A new addition

I'll soon be adding a whole new section to Organic Food and Drink. Here's a hint...We tried the Organic Dark Chocolate Truffle bar from trusty source Trader Joe's. Verdict: OK, not great. There are other varieties of both dark and milk chocolate available.

Natural Progression

The market for organic produce has expanded from health food specialty outlets to mainstream groceries, and that same kind of shift has happened to farmers - including ones in Palm Beach County.

"It used to be the organic farmer was an ex-hippie kind of guy who ate tofu burgers," said Gene McAvoy, a Hendry County-based extension agent who is witnessing an explosion of organic farming in Southwest Florida. "The new guys are doing it for profit while they adhere to organic principles."

I found $10 for you...but hurry!

Now through December 31, get a $10 instant rebate off any $49+ order at Amazon Grocery, including both food and household items.  You also get free shipping on any order over $25! Just use the code GROCERY3 when you check out.  Go straight to our organic grocery storefront and stock up for New Year's.


A U.S. promo:  Harry and David is running an after-Christmas clearance sale.  Visit them and browse their selection of organic items and various gifts for whoever is still on your list (hostess gifts, maybe?)  This one goes till January 31.


If you like Hickory Farms better, you'll have to act a little faster.  Until December 31, use code HOLIDAY and get 15% off any order of $50 or more, or use code SNOW06 for free shipping on that $50 order.  Free gifts with purchase too.  Consider a gift certificate if you're not sure what they like.


Making a New Year's resolution to find more ways to go green and organic?  Try a free subscription to Ideal Bites for suggestions and information.  You can even see a sample tip before you subscribe. Not much to lose on this one!

Organic Evolution

Walking slowly down a muddy farm road, Deborah Yashar points to a row of white, sweet-smelling flowers planted next to green shoots of broccoli. The alyssum flower attracts beneficial insects that protect crops from pests, Yashar says. Yashar is the food systems project coordinator for the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA), which provides guidance and subsidized land to small organic farmers.

Demand for organic produce feed growth

Thomas and Sarah Rumery started building their greenhouse-gardening venture in rural western Colorado in 1992 to create a flexible, family-oriented lifestyle for rearing their three daughters.

Today, Osage Gardens west of New Castle is Colorado's largest year-round grower of U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified organic culinary herbs.

Sales of organic red meat up 12% in year

SALES of organic red meat increased by 12 per cent in the year to 5 November, according to a report published by Julie Fisher, a senior research analyst at the Meat and Livestock Commission.

But Fisher points out that the organic market remains very small in relation to total meat sales.

You'll hear more about eating with a conscience

Looking back over the past year in food and ahead to the coming one, we note that several of the hot trends we observed last year -- dark chocolate, exotic salts -- continue to rank high on foodie forecasters' radar.

But one of our 2006 trends to watch has emerged as the No. 1 issue for 2007.

Bringing Fair Trade Home to the U.S.

Ever wondered why the fair trade label only applies to products from outside the U.S.?

Why are all the fair trade certifies located thousands of miles away from the producers?

How can corporations that are so unfair towards workers, farmers, and consumers in the U.S. get away with selling and promoting themselves as fair trade?

New labelling to take confusion out of what's organic

Are your potatoes organic? Are you sure?

A new labelling system introduced Friday by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is meant to take the worry out of organic buying and stop food producers from claiming organic status for food that is not certified.

Safe foods, quality water at odds

Programs to conserve wildlife habitat and clean up agricultural water runoff may become victims of summer's E. coli outbreak.

Water and soil conservationists and wildlife habitat preservationists have long encouraged farmers and ranchers to follow eco-friendly practices, but these can compromise food safety, in the view of businesses that buy farm products.

Bulgarian funding failing domestic organic producers

A new report has found that funding designed to initiate and promote organic certification amongst Bulgarian food processors and producers is failing smaller domestic enterprises in the country.

Generously subsidised eco-farmers occupy borderland

The neglected Sudeten landscape along the Czech-German border is changing its face being enlivened by freely moving cattle herds, but the idyll costs hundreds of millions of crowns in subsidies that are to further substantially rise next year, weekly Tyden out today writes.

Chocolate with less guilt: Fair-trade brands help cocoa farmers

Chocolate will never be a guilt-free passion, but buying fair- trade chocolate might ease your conscience a little.

It costs more than run-of-the-mill milk chocolate -- it's 71 cents to $1.90 an ounce -- and doesn't come in holiday shapes. But buyers or sweet tooths lucky enough to receive it as a gift can feel better knowing that the cocoa farmers who helped produce it receive a living wage and money to build health clinics, improve schools and provide clean drinking water.

Asia's organic food industry coming of age

Asia's organic food industry has surged in recent years, with a marked increase in both consumption and production in the region, shows a new report.

What 'organic' really means

Most of the time, organic food costs more than produce grown by conventional methods. Do you know what you are paying for? Here's a quiz to test your savvy when it comes to "organic":

Tibet innovates to eradicate poverty

Encouraged by the market opportunities opened up by the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Tibet is starting to adopt a more innovative, market-oriented approach to farming and animal husbandry in order to lift its rural and pastoral population out of abject poverty.

It's the last minute!

Still looking...and no time for shopping? Here's a great place for a gift card - let them choose some good organic coffee!


Coffee for Less

Green farming meet kicks off

Attempts to boost organic trade and market development in the region go a notch higher on Wednesday with the launch of second draft of an East African Organic Standard.

Pesticides need not apply

Considering that elsewhere in the world consumers can do their daily shopping in stores devoted entirely to organic food, should we be talking about Bulgaria’s organic market at all? After all, it is virtually non-existent and the list of organic products on offer in the country can fit onto this page alone. However, things are looking up and today it is possible to shop organic more than you think. Even for chocolate! Here is what you need to know.

Developing organic fruit and vegetables in Poland

There has been a huge increase of land used under organic managment in Poland recently. According to figures of the Ministry of Agriculture, the number of ecological farms exceeded 7000, and the acreage amounts 16.500 hectares. The bad news is that only 5% of the mentioned acreage is used for the production of fruits and berries and less than 2% for vegetables.

Specials for the holidays!

I know I don't have to remind you that the holidays are getting closer. Many of us like doing as much shopping as possible on line and get the best selection without the lines and traffic. But if you're one of them, you'll need to plan ahead. I've been advised of some specials from our Organic Food and Drink partners, so hurry and take advantage!

First, for all your organic shopping, try the one-stop shop at amazon.com. There are a few select products right on the home page, but use the search box to find everything you need.

For wine deals:
How about 1 cent shipping? Spend $99 at wine.com and that's exactly what you'll get! Use promo code LS1CENTDEC and hurry - this one ends December 10. If that's too quick, get 5% off any order of $50 or more with code LSDEC5, $10 off any order of $150 or more with code LSDEC10, and 10% off wine collections with code LSDECCOLL. These are good till December 31, so you've got time for all your holiday wine.

How about chocolate? Chocolate Source is now offering 10% off all orders over $10.00! Be sure to use Coupon Code 95433 at checkout and order by December 10.

In Australia, visit Definitely Chocolate. I challenge you to visit the home page and not want some!

Gift baskets...too may to list them all here, and they all have organic. Gotfruit.com is one of the easiest, and has free shipping. You'll find lots more on the produce page.

Organic meat: Save the Bacon has a huge selection of meats for Christmas. More than that, for just £1.00 you can buy a special package of "Magic Reindeer Food" that will not only delight your kids, but support the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

These are just the ones I'm aware of now. Be sure to visit the Organic Food and Drink web site often for the best places to find your organic foods, around the world.

Organic produce huge trend in Austria

In Austria, the sales turnover of organic products increased with 30 percent during the first six months of 2006. With around 14.000 companies, Bio Austria is the largest organisation of organic farmers in Europe. Although parasites of the conventional food industry try to take advantage of the huge organic success, the organic industry succeeded in obtaining a strong position on the domestic market.

