Today in Organic: February 4, 2010

Photo by Zack Bowen

• Continuing with the biodynamic theme, SimpleSteps.org weighs organic certification vs. biodynamic certification in wine. (Winner: dual certification.)

• The results are in from USDA's first in-depth survey of organic farming, and fewer than 1 percent of American farms are organic, the Wall Street Journal reports.

• Food, Inc. was nominated for the "Best Documentary" Oscar, which ought to give the film a boost, but praise from Oprah on her show last week might prove to be more influential. 

• The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunu is mismanaging Atlantic albacore into extinction, according to Barry Estabrook at Politics of the Plate.

• Why are West Coast organic farms more profitable than their East Coast counterparts? Four reasons, says Samuel Fromartz: labor costs, seasonality, weather, and economies of scale.

• Access to Aquaponics is planning a 55,000 square-foot aquaponics greenhouse near Cleveland, OH. Read about it at TreeHugger.