Articles by Grist staff

USDA close to approving relatively weak organic standards for fish

The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week inched closer to approving organic rules for fish for the first time that would let “organic” fish eat up to 25 percent of their diet from non-organic sources, a move which has irked organic advocates worried about sullying otherwise relatively strict standards for organic meat products.

Cell-phone chargers rated on energy efficiency

How energy-efficient is your cell-phone charger? (And why have you never thought to ask?) The world’s five biggest cell-phone manufacturers have rated the chargers they sell, from an energy-sucking one star to an eco-friendly five stars. If everyone with a cell phone “switched to a four- or five-star charger,” declares Nokia, “this could save the […]

Canada government flip-flops on cap-and-trade

In an apparent policy shift, Canada’s Conservative government declared Wednesday, “We will work with the provincial governments and our partners to develop and implement a North America-wide cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases.” Prime Minister Stephen Harper has to date favored reductions in greenhouse-gas “intensity” over hard caps on emissions.

USDA has crazy idea that organic cows should get time in pasture

Only cows that have gobbled grass in pasture for at least 120 days per year can produce milk labeled “organic,” according to draft rules issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Activists have long criticized a loophole that allowed organic-milk producers to keep their cows in giant feedlots, as long as they were fed organic […]