Supply drives organic foods to the masses

Nicole Lewis is on the frontline changing the way America shops. She knows the organic fruit, meat and milk sold in this Whole Foods store costs as much as 80 percent more than food without the organic label. Still she is willing to pay.

Organics a growing trend in Delta

Getting back to basics, learning more about where our food comes from and doing something to benefit the environment.

In South Delta, a growing number of producers are meeting the demand from buyers who want their produce unblemished by pesticides or manipulated by genetics.

Food labelling plan spells an end to free-range free-for-all

ALL organic food produced for domestic consumption will be subject to a national standard, after the exposure of widespread rorting and misleading claims by growers and manufacturers.

Standards Australia's food standards board yesterday voted to go ahead with the scheme early next year, as the national competition and consumer watchdog indicated it would crack down on misleading food labelling.

White pressures government on organic sector

GREEN Party Deputy Leader and Spokesperson on Food and Agriculture Councillor Mary White has called for the Government to ensure that the Irish organic sector can fulfil its potential by setting ambitious targets and pursuing the appropriate policies to achieve results. “The market for Irish organic food has grown rapidly in recent years due to increased aware-ness of the advantages of locally-produced, organic food, in terms of health, environment and food-quality. This is a huge opportunity for Irish agriculture. However, prospective and existing organic growers and farmers need adequate support,” said Cllr White.

Retailers 'miss out on fairtrade boom'

A HUGE demand for fairtrade goods is not being met by UK retailers who are missing out on billions of pounds of sales, a survey has revealed.

The truth about food fraud

Is that tuna in your sandwich? Or was the fish in the can a different species altogether? Was the corn-fed, free-range egg you ate for breakfast actually battery-farmed? From careless labelling to outright deception, food fraud in Britain has reached epidemic proportions - and most of us have no idea what we're being sold. How can we sort the organic wheat from the GM chaff?

Avoid the 'Dirty Dozen,' buy organic

Food scares in recent months - from E. coli in spinach to toxins in fish - have a growing number of consumers buying organic food.
But are organics - foods free of growth hormones, chemicals, conventional pesticides and genetically modified ingredients - worth their higher cost?

Namibia: Organic Farming the Way to Go - Mulenga

SMALL-SCALE farmers in Zambia's Chongwe District east of Lusaka are being taught by a local agricultural centre how to grow their crops and vegetables organically, as organic produce are healthy, environmentally friendly and worth more in shops.

Organic food demand sparks more imports

Imports of organic food are rising with domestic production unable to keep pace with soaring demand, according to the country's leading organic certification body, the Soil Association.

Natural & Organic Beef; Similar, But Not The Same

While natural and organic beef products are not likely to ever dominate the US market, demand for organic products has been growing at the rate of about 20% annually since the early 1990’s. The market is estimated to be at $25 billion plus in annual sales, with large specialists such as Whole Foods and Wal-Mart supercenters competing for customers. Certified Angus Beef is now offering natural products. Given the growth in this area, there may be opportunities for producers to participate and benefit. The first step in exploring that option is to understand the differences between natural, organic and other marketing claims of these specialized products.

Global Organic Foods Supply Tightens as Sales Soar

Global sales of organic food & drink are soaring with revenues projected to approach US$40 billion this year. New research by Organic Monitor (www.organicmonitor.com) shows that demand is outpacing supply with a number of regions reporting supply shortages.

Growers grapple with getting the good message of organic food out

ALTHOUGH Ireland held its second National Organic Week recently, those involved in this growing sector - pardon the pun - still have a fight on their hands to sell the benefits of buying organic.

Activist group files complaint vs. Wal-Mart over food labels

An activist group representing small farmers has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, alleging that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) incorrectly labeled several products as organic, The Washinggton Post reported in its Wednesday editions.

Can you taste organic?

Is the organic wine glass half empty, or is it half full? To some extent, the answer depends on who's looking.

On the one hand, the folks at the Organic Trade Association recently reported, with apparent delight, that U.S. sales of certified organic wines and wines made with organic grapes reached $80 million last year, a 28 percent increase over the previous year and nearly double the sales of organic wines in 2003.

Organic chocolate taking a bite out of U.S. market

U.S. chocolate lovers in growing numbers are discovering how to pander to their addiction and simultaneously help the environment by buying organically certified chocolate.

Organic, fairtrade chocolate hits ethical niche

As confectionery makers jostle for a share in the increasingly popular organic market, UK company Venture Foods has launched two new additions to its niche organic and fairtrade chocolate bars.

Organic food spend set to grow

Results of a study conducted by Bord Bia revealed that over 60% of organic products are purchased in multiple supermarkets, 22% in symbol retail outlets and the remaining 16% through direct organic sellers, such as farmers markets, farm shops, health food stores, box schemes and butchers.

“Organic” a boom market with German consumers

The retail food sector is expanding its product range to include more and more organic produce. Every week a new organic supermarket opens, and retailers captivate the public with their ranges of fresh produce. Organic means quality. What originally began as a food industry niche has today become a growth-intensive section of the market. Raising awareness and consumption of organic produce even further, the 10th Bio Market at the International Green Week 2007 will be a particularly important communication platform.

What's the greenest alcoholic drink?

Booze has a mixed reputation and diverging prospects. On the one hand, its cost to the health and criminal justice services is estimated to be around £10bn a year. On the other, it is increasingly touted as a planet saver. Farmers in India have turned to using wine rather than agrichemicals to spray crops, while bio-ethanol, which can be used to power cars, is an alternative to oil. According to drinks manufacturers, the latter has sent the price of pure alcohol soaring.

Can organic food benefit my health?

Following a recent health scare, I want to improve my diet. Would switching to organic food, either partly or totally, improve my health, or is it all just another supermarket con?

For many, organic is better

The demand for organic foods — from fruits, pizza, breakfast cereals and cookies to pasta, ketchup, sirloin steaks and baby food — is growing stronger:

• Sales of organic food have grown about 20 percent during the last five years, with this year's tally expected to top $15 billion, the Organic Trade Association reports.



• More than one-fourth of Americans are eating more organic products than a year ago, according to a 2004 survey by Whole Foods Market. At the same time, more than half of Americans have tried organic products.

Organic sales double in six years

Organic food sales have doubled over the past six years and shoppers' rising demand for healthier foods means fast growth should continue, a report out today says.

Pricey organic chicken not as pure as you think

Australian organic poultry is not good enough for export, but all right for the domestic market, even though much of it no longer meets the national standard.

Smokers should consider organic produce

The surgeon general announced that breathing someone else’s tobacco smoke is more damaging than we previously thought. Will this knowledge help propel people to change?

Organic Grapes, Organic Wine

In just eight years, Robert Sinskey’s vineyards grew from 15 to 100 acres. But the expansion masked a problem: Sinskey’s vineyards were in decline. The fruit just wasn’t ripening, and he suspected it was related to the soil, which looked fractured and bare. “We felt something had to be wrong with the basic practices of modern farming,” he says.

Sinskey switched to organic farming in 1990, slowly phasing out synthetic herbicides on his grapes until 2001 when he became a certified organic grower. His productive vineyards now cover 200 acres on six different properties. But while every grape in his Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot wines are organic, not a single bottle carries the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s green-and-white “USDA organic” label.

Bellying up to organic

The latest twist in the cocktail craze? Eco-friendly drinks. Here and abroad, a growing number of distillers and vintners are going organic and making high-quality vodka, gin, rum, whiskey and wine.

About spinach and milk

A few weeks ago, we went over some basics about what the E.coli
outbreak was about, where it came from, and why it was dangerous.
But the question remained: Were organic growing practices to blame?

