Links to organisations with an interest in science and agriculture related issues

 

The American Association of University Women

Not agriculture or food specifically, but the AAUW has a useful information and resource kit for pay equality. The AAUW also offers the opportunity to celebrate Equal Pay day, which is the date on the following year up to which a typical US woman would have to work to earn the equal of a male colleague in the previous year. It is usually held in April. See also the AAUW website:
http://www.aauw.org

The Angry Toxicologist

Despite the title, this blog contains thoughtful insights and comments on subjects such as animal testing, the FDA, science reporting and science regulation. Written by a working toxicologist.
http://scienceblogs.com/angrytoxicologist/

The Center for Food Safety

The Center for Food Safety (CFS) is a non-profit public interest and environmental advocacy membership organization established in 1997 by its sister organization, International Center for Technology Assessment, for the purpose of challenging harmful food production technologies and promoting sustainable alternatives. CFS combines multiple tools and strategies in pursuing its goals, including litigation and legal petitions for rulemaking, legal support for various sustainable agriculture and food safety constituencies, as well as public education, grassroots organizing and media outreach.
http://centerforfoodsafety.org/

Consumers Union

Alongside their other consumer safety and information campaigns the Consumers Union also campaigns on food labelling, pesticide contamination, food safety and regulatory affairs.
http://www.consumersunion.org/food.html

Environmental Health Sciences

A not-for-profit organization founded in 2002 to help increase public understanding of emerging scientific links between environmental exposures and human health. EHS publishes 3 websites:
http://www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org/
http://www.OurStolenFuture.org/
http://www.ProtectingOurHealth.org/
(in partnership with the Collaborative for Health and the Environment)

The Environmental Working Group (EWG)

Campaigns on public interest issues, many of which are related to science and agriculture.
http://www.ewg.org/

The Food Ethics Council

A British think tank, the Food Ethics Council challenges government, business and society to make wise choices that lead to better food and farming. Holds workshops and events, publishes reports and a newsletter.
http://www.foodethicscouncil.org/

GeneWatch UK

GeneWatch UK is a public interest group which aims to ensure that genetic technologies are developed and used in the public interest and in a way which promotes human health, protects the environment and respects human rights and the interests of animals.
http://www.genewatch.org/

GrassBioenergy at Cornell

Why turn plant matter into ethanol before you burn it? Far more efficient, productive and inexpensive would be to burn it directly to heat homes and offices. Grass pellets have great potential as a low-tech, small-scale, environmentally-friendly, renewable energy system that can be locally produced, locally processed and locally consumed.
http://www.grassbioenergy.org/home.asp

Homepage of Phil Howard

Who owns who in the organic food industry? Howard is a professor of rural sociology at Michigan State University. Includes the organic industry movie!
http://www.msu.edu/~howardp/

IATP: The Institute for agriculture and trade policy

From supermarkets to seed suppliers, international agriculture is dominated by big businesses. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy.
http://www.iatp.org/

The Land Institute

The Land Institute has worked for over 20 years to develop an agricultural system with the ecological stability of the prairie and a grain yield comparable to that from annual crops.
http://www.landinstitute.org/

Making Whistleblowing Work

Public Concern At Work is the whistleblowers charity. Are people in your organisation acting illegally or against the public interest? What can you do about it? And how can you protect yourself?
http://www.pcaw.co.uk/index.html

The blog of Marion Nestle

Marion Nestle is a professor of Nutrition at New York University and the well-regarded author of Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism and Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health and, more recently: What to eat
http://www.whattoeatbook.com/

Open Access News

Peter Suber runs possibly the most informative and up-to-date website/blog on open access publishing. Find out here what open access publishing could do for you and exactly who is standing in its way.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/fosblog.html

The Pesticides Action Network

An international alliance of NGOs that campaigns exclusively on pesticide exposure. Among the useful features of their work are their widely respected pesticide factsheets. For each active ingredient these detail as far as is known, their usage, contaminants, environmental fate, breakdown products, toxicity and regulatory status. PAN-UK, the British branch also holds the annual Rachel Carson Memorial Lecture.
http://www.pan-uk.org/

Pesticide Action Network North America

Advancing alternatives to pesticides worldwide. Part of the Pesticides Action Network worldwide (see above)
http://www.panna.org/

Scientists for Global Responsibility

British membership based organisation that promotes ethical science, design and technology, based on the principles of openness, accountability, peace, social justice, and environmental sustainability.
http://www.sgr.org.uk/

The Union of Concerned Scientists

The Union of Concerned Scientists works to ensure that all people have clean air and energy, as well as safe and sufficient food. A citizen and scientist membership organisation.
www.ucsusa.org/