Samuel Fromartz's Articles

Organic System Mending
Rocky Mountain News, September 8, 2007

After years of complaints and aggressive public advocacy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week did what it should have done long ago: It forced the largest private- label organic milk company in the nation - Boulder-based Aurora Organic Dairy - to amend its farming practices so they comply with regulations.

The End of the Line
Salon, June 20, 2007

Author Charles Clover on the scourge of overfishing, disgraceful restaurants, and yes, sustainable McDonald's.

Is this the End of Organic Coffee?
Salon, April 3, 2007

Thanks to a recent hush-hush USDA ruling, your clean-conscience, fair-trade, organic latte may soon be a thing of the past.

Boulder's Organic Dairy Farms at Heart of Grazing Fight
Rocky Mountain News, July 8, 2006

You might have thought cows munching on knee-high green grass would be common this time of summer, especially when it comes to organic dairy farms. But a battle is now under way over this practice, the resolution of which will seal the fate of organic dairy farming in America.

Local Or Organic: A False Choice
Edible Communities Publications, April 2006

A couple of years ago, I visited an organic vegetable farm in southeast Minnesota, not far from the Mississippi River. Nestled in a valley that sloped down from rolling pasture and cropland sat Featherstone Fruits and Vegetables, a 40-acre farm.

A Greener Tea - How One Company Went Organic
Fortune Small Business, April 2006

At the R&D facility of Honest Tea, brewmeister Michael Petrone passes around samples of a new organic tea. Petrone, just 24, joined the company as an intern last year and rose quickly to a full-time job as development and production coordinator, responsible for creating new flavors. He doesn't wear a white lab coat and only recently completed his bachelor's degree in food science.>

Seeking Organic Inc.
The Natural Farmer, Spring 2006

Standing in the parking lot of a 205,000 square-foot salad processing plant in northern California, one warm fall day in 2003, I saw how far organic food had evolved. A chilled 16-wheeler had just arrived from the fields and a fork-lift was busy unloading the truck.

Small Farmers Pull Up Stakes
The New York Times, Op-Ed Oct. 14, 2002

A curious thing happened on the way to a national organic standard: the small farmer, once at the heart of the organic movement, got left behind.

Rising Empire
Fortune Small Business, October 2001

Los Angeles chef Nancy Silverton sold her ultra-trendy bread-baking business for millions. So how'd she pull that off without selling out?

Mystery of the Red Blood Ledger
The Best Business Stories of the Year, 2002 Edition

With losses mounting and customers scarce, a new CEO at Louise's Trattoria has only one chance to turn things around.

Anything But Quiet
Natural History, March 1998

Japanese-style Taiko drumming has blossomed in the United States over the past 30 years, with hundreds of groups around the nation. And in the process, the American musicians have invented their own way of summoning the Taiko spirits.

Heart of Glass
The Village Voice, February 1994

Arlan Huang's quest to define his past with luminescent glass sculpture.