#052: Organic food activist and advocate Mark Kastel is the co-founder of the Cornucopia Institute, and more recently, of the oversight agency OrganicEye. Through his longtime lens of industry watchdog, as well as his early role in Organic Valley farmers' cooperative, Mark lays out his insights about the treacherous path of the organic dairy industry and what actions need to be taken to save real organic family farmers today.Mark Kastel co-founded Cornucopia Institute in 2004 and served as the director of its Organic Integrity Project. He know serves as the Director of OrganicEye, an organic industry watchdog agency formed by Beyond Pesticides. Mark is well-known throughout the organic world for gaining results with hard-hitting public pressure campaigns and class action lawsuits.To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/mark-kastel-organic-watchdog-goes-after-big-dairy-episode-fifty-twoThe Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/farmsThe Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/farmsWe believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000 Real Fans!https://www.realorganicproject.org/1000-real-fans/To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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