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Beyond images of glowing whole grains and sun-kissed farm fields, it's the green and white 'USDA Organic' seal that attracts discriminating shoppers. But they may not notice the message on [...]

ABSTRACTOccupying an ambiguous position in relation to the literary movements of the twentieth century, British writer Nancy Mitford (1904–1973) is most well-known for her postwar novels, The Pursuit of Love(1945) and Love in a Cold Climate(1949). However, her interwar novels published in the early years of her writing career offer the potential for fruitful readings. This article takes as its focus Mitford’s 1935 novel Wigs on the Green, a romantic comedy revolving around a fascist pageant play. Through comedy, the novel critiques the aristocracy’s engagement with radical politics, which it interprets as an effort to restore traditional ideals of Englishness. Wigs on the Green, like many of Mitford’s novels, is characterized in its form and content by weak commitments which serve to generate the novel’s laughter and critique: from the characters’ naïve acceptance of fascism to the novel’s subversion of the conventions of the romantic comedy. Wigs on the Green’s preoccupation with weak commitments is best revealed through a reading that positions Mitford as an “intermodern” writer, a framework I argue is attuned to weakness. Mitford’s novel thus reveals the usefulness of intermodernism for reading and recovering women’s comedy writing of the interwar years.

The article reports on the food safety of organic food products from China which is labeled with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Organic seal. It mentions that China products have come to scrutiny due to several incidences of high-profile contamination which concerns consumer and food safety groups about the legitimacy of the products imported in the U.S. It discusses how China products crack the system and achieve the accreditation seal of the USDA under its National Organic Program (NOP) which regulates foreign and domestic producer that wants to sell organic products. It notes that the audit review of NOP in August 2008 proves that 15 of 30 accredited organic certified products failed the auditing process which opted a call for peer review on the products.

Presents an article on the prevalence of animal roadkill in the U.S. Contributions of roadkill to the increased number of vehicle collision; Information on the number of yearly animal-vehicle accidents in the country; Impact of the increased number of roadkill on wildlife population.

The article presents an interview with Dave Foreman, co-founder of the Wildlands Project and the Rewilding Institute, about his environmental vision of alienation and taming the wild where appropriate. He is that author of the book "Rewilding North America," where he outlined the complex factors underlying a current ecological crisis. He supports the concept of landscape-scale ecological restoration.

The article focuses on a composting method for roadkill disposals in which miscellaneous animals are transformed into nutrient-rich soil conditioner. Composting of roadkill disposals is becoming a popular alternative in Montana, Washington and New York and yields enough compost to use for highway planting by highway crews.

The article focuses passion a Westerner named Ferg for caddisfly for use in his art works. Ferg, an artist from Seattle, Washington, have discovered a way of making penne pasta-like fragile, tubular form that glimmer in the light. It is inferred that caterpillar-like creatures periwinkle or caddisfly larvae crawl slowly through their belly gathering whatever bits of things that cross its way. With an artist's mind, Ferg's creativity sparked by orchestrating various gems and minute objects onto the tiny creature's path. What is left would be a graffiti trains as Ferg called it.

Focuses on the efforts of New Mexicans to help reduce animal collisions on roads. Estimated number of animals killed on roads in the U.S.; Risk being faced by the Sandia mountains; Efforts of workshop participants to reduce highway impacts on animal populations; Information on projects initiated by the New Mexico Department of Transportation.