Since then, spinach has gone back on the OK
list, but we've had a similar scare on green-leaf lettuce. Four
cases of botulism were linked to tainted carrot juice, sold under
both organic and conventional brands. There's also been a scare
from raw milk, but consumers have been warned for 20 years about
the dangers of unpasteurized dairy.

These issues have fueled the organic vs. conventional debate.
I've read article after article from skeptics citing studies that
use this as evidence that organic food isn't worth the money, and
may in fact be less healthy than conventional food. The basis for
this is the use of manure, rather than chemicals, as fertilizer.
The problematic strain of E.coli, E. coli O157:H7, is present in
cattle manure. Organic farmers compost cattle manure to sanitize
it before using it as manure, but there is some doubt that they do
so for long enough or under the right conditions to kill the
dangerous microbes.

A number of these detractors cite studies that I wasn't able to
find, and so can't confirm for you one way or another. For
example, I read an article that reported that both the U. S. Center
for Disease Control and its British counterpart have gathered
statistics suggesting that there is a far greater likelihood of
contracting E. coli from organic produce than conventionally
farmed. But I went all over the CDC Web site and couldn't find
anything related to that, even going back a few years.

But here are a few facts I have been able to confirm. First,
the contaminated spinach was not sold as organic. That doesn't
mean it wasn't grown organically - the producer grows under both
methods, and could have easily mixed them. But we can't
specifically blame organic farming methods

It's not yet certain exactly where the spinach-tainting
bacteria came from, but investigators have found the same strain of
the bacteria present in a cattle ranch within a mile of the spinach
fields. They still can't be sure if that was in fact the source of
the contaminant, or if it was, how it got to the spinach field, but
it "warrants further investigation." Wild pigs and other wildlife
roam the area, and plenty of potential for broken fences.

Why is this important? If the bacteria was spread through
manure tracked by wildlife, or by water contaminated by manure from
the ranch, it doesn't matter whether the spinach was being grown
organically or not. Conventionally grown spinach was equally
vulnerable.

What about the bad carrot juice? It has been traced to
Bolthouse Farms, which sells under the name of Earthbound Farms
(among others) - interestingly enough, one of the brands implicated
in the spinach scare. Food contamination in general can take place
at any point in the chain, from tainted seeds to lazy consumers who
leave their milk on the counter overnight. The latter appears to
be the culprit in the carrot juice case - the juice was not
refrigerated properly, and the botulism spores had the chance to
grow.

So the question is: who really left the juice on the counter?
Did it happen at the source? In the distribution chain? Or in the
kitchen? Regardless, Bolthouse Farms will no longer produce the
juice. Not just till it's cleared, but permanently. Hard to blame
them - it might be hard to prove just where the responsibility
lies, and in our lawsuit-happy society families might be only to
willing to assign blame

I researched this looking for evidence that organic produce was
either more or less prone to bacterial contamination. One of the
most commonly quoted studies on both sides of the argument was from
the University of Minnesota, conducted in 2004. Their research into
various organic crops found that the organic products had almost no
pathenogenic bacteria but was more subject to fecal contamination
(which is where E.coli comes from) than conventionally grown
produce.

At the same time, though, produce from a certified organic farm
had far less contamination (4.3% of samples) than produce from a
farm that was "semiorganic," or not certified, but claiming that
they followed organic growing practices (11.4% of samples).
Researches found E.coli in just 1.6% of samples from conventionally
grown produce. (You can read a summary of the report here.)

The study's conclusion was that there was no significant
difference in contamination levels among the three farming types,
until you took the type of crop into account: they found E.coli on
fully one-third of leafy greens grown on semiorganic farms. At the
same time, though, the organic-doubters quote the same statistics
as evidence that organic methods are indeed more dangerous. We see
what we want to see, don't we?

So back to our question. Is organic food inherently more
risky? The study above concludes that for certified organic farms,
the difference in contamination levels was insignificant. But,
strictly speaking, it is higher.

Does this mean you should avoid the organic stuff? Probably
not; according to the Center for Disease Control, you're more
likely to contract E.coli from undercooking your own hamburger than
from bad vegetables. But you may want to consider taking a closer
look at where your food comes from. The spinach in question all
came from a few farms in California. Buying bagged spinach from
one of those farms would have been a bad idea. But if you live in
Maine, buying fresh spinach from the local farmer's market would
have been fine.

In this case, produce from the Salinas Valley has been
implicated in bacterial outbreaks nine times in the last decade.
With the severity of this case, there is some speculation that
Natural Selection Foods may not survive. Regardless, there will be
significant investigation into farming practices in the area.

Canadian pesticide regulations among the worst: Suzuki report

Pesticide residue regulation on Canadian produce is amongst the worst in the industrialized world, according to The Food We Eat, a report published by the David Suzuki Foundation this month.

Certifiers weed through plenty to keep organic farmers in the green

Robert Magenheimer depends on ducks, mosquito fish and smart irrigation techniques to take care of his 500 acres of organic rice on a farm northwest of Lodi.

"It's a fun challenge," he said.

But early one morning in September, he waited at the edge of his property for a different sort of challenge: inspection day.

The art of organic living

Organic food includes food produced without the use of conventional pesticides or artificial fertilisers or sewage sludge, animals reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones and food processed without ionising radiation and without the use of a wide range of food additives. With artificial chemicals out of the equation, organic food is believed to be healthier than conventional foods.

Study Reveals Produce With Most Pesticides

Consumers are flocking to organic foods. Sales topped $10 billion last year.

But does buying organic pay off? As NBC5 health reporter Nesita Kwan found out, it depends on what you're eating.

Twenty steps to a greener lifestyle

We are, it seems, a hungry nation, and not just in our appetite for food or football. This week, the World Wildlife Fund reported that the average person in the UK is living a "three-planet lifestyle" with each of us using the equivalent of six football pitches worth of resources to support our way of life.

Number of organic farms on decline, stats show

Organic food might be taking over Canada's pantries but not our farms, a new report released Monday suggests.

Hershey enters organic chocolate market

US confectionery company Hershey has extended its foothold in the premium chocolate sector with the purchase of Dagoba organic chocolate company.

Fair to the last drop?

Dean's Beans, a coffee company in the rolling woods of Orange, north of the Quabbin Reservoir, comes across like a hyperactive little international development organization: The company shares profits with farmers and funds reforestation initiatives, health programs, and women's loan projects from Nicaragua to Ethiopia. Its 10 employees enjoy profit sharing and full retirement plans and the company contributes to programs for the disabled and the homeless across the state.

Fair-trade coffee begins to heat up mainstream market

For all the buzz about the importance of buying fair-trade coffee, it represents only 2.2 percent of beans sold in the United States.

It has been a phenomenon of the specialty-coffee market, where better quality brew tends to sell at higher prices. That category includes Starbucks, which says it's the largest purchaser of fair-trade coffee in North America.

Be a Smart Organic Shopper

All fruit is not created equal. Step into any major grocery store and you will notice the ever-growing presence of organic produce. Beside the usual mound of shiny red apples is often another pile, seemingly identical except for a heftier price tag, and maybe, a little less shine.

The difference is in the green sticker, designating the latter as USDA Certified Organic, grown without the use of chemical or synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

Agribusiness likely cause of E. coli outbreak

The tragic outbreak of E. coli spinach that recently killed three people and hospitalized more than a hundred others mistakenly has been linked to the organic farming practice of using animal manure as fertilizer compost.

Over the years, agribusiness and biotech-funded think tanks such as the Hudson Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute have repeated the canard that composted fertilizer used as a non-chemical fertilizer on organic farms is dangerous when in fact there have been only a tiny number of reported cases of food poisoning caused by organic products.

The growing philosophies on food

We've swapped our full-cream milk for the skinny stuff, our wholemeal bread for gluten-free. We're drinking litres of water a day, we're buying organic but we're not eating meat, dairy or carbohydrates. Actually, we're not sure what we should eat.

