The Goodmans' involvement with environmental, consumer, and organic and sustainable agriculture organizations is primarily documented by Jim Goodman's writings: articles, testimony, presentation notes, letters to the editor, and op-ed pieces written for various publications including local newspapers and other agricultural and political journals with a national readership. Also included is a small amount of correspondence. While there are no board or committee minutes, some meeting notes are included. The electronic files consist almost entirely of Goodman's writings, some of which were written during his 2008-2009 Food and Society Policy fellowship, plus a resource list he compiled for presentations, and an article by another writer that references one of Goodman's op-ed pieces. Topics most strongly documented in the writings are genetically modified (GM) crops and globalization.
Also included are papers related to the use of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or BGH) or bovine somatotropin (BST) to increase milk production in dairy cattle. The rBGH issue and the mandatory assessment fees on all milk sold to fund the efforts of the National Dairy Board (NDB) were key issues that led to Jim Goodman's involvement in the Dump the National Dairy Board Campaign, an initiative that led to the founding of the Family Farm Defenders organization. Included are correspondence, filings of legal documents relating to a 1993 referendum that challenged the Dairy Promotion and Research Order assessment fees, papers on rBGH, press releases from various organizations, and news clippings.
