood with quiet confidence near the front of Union Station, offering not wines, but a “food-friendly equivalent to red wines,” according to Ballesteros: a red ale beer, and a Canadian Unibroue Grande Reserve 17, a dark ale.

What was great about the event was its accessibility; starting at 7 p.m., legions of “wine-curious” parties were able to take a leisurely after-work drive on over to the baseball stadium, eventually filling the space to capacity over the span of three hours. They, in turn, left with a greater knowledge of wine: all its types, and what it’s supposed to taste like.

Just another example of how Houston culture is growing every day.

Proceeds from Bottlenotes First Annual 80 Sips Around the World will go to the Snowdrop Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating all childhood cancers.

By Altamese Osborne Mon., Jun. 11 2012, for the Houston Press Blogs

In Brooks, In The News | Tagged with brooks, natural wine, oregon, sustainability

Not content with simply being “local,” winegrowers create a sustainability certification and education program to spread eco-friendly practices

Surrounded by water, stretched out along the east end of an island sticking 120 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island wineries are confronted by environmental challenges on all sides. Their vines sit atop the island’s sole drinking-water aquifer. Soil erosion and chemical runoff can spread via creeks into the estuaries that support fish nurseries, migrating birds and oyster and clam beds. Where they don’t face a river, bay or ocean, the island’s North Fork and the Hamptons appellations bump up against the suburban sprawl of New York City.

In an attempt to protect that fragile ecosystem and set an example, a group of producers—Bedell Cellars, Channing Daughters, Martha Clara Vineyards and Shinn Estate—have banded together to create a Long Island-specific sustainability code and certification. The program will be overseen by a newly formed non-profit organization called Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing, Inc. (LISW).

“We’re in a pretty sensitive area … the watershed is important,” said Bedell winemaker Richard Olsen-Harbich. Inspired by sustainable wine certifications in West Coast states such as California and Oregon, the group wanted to create a local program—the first in an East Coast wine region—that reflects the best practices in use. “We’ve taken it upon ourselves to bring it to the next level with certification.”

For the first year, 11 winegrowers are participating, with the core four joined by Harbes Family, Palmer, One Woman, Paumanok, Peconic Bay, Roanoke and Wölffer. It’s possible that the first certified wines, bearing the LISW logo on the bottles, could come from the 2012 vintage and be released for sale as early as 2013, but a vineyard would have had to be following many of the practices already to earn certification the first year.

Following international standards, the program will evaluate winegrowers on environmentally and socially responsible practices. While the focus now is on vineyards, the group hopes to expand into certifying winery operations, perhaps in 2014. Earning certification is “not an end game,” noted Olsen-Harbich, and education will be an important part of the program, which was developed in conjunction with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County. “It’s a pathway of constant improvement. As an organization, we can work together and help each other continue to improve and operate with the best possible practices.”

Many Long Island winegrowers have been following a New York state-recognized program of best practices called VineBalance, developed in 2004 with Cornell, the New York Wine & Grape Foundation and New York Farm Viability. But Olsen-Harbich said Long Island needed guidelines to deal with their unique conditions. “The type of grapes we grow are different from a lot of the rest of the state—European varietals exclusively in a maritime climate.” The guidelines for New York state cover many practices geared to native and hybrid varieties, or to juice grapes, along with some practices to protect vines from winter freezes that are of less concern on Long Island.

Among the big concerns are preventing pesticides and excess nitrate-nitrogen from fertilizers from leaching into the groundwater, then harming the health of the island’s estuaries and bays. The organization also stresses preserving local biodiversity while ensuring high-quality grape crops for future generations.

A Wait-and-See Approach

While you’d be hard-pressed to find a Long Island producer who doesn’t want to support those ideals, most of the region’s 56 wineries are holding off on joining the certification program for now, waiting to see how it evolves and how customers respond to it. “I think it’s a terrific idea,” said Rosamond Baiz, owner-winemaker of the Old Field Vineyards in Southold, a family winery that follows many of the VineBalance sustainable practices. “But we’re not sure some parts of the program suit our property as much.”

For example, the program stresses that at least two-thirds of the vineyard must have permanent cover crops rather than bare soil—grasses, legumes and flowers help minimize erosion, improve soil health without chemicals and support beneficial insects that fight pests, among other things. But Old Field is the farthest east of any Long Island winery, right next to the water, and their site tends to be one of the coolest, so they’ve chosen to have less extensive ground cover directly around the vines. When they let the grasses grow tall, Baiz said, it makes the ground cooler and more humid, resulting in more disease pressure on grapes and less heat reflected from bare soil to warm the vines. On the other hand, mowing more often would compact the soil and use more energy.