Meanwhile, our waist-lines are expanding, the rate of diabetes is rising, food disorders are increasing among teenagers and the jury is still out on which food philosophy is best.

Marketing Gimmick or More Value?

As certified organic products make their way into the marketplace, more critics emerge about the health benefits of organic.

"Bottom line, organic is better for all people and our planet," says Anthony Zolezzi, chairman of the board of The Organic Center and author of, "Chemical-Free Kids," (Kensington). "Whether you choose to eat healthy or not, purchasing certified organic products makes a huge impact on the environment and your personal health."

Tips on Buying "Organic" Foods

Shoppers may see signs and labels promoting organic foods in the grocery store. But many consumers are confused about what exactly makes a product "organic"; what are the advantages of buying organic and whether organics cost more. Tricia DiPersio, a registered dietician from the Wild Oats Marketplace is here with some useful advice on buying organic foods.

Promote organic farming

ACCORDING to a study on 'Sustainability Analysis of Ecological and Conventional Agriculture Systems in Bangladesh', ecological agriculture is relatively more sustainable and it can be an economically and environmentally viable alternative to the conventional agriculture system. Organic farming is a system which uses natural (organic) materials to nourish the soil which in turn produces vegetables, fruits and other crops. It does not use pesticides, herbicides and artificial fertilisers and it is the system which had been used until the end of World War II, and which nature has used for millions of years. Inorganic or chemical product is harmful for health and environment as the WHO (World Health Organisation) estimated 5 lakh cases of pesticide poisoning annually and 20,640 deaths globally.

E. coli's effects linger

It could be at least a year before fallout from the E. coli spinach outbreak settles in the Salinas Valley.

A month into the largest agricultural crisis in recent county history, the FBI probe into the incident that killed three people and sickened nearly 200 others continues. The Mexican government is holding strong on a ban against California lettuce, tangentially connected to the outbreak.

Picked to imperfection

Step through the eucalyptus trees tracing the southern edge of Knoll Farms and a neighboring field of dirt unfolds, flat and tilled into tidy rows.

In the summer, a single plant, corn, overruns nearly all of the 50-some acres. Through the remaining seasons, the Brentwood land mostly lies dormant, uncovered, as winds continually abrade the topsoil.

Fertile niche

Joe Hamill has come a long way since he harvested his first crop of organic produce in 2002. That year, he raised enough food to make two trips to the Yellowstone Valley Farmers’ Market in downtown Billings.

“I sold everything, but I was still many hundreds of dollars in the hole,” he said.

These days the Lavina farmer is selling his produce to restaurants and stores in Billings, Red Lodge, Big Sky, Bozeman and Livingston. He spends three days a week on the road, delivering his products and those of like-minded farmers and ranchers to an expanding circle of customers.

Coffee leads the way as we play it Fair

WALES' booming cafe culture and taste for Fairtrade coffee has led to soaring demand for other ethical goods.

Ethical food spending rockets

A third of British shoppers are prepared to spend more on "ethical" foods, and this year they will spend more than £2bn on Fairtrade, free range, local or organic produce.

It's David vs. Goliath in organics

From his small farm in the heart of Ontario's Mennonite country, Wolfgang Pfenning is doing his best to fend off the wave of organic produce coming into Canada from California and what is being called "the pathology of bigness."

In the wake of recent food scares over organic carrot juice and spinach, a fresh light has been cast on the organics industry, leaving people like Pfenning to plead that consumers not confuse his small organic operation with the giant farms dominating the business.

From farm to fork: The food safety system

Recent cases of food-borne illness raise questions not only about farming practices and government regulations, but also what steps consumers need take to ensure their own safety.

Ha Noi boosts use of organic vegetables

Capital Ha Noi is investing VND100 billion (US$6.25 million) in expanding organic vegetation to 80 percent of the municipal total 8,000 ha of vegetables fields by 2010.

Organic vegetables made up 44 percent of the city's total vegetable areas and 38 percent of the total output with a production of almost 58,000 tonnes last year.

Environmentalist say safe food options can be found on local farms

As the spinach crisis shows, eating smart or even organic isn't necessarily what's best for you or the environment -- not if the food is grown en masse at giant farms far away.

Putting your money where your mouth is with your produce

People often complain about the price difference between organic and commercially grown produce. While organically grown foods might appear more expensive, they are actually less, because we are paying for the full cost of the food. If we had to pay the real cost of commercially grown produce, we could more easily see the real bargain that organic food really is.

If you're looking for organic wine, be sure to ask

I had the pleasure of spending some time in Portland, Maine last week. The fall color was kicking into gear and I got the chance to rent a bicycle and pedal to various state beaches and lighthouses to appreciate it all.

I talked to the owner of a wine shop on the waterfront and asked him about organic wines. He carried some Bonterra but not much more. But he did point out that a number of wineries follow organic practices, they just don't go through the paperwork of being certified organic. The moral of the story is...if you're looking for organic wine, ask. A wine you're looking at might in fact be from organically grown grapes, but the label doesn't say so.

The battle for the soul of the organic movement

When Lawrence Woodward started out in organic farming he was a self-described "naive, drop-out", with a simple interest in how people eat. He did a farming course and learned to drive a tractor. He learned the hard way how to turn a conventional farm "organic."

Thirty years on, he has seen organic farming transform from a cottage industry into a billion dollar game played by international food companies. And it's not just about chickens, carrots and lentils. Consumers hoping to eat healthier can also salve their social conscience with organic wine, mouthwash, surfboards, paint, jeans, pram blankets -- the list is endless.

Should you go organic?

To go organic or not? That's a big question for many people. A Consumer Reports survey recently found organic produce can cost twice as much as traditionally-grown products. That's because organic farmers must meet stricter regulations in the growing, harvesting and transporting of the food. But is it worth your money?

Vineyard pioneers wine for diabetics

In the battle to find a niche in the fiercely competitive wine market, a Uruguayan vineyard is making wine without sugar aimed at the growing number of diabetics.

The 119-year-old Vinos de la Cruz family vineyard in the middle of the pampas has tapped into a flourishing new market because of the spread of the disease.

Organic wines improving and multiplying

Ah, organics. We love 'em, and they're the fastest-growing trend in food today.

Organics are difficult to manage on the farms and in the fields, and as this is especially true with grapes, the wine business has been slow to come around. But every three months, when I look for organic wines to review, there are more and more labels available and from more countries.

Organic food costs more; what does it deliver?

Ten years ago, I joined an organic food production co-op. It was the only way I could get fresh organic produce on a regular basis.

For a flat fee, I received a weekly delivery of organic vegetables or fruits during the growing season. Unfortunately, you had to accept whatever they gave you, and you tended to get whatever crop happened to come in that week.

A Perfect Fit: Ecotourism and Smallholder Coffee Communities in Oaxaca, Mexico

Every morning Ramiro Cortes Bustamante wakes up early, drinks his coffee and eats his breakfast before leaving for work.

When to go organic: An aisle-by-aisle guide to getting the most out of your supermarket dollar

It's a big, bright organic world out there. Organic apples and grapes glisten at Wild Oats, organic cereals intrigue at Publix, organic breads call out at Fresh Market. It seems like there's a new outlet selling a new organic product every month. You're not imagining it.

Is it Popeye's Revenge?

For those of you outside the U.S., you may not be aware that August 15 marked the beginning of a serious outbreak of E.coli, linked to bagged spinach. The bacteria has been traced to a company called Natural Selection Foods in central California. As a result, supermarkets pulled fresh spinach from their shelves and many restaurants stopped serving fresh spinach dishes. The FDA lifted its ban on Popeye's favorite energy food on September 29. The sources have been identified, but the real cause has yet to be identified.

