Good News on the Sustainable Agriculture front from, uh, yes, I've checked it again, the Bush Agriculture Department.

Kansas is proving ground for federal conservation program

Seems in 2002, Bush signed into law the Conservation Security Program, a "voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life, and other conservation purposes on Tribal and private working lands." My only question is, how much did Monstanto pay to have them wait this long?

Still, all my sarcasm and bitterness aside, this is apparently a good program, under which farmers who have been doing the right thing all along can be rewarded for their actions. Proof, I suppose, that even when guided by corporate schills, the beauracracy can churn out a good program every now and then. I'm sure this didn't originate in the White House, anyway.

Of particular interest is the inclusion of rewards for no-till practices, which improve soil tilth and reduce erosion. And, as anyone who has visited my organic gardening site knows, healthy soil makes healthy plants that are disease, drought, and pest resistant.

Organic Gardening Gifts

We've restocked our organic gardening supplies store with great gardening gifts for the gardener in your family. Wow. You can tell that sentence was written by a specialist in search engine optimization. We hope that on this day of sad environmental news, you'll vote with your dollars. By spending our money wisely, in ways that help the planet, we'll be telling American industry and politicians that no matter which party you're from, or which polluting industry you lobby for, a majority of Americans believe in more environmental protection, not less. By spending your money on environmentally sound products and services, like our organic gardedning products, you send a message by rewarding the companies that produce these environmental products, and punishing the ones who don't.

Perhaps most importantly is getting children involved in sustaianble spending. We recommend getting them started in organic gardening with this Whitney Farms Organic Gardening Starter Kit. Besides teaching them respect for nature and organic gardening techniques they will remember all their lives, children will eat vegetables they grow!

Anyone who wasn't paying attention to the USDA's organic standards fiasco this week wouldn't have noticed yet another Bush administration flip-flop. This time, the USDA, and Ann Veneman, Armageddon freak, tried to allow some pesticide and antibiotic use in organic food. Today, about 24 hours later, Veneman backed off those changes. It was all probably a ploy so Bush could say he protected the organic standards from attack.

One thing's for sure: John Kerry doesn't flip-flop on the environment. He gets a 92%, an A, from the League of Conservation Voters. George Bush gets an F. The first F they've ever given.

So, all you Kerry voters in California and New York (or any other solidly blue or red state) get your asses to Ohio, where you only have to be a resident for 30 days to vote there.

The Rose and Kettle Restaurant

If you're looking for a great Cooperstown restaurant to visit after you go to the Baseball Hall of Fame, or on your way to the Glimmerglass Opera, stop by the Rose and Kettle in Cherry Valley. The Rose and Kettle offers fresh, organic, locally raised and grown gourmet food at reasonable prices in upstate New York.

Many U.S. Residents Carry Toxic Pesticides Above "Safe" Levels; Report: Children, Women, Mexican-Americans Shoulder Heaviest Burden

"None of us choose to have hazardous pesticides in our bodies," said Kristin Schafer, PAN Program Coordinator and lead author of the report. "Yet CDC found pesticides in 100 percent of the people who had both blood and urine tested. The average person in this group carried a toxic cocktail of 13 of the 23 pesticides we analyzed."