In addition, smaller wineries are concerned about the cost and whether consumers are willing to spend more to offset the extra expenses. Right now, Baiz said, she’d rather use the combined $800 in membership and inspection fees to purchase some new needed equipment.

“The number one reason we’re not participating is that I typically buy my pesticides for the coming season at the end of the year [to save money], so I had already committed to purchase things that they don’t allow in the program,” said Sam McCullough, vineyard manager for the Lenz Winery. While he cited fungus control as his big concern in Long Island’s humid climate, he felt the sustainability program provides enough options to deal with any problems that might arise and didn’t think the required changes would be onerous.

Still, McCullough has yet to decide about participating next year. “I think it’s a fine idea, but I don’t know that there are really that many genuinely harmful practices out here. We’re all pretty responsible. I see it mainly as a perception issue and a public relations act rather than changing the way we take care of the environment, but anything that helps market our product is a good thing.”

What It Takes

To qualify for certification, participants must complete the VineBalance Workbook self-assessment and earn a qualifying score, with special emphasis on 18 core requirements, such as having a plan to mitigate runoff, use and storage of pesticides and a plan to create ecological areas on the farm for insects, native wildlife and plants that are not crops.

The group hopes its logo on labels will draw green-minded consumers.

Accompanying that are detailed score sheets for weed management, disease management and insect control. Some herbicides, fungicides and insecticides are prohibited altogether because of their tendency to leach into and persist in the water. Others are limited to use once or twice per season. Reduced-risk, bio-pesticides or organic materials are allowed, and in the case of fungicides, must make up more than half of applications each season. For fertilizer, the program requires that at least some of it be organic, such as compost or mulch.

Participants must then undergo an independent, third-party inspection—involving an on-site visit and a review of all records—earning passing scores on all criteria, and create an action plan for future improvements. The following year they must show progress on that plan. A winery has to be certified the first two consecutive years, and then the inspections take place every third year, in keeping with organic and Demeter biodynamic standards.

Long Island has been growing European grape varieties since the late 1700s, when a nursery company set up there and began selling vines. But the modern industry got underway in the early 1970s, with the founding of Hargrave Vineyard in Cutchogue. The region underwent a boom in small farm wineries in the 1980s and ’90s, with an investment spike around 2000, when some pioneering producers were sold for huge sums. Today, Long Island vineyards encompass about 3,000 planted acres and a wide range of grape varieties, dominated by Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Olsen-Harbich said the sustainability code is a natural next phase in the region’s evolution, after more than three decades of learning how to work with their terroir, expanding plantings and coalescing as an industry. “It’s the time—we’re looking at fine-tuning, trying to make better and better wine. The one way we do that is to create conditions better for the environment, our surroundings and the community.”

From Wine Spectator. By Dana Nigro, May 23, 2012

In In The News, Winery Events | Tagged with events, organic wine, sustainability, Travel, winery

Terry Sullivan is an organic grape grower, wine producer and glassblower in Talent.

On one side of his house, Sullivan tends to syrah, viognier and other vines. On the other side is a glass-blowing studio, where he creates artistic wine decanters and graceful, stemless wineglasses.

Soon, he’ll be able to pour his estate-grown 2010 Upper Five Vineyards tempranillo, the first wine under his own label, into his glassware and drink it. Glass, like grapes and wine, is not very forgiving, he says.

“I can’t make a mistake along the way if I want to get the results I want,” Sullivan says. He bought his property in 2001, planted 21/2; acres in 2003 and added another acre in 2006. His Upper Five Vineyard was certified organic in 2005.

As Sullivan, 55, shifts to the even higher standard of Biodynamic, he has to work with nature and pay attention to minute changes.

“I can’t use a silver bullet to fix a problem,” he says of forgoing synthetic pesticides in the vineyard or sulfur to correct a young wine.

In 2010, his organic sauvignon blanc grapes were purchased by Bill and Barbara Steele of Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden and made into 144 cases of Sullivan/Steele Sauvignon Blanc ($22). Only three cases remain at Harry & David Country Village in Medford.

At the Sullivan/Steele debut party last June at Thai Pepper in Ashland, Sullivan told the crowd that some call grape growing a “labor of love,” but he calls it “a love of labor.” “You have to love it,” he said.