E.coli is commonly found in human and animal digestive tracts. If you pick it up, your normal stomach acid is probably tough enough to kill it off and you're none the wiser. But this particular strain (E. coli O157:H7) causes diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. It a more severe case it can cause "hemolytic uremic syndrome," a kidney ailment which is normally treated with intensive care and often requires blood transfusions and kidney dialysis. Two to 7 percent of infections lead to this syndrome, and of those infected, it has a mortality rate of 3-5%. Of the more than 180 people known to be infected, there is one known death and two "suspect cases" in which E. coli may have been the cause of death, but it's not yet certain.

The true source of the problem isn't known. The fact that the outbreak is so widely dispersed, known to have covered 27 states, indicates that contamination happened early in the distribution cycle - in other words, close to the farm in California.

Typically, E. coli is spread through feces contamination. So somehow the spinach came in contact with raw manure. This most likely happened through one of three ways: water, domestic or wild animal life, poor worker hygiene, or fertilizer. Water is getting the most blame, especially since rivers and creeks in the Salinas Valley area, where the spinach came from, have been known to be contaminated. In fact, California spinach was responsible for an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in October 2003, where 16 people became ill and two died.

This is all background information, and it's been all over the news. The question I wanted to answer: Are we safer when we choose organic produce?

We know that the guilty spinach in this case was not sold under the "organic" label. But does that mean that the organic vegetables were protected somehow? My research tells me...it's going to take more research. I'll address that question in my next newsletter.

Stay on top of news, specials, deals, info...www.organic-food-and-drink.com!

Will the organic dream turn sour?

Sales of organic food are booming. Once it was the preserve of specialist shops but now every major supermarket wants a slice of the action. To meet demand superstores are air-freighting organics into the UK and encouraging the type of industrial-scale production it was meant to replace. Is organics still green?

Dangers lurking in fruit and veg

Toxic chemicals have been found in almost a third of the fresh food that families are being encouraged to eat.

A wide range of fruit and vegetables eaten by millions of Britons every day contained pesticides.

Wal-Mart Declares War on Organic Farmers

A report released today by The Cornucopia Institute, the nation's most aggressive organic farming watchdog, accuses Wal-Mart of cheapening the value of the organic label by sourcing products from industrial-scale factory farms and Third World countries, such as China.

Is It Worth Changing To An Organic Diet?

You have made the decision you want to eat healthier, but will "going organic" break the bank? It may not be as difficult or as expensive as you think.

Eating Well 21 / The unnatural glow of the organic logo

Lately there has been a change in the look of the organic logos that appear on local food products - from naive and credible to sneaky. Once this little seal bore the face of a goodhearted farmer, who offered nourishing products that grew in toxin-free soil, drank untouched water and avoided appalling sprays. Now, whenever I look at him, I check whether he's winking and in what direction.

Organic eats, a senseless investment

Walking through a Whole Foods grocery store is like getting an invitation to sit at the cool kids’ table — you are just a better person for being there.

Like Starbucks’ fair-trade coffee, Whole Foods lets you feel good by spending more. Instead of subsidizing Juan Valdez, you get to prop up family farms growing food the way nature intended — organically. But before you drop in for another pound of chipotle hummus, consider whether organic food is worth the increased cost.

Next Wave in Access to Healthy Food: Target Launches Private Label Organics Line

As consumer demand for organic product grows, Target and SuperTarget stores are introducing a private label organics line offering guests a one-stop-shopping experience for their grocery needs. Target guests no longer have to choose between
organic and affordable prices. The Archer Farms brand, exclusive to Target,
will include a variety of organic groceries complementing the core line of
popular items that Target guests know and trust. In addition, the produce
department at SuperTarget is now certified organic by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA), offering superior quality and prices on produce such
as strawberries, apples, and other fruits and vegetables found in nearly
everyone's home.

Shopping tips help cut cost of going organic

Good news for organic consumers: A 10-year surge in sales of food has made buying organic cheaper.

Five years ago, consumers paid up to 50 percent more for tomatoes, chicken, milk and other organic foods. Today, smart shoppers can convert from conventional to organic foods without taking a night job.

Big business accused of corrupting organic label

At the local supermarket, the organic fruit and vegetable display can be a frequent stop for health-conscious consumers. But turn to the next aisle, and shoppers are likely to find a different array of "natural" and "organic" foods.

All-natural potato chips. Organic breakfast burritos. Traverse the frozen foods aisle and one can unearth multiple varieties of organic threecheese lasagna.

'Green’ Consumers Force Retailers to Rethink

“Look Behind the Label” is the name of the campaign that Marks & Spencer, one of the U.K.’s largest retailers, has launched since the beginning of this year. The company says that consumers should pay attention not only to the price on the label but also to whether genetically modified ingredients were used in manufacturing the food they are purchasing, or whether the fish they are buying was responsibly sourced. Middle-class consumers in their 20s and 30s have begun to look for environmentally friendly agricultural products and fair trade products, made or grown by farmers in developing countries who are guaranteed a fair price for their goods. This means that “green consumers” have become a force to be reckoned with, encouraging a trend toward sustainable business management.

How To Avoid Hidden Dangers in your Food

Fruit, veg, oily fish and wholegrain bread are all vital parts of a healthy diet. But, according to new research, these foods could contain a worrying level of chemical contaminants.

A survey by the World Wildlife Fund found that every sample showed at least one pollutant, while some contained a cocktail of toxins.

Now we have produce too!

You can already find a huge variety of organic goods - even the non-edible ones - at our Amazon storefront. But we've just added a whole section on organic produce too. What a project - even just including the Web sites that sell and ship direct to consumer, the list is huge and I feel like I've only just started it. Next time you must find organic kumquats, I can tell you where to find them!

Chinese domestic market grows rapidly for organic vegetables

Four years ago, Daniel You went to a Shanghai Carrefour supermarket to look at how organic products were selling. The deputy general manager of Shanghai E-solution Agricultural Technology Co Ltd (SEAT), a Sino-Germany joint venture company, was disappointed with what he saw. No one was showing any interest, except for a couple who bought a potato for their son, even though it was too expensive for them.

Your guide to going organic

"Organic" is a hot topic in the food world, as in other areas of life, and many products bear the wholesome-sounding label. But it's not as simple as it sounds.

Many questions about organics, including its purported benefits, remain unanswered

Here are some of the basics, a guide to questions you should ask and a sampling of opinions to help you make informed choices as you shop for food.

Rice farmer who went organic

Nestled in the foothills of the Belumut mountain forest reserve is the only organic rice eco farm in the country.

Rice farmer who went organic

Nestled in the foothills of the Belumut mountain forest reserve is the only organic rice eco farm in the country.

Good results for organic fruit growers

Despite higher than expected fruit losses this year, organic kiwifruit growers are celebrating excellent returns, an industry leader said today.

Fair trade coffee sales have reaching effects

More so than any other product, coffee is seeing a transformation in consumer awareness, accompanied by a growing interest in free trade beans that ensure a sustainable and brighter future for beleaguered workers in developing countries.

Can coffee brew a better world?

All great missionary endeavors begin with a road trip.

And so it came to pass that Kyle Cureau and Jess Arnsteen climbed into a truck and drove through Mexico to Guatemala to visit coffee farmers. Now they’re helping launch an organization that will import organic coffee directly from some of those farmers.

'Green' consumers push for organic cocoa

The burgeoning organic chocolate market is taking off thanks to an increase in ethical consumerism and the willingness of confectionery makers worldwide to exploit the trend.

According to the Pesticide Action Network, cocoa is second only to cotton in its high use of pesticides, however organic production of the beans entails natural methods of pest control and has been praised for its contribution to sustainable farming.

Organic meat group aims for consistency

Caledonian Organics, an independent producer group set up to market organic beef and lamb in Scotland and northern England, has brought consistency of supply to the market while improving returns for its farmer members.

Was the organic option worse?

