This “Horn of Plenty” is Full of Something - B.S.
Milk is Milk blog by Alex Avery
The definition of cornucopia is a horn of plenty or a horn-shaped basket usually full of grain and fruit that is a representation of abundance. There was something about some recent news reports that included quotes from a group called the Cornucopia Institute which didn’t seem right - let’s just say they didn’t smell like fresh fruits and grain, more like B.S.
A “non-profit” institute by the same name as our horn of plenty is making news attacking certain dairy producers; however, a peak behind the scenes suggests the Cornucopia Institute may merely be a marketing arm for a competing dairy interest - Organic Valley. Lest you forget, Organic Valley has been profiled here before for their black marketing tactics ranging from lobbying campaigns to steal your kid’s lunch money to gross distortions about the safety of their competitors’ products during times of public food safety concerns.
They appear to be at it again, but this time they are going after one of their own - Horizon Organic. If you read this blog you know that I’m no fan of Horizon - which engages in many of the same types of black marketing shenanigans, but even Horizon deserves a fair break when their competitors use a shill group to attack them. News articles and television broadcasts appearing across the globe - this story even appeared in India! - have recently profiled a rift within the multi-billion dollar organic dairy industry placing industry leader Horizon Organic on the hot seat. ABC News and USA Today are among those reporting on attacks by the Cornucopia Institute, which is described by these news media geniuses as a “non-profit farm policy research group based in Wisconsin.”
The question ABC, USA Today and the dozens of others reporting on Cornucopia’s attack failed to ask was, just who the heck are you guys? It’s clear that basic journalistic practice simply doesn’t apply anymore, because a quick Google search (removing the word “cornucopia”) on Cornucopia’s press release contact name “Mark Kastel” reveals that at the same Mark Kastel is a public relations consultant to Organic Valley - a fact oddly missing from the “about us” page at Cornucopia’s Web site. News reports and press statements from Cornucopia have almost all included positive statements about Organic Valley practices in contrast with those used by their competitor Horizon. Hmmm, I wonder who tipped them off to call Organic Valley after receiving the Cornucopia release - perhaps Mr. Kastel?
Oddly, a Nexis search of news articles reveals dozens of stories about Organic Valley which quote and specifically note “Mark Kastel of Organic Valley” as a source. So while Mr. Kastel’s failure to disclose his conflict of interest by being paid by Organic Valley on one hand while attacking their competitors on the other, the journalists have very little excuse for missing this significant point in their coverage of this issue.
A bigger question to ask, where does the Cornucopia Institute get its money. Is any of their funding coming from Organic Valley other than what they pay Mr. Kastel? Cornucopia’s Web site was registered and created in January of 1999 while Mr. Kastel was still being reported in the news media as “of Organic Valley” suggesting he created this organization while still on their payroll. When not attacking Organic Valley’s competitors, Cornucopia has been attacking the safety of conventional agriculture and lobbying federal regulators on issues that benefit Organic Valley. It seems that if Organic Valley is paying for this in any way - and getting a charitable tax deduction to boot - then perhaps that’s not what the IRS and others intended when they created the rules about “non-profit” tax deductible organizations. Perhaps ABC News or USA Today will consider asking some questions about that next time they get a press release or story tip from the nice people at Cornucopia or Organic Valley.