The 2011 Sullivan/Steele Sauvignon Blanc will be released in the summer. His 2010 Upper Five Vineyard tempranillo, made with winemaker Linda Donovan, will be unveiled in the fall.

As for his handblown glassware, a 12-ounce glass ($15) with a purple, gold or blue rim and a 750-milliliter spiral-neck decanter ($80) are sold at Trium tasting room in Talent or in a five-piece set at www.etsy.com/listing/94239063/handblown-stemless-wine-glasses.

Taken from the Ashlnd Daily Tidings, by Janet Eastman,

In Cowhorn, In The News | Tagged with biodynamic, cowhorn, Demeter, in the press, oregon, organic wine, sustainability

A Welshman’s thriving vineyard in sunny California could soon be exporting its AmByth wine from the USA back to Wales.

Phillip Hart emigrated to the USA from Bangor, North Wales, in the 1970s.

And after meeting his horse-rancher wife Mary, he established an organic vineyard and winery at Templeton in central California, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

He now leads an idyllic life on the AmByth Estate – named after the “Wales Forever” slogan Cymru Am Byth – with cows, sheep, rabbits, cats and dogs for company.

The most famous resident in the small town in the wine growing hills of California is actor Josh Brolin, son of Amityville Horror star James and stepson of Barbra Streisand.

The temperature in the town, founded in 1886, ranges from a chilly -9C in winter to a sweat inducing 45C in summer.

Speaking from the AmByth Estate Mr Hart told the Western Mail: “I was born in Bangor, North Wales and raised on a sheep mountain farm [Llanerch] near Porthmadog.

“I went to school at Borth-y-Gest, and Ysgol Eifionydd.”

Asked how he came to name his estate and winery AmByth, he explained: “The name has a tad more to it than first glance. “My brother Mark and I emigrated to California from Wales in 1978 after two years in South Africa and two years before that in Australia.

“We opened a rug store in Newport Beach, California called Hart’s Rugs & Carpets with the corporate name of Cymru Trading Inc.

“When my wife, who grew up on a horse farm in Oklahoma, bought and moved to our farm in central California and planted grapes we had to come up with a name for the vineyard and winery.

“We researched many Welsh names but as you well know the average ‘Anglo’ has a bit of a problem with Welsh names, Llanerch for instance.

“I remembered my childhood in Wales where the black steel railway bridges had been spray painted with graffiti declaring ‘Cymru Am Byth’.

“After trying the words Am Byth on several people and finding out that by and large they ‘got it’ we modified it a little and joined them together but kept the caps, hence ‘AmByth’.

“Perhaps because Mary and I grew up in ‘natural’ environments we decided to farm in an organic way.

“We are certified organic and certified bio-dynamic. I make natural wines with no additions beyond some tiny sulphur additions in some wines – absolutely nothing else gets added except grapes.

“We foot stomp everything, native fermentation, natural lactic acid et cetera.

“Our farm AmByth is indeed a farm and we hope that after we are dead and gone it will continue forever in good health.” Mr Hart said the AmByth Estate was looking to produce cider and that there are plans to export to the UK over the next few years.

“We have 65 apple trees [for cider], 60 other fruit and nut trees, a total of 540 producing olive trees, vegetable gardens, cows, sheep, rabbits, chickens and of course dogs and cats,” he said.

“A wonderfully alive place to belong to.

“Last year we had a young chap from Wales here as an intern, Jack Teifi Evans from Aberaeron, Ceredigion who is studying viticulture in Brighton College.

“His father is starting a vineyard in Wales.

“We are currently in talks with a London importer called The Sampler in Islington.

“If we can come to some arrangement then our wines would be available for purchase in the UK and of course Wales.

“If not then our current plans would be to possibly pour at UK wine festivals, possibly in 2014.”

Despite California’s reputation for sunshine, the AmByth Estate’s production has been hit by unusually cold weather.

“Because of severe frost in April 2011 our production from that year will be just 6,000 bottles,” said Mr Hart.

“Farming’s the same whether we are in Wales or California and full of pitfalls.

“Our current market is California with distributors in Quebec, Chicago, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

“Of course, online sales go on throughout the United States too but it would be wonderful one day to export back to Wales.”

Nearly three-quarters the size of France, California accounts for nearly 90% of the entire wine production of the USA.

Production in California alone is one third larger than that of Australia and if California were a separate country, it would be the world’s fourth-largest wine producer.

The state’s wine producing history dates back to the 18th Century Spanish missionaries who planted the first vineyards in the region so they would have red wine for Mass.