I don't know if this story has gone worldwide or not, but if you're in the US you've undoubtedly heard of the E.coli issue with bagged spinach. If you haven't heard, there's been one death and multiple illnesses reported from E.coli present on spinach in bags. This has led to widespread recall of fresh spinach from supermarkets and restaurants alike, and will have a huge impact on the spinach growers, most of whom are in California.

What makes this especially relevant to us is that the spinach in question was grown organically, and it's being postulated that the natural fertilizers are in some way the culprit. They can carry the bacteria where chemical fertilizers wouldn't.

So, my question to you...does this affect your attitude about organic produce at all?

Kiwis not buying into 'ethical' goods

New Zealand consumers are falling behind their international counterparts who are embracing the wave of "ethical consumerism", critics say.

Humboldt beef products setting new standards

Humboldt County has long been home to ranchers raising livestock off the fat of the land, but times are changing and grass-fed and organic meats appear to be the wave of the future.

'Organic' label little more than a marketing tool for food, critics say

At the local supermarket, the organic fruit and vegetable display is a frequent stop for health-conscious consumers. But turn to the next aisle and shoppers are likely to find a different array of "natural" and "organic" foods.

All-natural potato chips. Organic breakfast burritos. On the frozen-food aisle, a shopper can unearth multiple varieties of organic three-cheese lasagna.

(Debbie's comment...Don't know about this. "Natural" is a marketing term, and could mean almost anything. Poison ivy is natural [all right, it's probably organic too, but you get my meaning.] And the article makes the point that "organic" doesn't necessarily mean "healthy", as in organic tortilla chips. But if sustainable farming and kindness to the environment remains part of the goal, then we're all still better off supporting the tortilla chips made with organic corn than the ones that aren't, right?)

'To stay in farming we have to do something different'

A FARMER is shifting 240 hectares of his land outside Harpenden to organic production, the first major conversion in the St Albans area....He said: "It is a simple matter of pounds, shilling and pence.

Farmers question value of 'responsible' coffees

Coffee farmers at Guatemala's small Chanmagua cooperative opened their land and growing methods to stiff scrutiny last year, in the hope an "environment-friendly" seal would bring them higher prices. The fifteen farmers who entered the program let inspectors see their accounts, raised wages for contract workers and cut down on fertilizers and pesticides so their coffee could be labeled environmentally and socially responsible. But after all the hard work the farmers, who grow high-grade coffee on mountains close to the border with Honduras, say they are disappointed with the small premiums over market price fetched by the coffee.

Organic on the Rise

Interest in organic wines is on the rise as environmentally aware consumers increase. Moving from niche product to supermarket regular, organic wine is now stocking the shelves of British supermarket chains Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, which have seen sale increases of 492.9% and 7% respectively.

GO ORGANIC

TODAY'S supermarket shelves are filled with ethically-minded products for the green consumer.

As people become more aware of the impact their shopping choices can make on their bodies and the environment, organic food has slowly gained a foothold in this country....

But beyond the fact organic fruit and vegetables are more expensive than their non-organic counterparts, what do we really know about them? Here are our top 10 reasons to go organic.

Govt. wants change of 'grass-fed' rules

Meat-eaters usually assume a grass-fed steak came from cattle contentedly grazing for most of their lives on lush pastures, not crowded into feedlots.

If the government has its way, the grass-fed label could be used to sell beef that didn't roam the range and ate more than just grass.

Your choice of coffee could save songbirds

The only connection you may see between coffee and birds is the obvious one: To be out there at the crack o' dawn when the birds are most active, you need that wake-up jolt that comes in a cup of caffeine. But there's another connection, much less evident, much more important.

September is the peak of southbound songbird migration. Have you ever thought about where your migrant songbirds are going and how they're going to survive? Most of them are going to where your coffee is coming from, and they need trees and insects there. If you want to continue enjoying their spring and fall passages, I'd like you to consider buying only "shade-grown" coffee.

Will Czechs go organic?

According to a recent Agricultural Ministry survey, a mere three percent of Czech consumers regularly buy products with a bio label. At the other end of the scale, nearly 50 percent of Czechs are not at all familiar with organic products. Most of those polled cite the popularity of traditional brands and the considerably higher prices of organic goods as reasons for staying away from the new organic trend.

Sales of organic produce up 30% in year

Sales of organic produce in the UK have jumped 30% in a year and are now worth £1.6bn annually.

All the leading supermarkets have expanded their range of organic food rapidly in the last year and report dramatic growth in demand. Supermarkets accounted for £1.2bn of the total market for organic produce in 2005.

Sales of organic foods, beverages make small dent in total U.S. sales

"Organic" is a hot topic in the food world, as in other areas of life, and myriad products bear the term on their labels.

But it's not always as simple as the word may lead one to believe.

Nuns help impoverished Mexican Indians develop coffee trade

If not for a home brew of tequila and garlic, two nuns dispatched to the remote highlands of Southern Mexico might not have had the stomachs for what became the project of a lifetime.

One in three buying organic food

More than one in three Britons will buy organic food over the next month, research has revealed.

One in 10 will buy organic fast food, such as pizza and ready meals, while 14% will pick up organic peanut butter and 11% will buy organic chocolate and biscuits.

Organic wine joins the chemical-free dinner party

Organic wine, once viewed as one of the most marginal outposts of the organic movement, is getting the nod from the public.

Retailers are reporting strong sales of organically produced wine from shoppers concerned about how their drink affects the environment and their health.

(Where to find organic wine? Start with Organic Food and Drink's wine section for a list of wineries and wine suppliers.)

Activism begins at the dinner table

Whether it is protests on Bascom Hill, marches down State Street or rallies on the Capitol Square, Madison has long been known for its activism. One of the most powerful statements many Madisonians make, however, is silent.

Lydia Zepeda, a UW-Madison professor of consumer science, signs her e-mails with a twist on the well-known idiom: We are what we eat.

Hog plant looks to upscale markets

Instead of being swallowed up in the commodity world, P.E.I. hog producers are hoping a bold new venture to market natural meat to niche markets worldwide is the wave of their future.

So...about GM...

Here's a recap of the August 29, newsletter, in case you missed it!

Specials and Recommendations

Have you tried one of the rarest coffees in the world? CoffeeAM.com is featuring its Organic Galapagos Island Estate coffee. They roast their Galapagos beans to have a medium body. This is a well balanced coffee with an intriguing finish. To sweeten the deal, you receive a half pound of this coffee free with every purchase.

And meat eaters: Niman Ranch is offering a variety of summer specials. Take its sweet Italian sausage, for example, on sale for $7.95. Holding themselves to the high standards set by artisanal sausage makers, they use carefully selected herbs and spices. No nitrites added! This sausage has balanced sweet and savory notes from ingredients including toasted fennel seed and a touch of black pepper. Its mild flavor makes it one of the most versatile of sausages, perfect for grilling or as an ingredient in Italian dishes, stuffings, soups and more.

In the world of organic wine, Cellars Wine Club has added a 2005 Snoqualmie Riesling and a 2005 Snoqualmie Gewurztraminer, both at $10.99. This is in addition to their selection of Bonterra organic wines.


Feature Article: Genetically Modified Foods
One reason for many of us to choose organic products is uncertainty over the effects of genetically modified, or GM, foods. This article from the College of Naturopathic Medicine UK and Ireland goes through what GM food is, how and why it's modified, and how you might avoid it if you want to. It's quite a long article, so I'll include the first few paragraphs and a link so you can read the rest if you would like.

With the introduction of the first genetically modified tomato to the commercial market in 1994, there has been great debate over the use of GM foods in our community.

The argument for these foods has been put to us from the companies that have created them, scientists and some farmers, and the argument against these foods comes from environmentalists, health care professionals and the concerned consumer at the end of the chain. Research for and against the safety of these foods is varied and the results seem relative to the view of the people creating the research. The long term effects of these foods on the health of animals and human consumers, and on the health or our environment, are yet to be established.

GM foods were originally created to bypass the relatively slow process that farmers and horticulturists were using to cross breed different strains of plants. Scientists soon realised that through gene therapy, they could bypass the breeding stage, and create plants with the qualities that they wanted in them. This is done by removing or adding specific genes in the DNA sequence of plants. This then switches on specific qualities in a plant or switches off undesired ones. As consumers and farmers we were told that these new breeds would reduce pesticide use, and increase yield due to the creation of strains that would be more disease and weather resistant. We were told that the larger yields would contribute to a greater abundance of food therefore creating less poverty and hunger. We were told that these foods would be perfectly safe and that they would not affect our health or the health of the environment. That was the marketing ploy behind a huge company that has profit as their motivation. In truth, GM foods are a booming business that earns the creators of these seeds trillions of dollars in profits a year. The aims of these companies are to create an ongoing increase in revenue to their pockets. But what cost is that to us as health consumers and the environment?

With the introduction of GM foods, the truth of the matter started to become more apparent. Crops could be created that meant they do not self-seed again for the next season. This then creates a market for repeat buying of the GM seed as the farmers have to buy the seed again for the next year, instead of using their own harvest. This may be perfectly acceptable in some large farming communities, but what does that pose morally, ethically and environmentally for nations that are hardly affording to grow the first crop? Is the creation of a super-breed then good for the health of the community or good for the wallets of the company that created the strain of plant?

For the rest of this article, click here.

Turkey's born-again farmer

Organic food might change your life, but organic farming can change the lives of thousands. Nazmi Ilicali, born in 1953, grew up in the east of Turkey in the province of Erzurum, famous for its scorching summers and hard winters. Erzurum, one of Turkey's poorest districts, is where Nazmi's life has been spent enriching the barren lives of those around him.

More parents using organic baby products

Pink and blue are passe. The hot thing in the children’s market these days is green.

Parents are increasingly turned on by the idea of organic products -- clothing, creams and food made without chemicals that they feel are too harsh to be used on their pristine and delicate children.

Breyers introduces organic ice cream

Unilever North American Ice Cream will launch Breyers' organic ice cream in four flavors in September.

The Green Bay-based manufacturer and marketer of branded packaged ice cream and frozen novelties is calling the line All Natural Organic Ice Cream. It will be available in vanilla bean, chocolate, coffee and vanilla fudge swirl flavors at supermarkets in the United States.

Coffee with a conscience; Agua Prieta roaster helps keep farmers from migrating

When the price for a sack of coffee beans fell 75 percent to 350 pesos (about $32) during the late 1980s, Daniel Cifuentes did what many young men in the coffee-growing communities of Chiapas were forced to do: He migrated in search of a living wage.

USDA Undermines Organic Law, Authority of Expert Panel Ignored

Organic livestock farmers may soon have access to additional medicines to treat their animals for common ailments. The USDA's National Organic Program has proposed rule changes to add thirteen new materials to the “National List” of approved substances for organic producers and is accepting public comments through September 15th.

Coffee with a conscientious kick

Not only can crop certification give farmers a better deal, in Peru one system is slowing deforestation. The range of certifications available allows retailers to capture a larger share of the ethical consumer market by offering a product that guarantees stringent social and environmental conditions.

It's easier to be green, but does it matter?

You could commute in a hybrid, sip fair trade coffee, swaddle your tyke in organic cotton, spend vacations saving rain forests, bank your retirement on socially responsible investments, even power your home from a low-pollution utility.

But while all that green may leave you feeling good, does it really leave the world a better place? Or just thin your wallet?

Find Out Which Organic Products Are Worth The Expense

The organic food industry is a booming business, with consumers shelling out $14 billion last year for organic items to reduce their exposure to pesticides and antibiotics, but are all organic products created equally?

Consumer Watch reporter Liz Crenshaw is here to tell us when it pays to buy organic and when it doesn't.

Hard to swallow

YOU'RE in the supermarket shopping for dinner. It's been a long day and you want to make this quick. Into the trolley goes a plastic-wrapped tray of pork chops, vegetables, salad, maybe a couple of apples for sauce, juice, eggs and coffee for the morning, and perhaps some chocolate for a treat. Despite the bright lights, bad muzak and onslaught of packaging, it is a painless process and one that has cost you very little. Or has it?

Domestic market grows rapidly for organic vegetables

Four types of vegetables are found in China: normal vegetables, harmless vegetables, green vegetables and organic vegetables.

All vegetables, except for organic ones, are grown with the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

Domestic market grows rapidly for organic vegetables

Four types of vegetables are found in China: normal vegetables, harmless vegetables, green vegetables and organic vegetables. (See sidebar on Page 5 for definitions.)

All vegetables, except for organic ones, are grown with the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

USDA Seeks To Expand Allowable Substances In Organic Meat

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking comment on a proposed rule that would expand by eight the number of allowable substances used in treating livestock under the National Organic Program.

Read more of the article to find out exactly what substances are under consideration, and stay with the Organic Food and Drink newsletter for news on this subject and more.

Organic butchers 'breaking law'

Nine in every 10 butchers claiming to be selling organic meat may be breaking the law, BBC News has learned.

Agog over organics

WORLDWIDE demand for organic food is booming and Australian producers can snare a bigger slice of the market, according to a government report.

Is this a good reason to choose organic, or what??

The title of this article is "We Want Real Wine," but it's not just about wine. Here's an excerpt:
In his polemic We Want Real Food (Constable & Robinson, 2006) agricultural reporter Graham Harvey notes that in the UK in the half century between 1940 and 1991, vegetables have lost one quarter of their magnesium and iron, half their calcium and three quarters of their copper. There are two main reasons for this: the widespread use of pesticides has produced sterile soils. A teaspoonful of healthy soil contains a whopping 5 billion living organisms – almost the entire human population of the planet – from over 10 000 different species. In addition to mega fauna like dung beetles and earthworms that aerate and fertilize the soil, there are myriad species invisible to the naked eye.

Eat It Up

An interest in eating organic foods is no longer considered to go hand in hand with wearing Birkenstocks and sharing tales about the groovy time you had at Woodstock.

Organic and natural-food retailing is the fastest-growing grocery segment in the U.S., increasing by about 20% annually.

Been a little while...

Hi all...Been quiet in here since I left for vacation. Back again, so let's get this party started! Expect a newsletter within a week.

Doing the java justice

West Van resident Martha Bowen is brewing up a different way of doing business, and it's perking up the industry in which she works while simultaneously educating coffee lovers about her homeland.

Bowen is the founder and CEO of Latin Organics - a coffee company committed to making a difference in the lives of Latin American farmers.

Good to grow

When Cissy Bowman started selling her homegrown organic produce in the early 1980s, the public was not exactly clamoring for her merchandise.

"People would literally ask me questions like, 'What's an organic? How do you grow one?,' like it was a type of vegetable," says Bowman, now CEO of Indiana Certified Organic, an agency authorized by the USDA to designate farms and producers as "organic."

Organic food is growing as a popular choice for customers

You'd expect to see boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables if you were at the grocery or farmer's market.

But sitting alongside screwdrivers, weed trimmers and bicycles in the middle of a garage?

That's the sight every two weeks at the home of Lisa Mindich, a member of the Purple Dragon Co-op, which specializes in home delivery of organic produce.

Visit www.organic-food-and-drink.com to see which of your favorite organic treats you can have delivered to your home.

Is There Anything Left That We Can Eat?

I can't decide what to eat. I don't mean which recipe to make, or what restaurant to go to. I mean when I go grocery shopping, I'm paralyzed with indecision. Everything, it seems, is either ethically, nutritionally or environmentally incorrect. Guilt is ruining my appetite.