Taken from WalesOnline.com, by Robin Turner, April 20, 2012

In AmByth Estate, In The News | Tagged with ambyth, biodynamic, california, in the press, natural wine, organic wine, sustainability

May is Oregon Wine Month, and the Oregon Wine Board is welcoming it in style with “Unwine’d”, a major event in Portland on Sunday, April 29^th.  More than 85 wineries and over a dozen restaurants will be showcasing extraordinary wine and food, casting a spotlight on the incredible breadth and depth of Oregon’s fertile, vibrant landscape.

Unwine’d is being held at Portland’s Left Bank Annex, from 3pm-6pm. Trade and Media early access is from 2pm-3pm.  Tickets are just $50 and can be purchased through the Oregon Wine Board’s website.

ConsciousWine is honored to have been invited and is especially proud to participate in Unwine’d, and to join our colleagues in celebrating not just the overall growth and success of Oregon’s wineries and farms, but specifically the growing and thriving community of organic and biodynamic farms and vineyards.

To demonstrate just how spectacular these wines are, ConsciousWine’s Jeffrey Weissler will be pouring at least two exceptional wines from Cowhorn Vineyards located in Jacksonville and Dominio IV located in McMinnville.

Don’t miss a chance to see Jeff Weissler in person, sharing and talking wine.  Jeff is an expert on wines made from organic, biodynamic grapes and a passionate advocate for what’s happening in Oregon.

Come to Unwine’d on April 29^th and say “hi”!

In Blog Roll, Conferences, ConsciousWine, In The News, Jeff's Blog, Media, Sustainable Practices, Tasting Wine, Winery Events | Tagged with biodynamic, education, events, Food Related, oregon, organic wine, sustainability, Travel, willamette valley

Last month we had the pleasure of welcoming to Youngberg Hill Ornithology Professor Don Powers of George Fox University, and nearly two dozen of his current and former wildlife biology students. Professor Don and his group conducted on March 17 the first ever Youngberg Hill Vineyards Native Bird Study.

It was a lucky day for bird-spotting, as forty different native species were identified in less than three hours! Highlights included a gorgeous Pileated Woodpecker, Merlins, Kestrels and a Northern Harrier Raptor. Our resident eagles made a regal appearance soaring over the vineyard rows. The students were an enthusiastic bunch, tramping through the muck of the vineyard and recording everything they saw.

We ended the experience with a hearty lunch in the warmth of the dining room. If you have been following our blogs this winter, you are probably well aware of our ongoing trouble with the non-native European starlings that eat so many of our grapes during harvest time. We were especially pleased to see that only one or two starlings were sighted, and that the avian diversity of our vineyard ecosystem looks very healthy.

Professor Don was very impressed by the species count and said that if the weather had been better (it rained, of course!) we would have seen even more native species. This initial effort was so successful that we have decided to monitor our native bird population’s health on a regular basis by conducting quarterly surveys with Dr. Powers and his wonderful George Fox students.

Upon the completion of our new vineyard panorama deck, we will also be launching a “Wet Your Beak” wine tasting, in honor of our feathered friends. Imagine spotting colorful native birds while sipping our tasty organically grown flight of Pinot noirs.

Now that’s our kind of birding!

Taken from Youngberg Hill’s Blog, April 7th, 2012 by Nicolette

In In The News, Youngberg Hill | Tagged with oregon, sustainability, Travel, willamette valley, youngberg hill

All the animals love Cowhorn! As you may know, Cowhorn follows the practices of farming with the wild, encouraging habitat for wild creatures to live and work in cooperation with our farming activities. In addition to the eagles, bobcats and big footprints that we see around here, Cowhorn has bees. Perhaps the most sensitive of animals, bees buzz with the harmony of nature. They literally buzz harmony. It is no wonder that they find our Biodynamic farm, free of chemicals and hazards, a safe place to live. We have begun learning about bees in the orchard, setting up our first bee structure for mason bees. Once it is in place I’ll send along a picture and report on progress. ~ Barbara

In Cowhorn, In The News | Tagged with biodynamic, cowhorn, oregon, sustainability

Saturday, February 25 2012
@ LaSells Stewart Center, Corvallis Oregon

Founder Matthew Domingo will talk about the intricacies and the behind-the-scenes action of a farm dinner. Click HERE to learn more and purchase tickets.

In In The News | Tagged with education, events, in the press, Matthew Domingo, oregon, sustainability