Local farmers provide quality produce

How do Oklahoma farmers and producers decide to make the jump to organics in their businesses? For some, the decision was made decades ago; others simply wanted to help make this world a little better for everyone.

Bonterra Vineyards is named the Official Wine of The PGA of America

Bonterra Vineyards, owned and produced by the Brown-Forman Corporation, has been named "The Official Wine of The PGA of America."

Bonterra wines are produced using only organically grown grapes, which make for better tasting wines. Available in fine restaurants and retail stores across the United States, Bonterra's award winning varietals include: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Hospital Purchasing Group Signs Deal with Major Organic Food Distributor

More than 2,000 hospitals in the U.S. now have access to natural and organic foods, thanks to a deal announced today between MedAssets, a leading group purchasing organization for the health care industry, and United Natural Food Incorporated (UNFI), the largest publicly traded wholesale distributor to the natural and organic foods industry. The deal, which is the first contract between a major health care buyer and organic food distributor, reflects the growing demand in the health care industry for healthy food options.

Resorts, hotels going organic

Wal-Mart caused a stir recently when it announced that it was going to push organic foods, but it is hardly alone in that marketing approach. Increasingly, hotels and resorts are featuring organic cuisine on their menus and in their guest programs.

BCGEU sets an example in supporting fair trade in coffee

The British Columbia Government and Services' Employees (BCGEU/NUPGE) is doing its part to support fair trade in coffee.

BCGEU representatives met recently with partners from coffee cooperatives in Central America to review the benefits for agricultural workers from a solidarity project, called Café Etico. Participants included Lesbia Morales, who represents a Gutemalan coffee co-op; Encarnacion Suarez Obregon, who represents ACOPAN, a co-op in Nicaragua; BCGEU vice-president Colleen Jones and BCGEU coordinator Nancy Gillis.

Organic Ingredients

These days you can find an organic version of almost any food. From fruits and vegetables to cookies and candies Americans are developing quite an appetite for organic foods.

The popularity of the products have some ingredient suppliers scrambling to find ways to fill the orders. And while grocery shelves are packed with products finding the essential ingredients can be a challenge for those who make them.

This article brings up an interesting point. One of the foci of the organic movement has been "buy local." But local isn't always organic. So do you buy conventionally-farmed local ingredients, or go out of the area to buy organic?

Not-so-simple choices

What does your shopping cart say about your values?

A typical grocery list might include eggs, milk, pork chops, asparagus, coffee, salmon steaks and bananas. Sounds simple. But each involves a personal choice that reflects our values.

Are the bananas organic or grown with chemicals? Do they carry a Fair Trade sticker, indicating that the farm workers who grew and harvested them earned a living wage?

Boss is full of beans over coffee company

Fairtrade coffee has become big business nowadays with everyone clambering to drink up and cash in. But one of its pioneers has no complaints about ethics becoming trendy.

All aboard the organic bandwagon

This is the age of the Barneys-wearing granola-minded folk, and organics is the new cool. Organic bobanic shomanic. As a kid I used to ride my bicycle behind the mosquito fog truck and loved the smell of gasoline fumes, but then I also grew up between a nuclear-submarine base and an air base with nuclear weapons.

I've definitely come around to enjoying the natural way of life and find that it makes sense. Now we have organic cotton, organic tea, organic coffee and organic veggies. And there is a quiet but growing movement in the wine business toward sustainable, organic vineyard practices.

Where can you buy wine from those organic vineyards? Visit www.organic-food-and-drink.com to find your favorites.

Venezuelan cacao farmers hope to get rich

There is sweet renewal on the old cacao plantations that just five years ago lay fallow on these lush mountain slopes along the Caribbean coast. Its mother is a lucrative niche market: organic chocolate.

Small farmers enticed by the promise of profits from chocolate's essential ingredient are revitalizing cultivation of the once-neglected plantations.

Organic beer gaining momentum in marketplace

Organic beers have become increasingly popular among consumers, with sales more than doubling since 2003, according to the Organic Trade Association.

Sales of organic beer grew 40 percent in 2005, which ties it with organic coffee as the fastest-growing organic beverage. Even Anheuser-Busch -- the nation's largest beer company and maker of Budweiser products -- recently started producing two brands of organic beers.

Chocolate with a conscience

A journey of 6,000 miles from Indianapolis to the remote villages of Nigeria can have sweet rewards when the end of the trip brings chocolate -- and also helps save threatened wildlife.

Those are both goals of the Endangered Species Chocolate Co., which has exploded with growth in the past year since moving its headquarters to the Northwestside of Indianapolis.

Food co-ops seek fresh ways to stand out in organic market

Move over, tofu. Beef has come to the food co-op.

As mainstream supermarkets have upped their organic product offerings in recent years, many of the natural food cooperatives that sprouted decades ago on the fringes of their communities have grown into stores resembling modern grocery outlets - with meat and fish counters, in-store cafes and coffee bars.

Co-op advocates say the changes reflect both the desires of their member-owners and a need to compete with everyone from Whole Foods to Wal-Mart for organic food sales. But they say co-ops still offer something the national food marketers don't: ownership in a community organization dedicated to locally grown foods.

If you can't find just what you're looking for at your local market, check www.organic-food-and-drink.com for the best sources for organic wine, organic coffee, and more.

Grocers see green in natural foods

Hormone-free beef, free range chicken eggs and organically-grown apples are taking up more shelf space in Fayetteville grocery stores.

The organic foods business is gaining ground across America. In Fayetteville, shoppers will notice extended offerings of all-natural products in the aisles as many stores expand their organic product lines.

Australian organic food in demand

Worldwide demand for organic food is booming and Australian producers can snare a bigger slice of the market, a government report says.

The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) has delivered a broad study of the organics industry, finding demand for the products is outstripping supply around the globe.

You're eating the WRONG fruit and veg!

Scientists generally believe that cancer cells are forming in the body continually, but most are destroyed before they develop into malignant tumours. The research team now believe that salvestrols play a key role in this process....The research also suggests that levels of salvestrols are up to 30 times higher in organic produce, but almost absent in some commercially grown varieties. Some varieties of fruit have 40 or 50 times higher levels than others.

How's that for a reason to go organic? Stay with www.organic-food-and-drink.com for the information and resources to make it easier.

Big sugar targets organic market

Today, Florida Crystals of West Palm Beach is the nation's only producer of certified organic sugar — grown without herbicides or pesticides. The rest of the nation's organic sugar supply is imported from other countries. Florida Crystals grows organic cane and rice on 3,800 to 4,200 acres each year, and peak production of organic sugar has reached 3,600 tons. That's a very small percentage of its total sugar output, which has reached 900,000 tons in years not affected by hurricanes.

From Seed to Cup, This Organic Coffee is All About Women

Scattered across rural farm villages that dot the Andes Mountains of northern Peru, 464 women teamed together to form their own coffee association, Café Femenino, as a way to earn more money and assert their independence in a historically male dominated country, more specifically a male dominated industry.

Retailers boost fairtrade sales

Global sales in fairtrade products have increased 37 per cent to €1.1bn (£758m) in the last year, as leading supermarket chains switch sourcing policies to tap the growing consumer trend for ethically produced goods.

According to the latest figures from the Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO), the market for fairtrade coffee grew 70.9 per cent in the US and 34 per cent in the UK, helped by the expansion of product lines across all the major supermarket chains.

Where to get that fair trade coffee? Visit www.organic-food-and-drink.com for wine, coffee, and more from around the world.

Organic ice cream disappoints panel

What's not to like about chocolate ice cream, especially when summer days stretch out long and hot?

A lot, as it turns out. At least that was the collective opinion of the Taster's Choice professionals confronted with their first-ever tasting of organic chocolate ice creams.

Increasing trend to woo organic food shoppers

Organic food for the masses has arrived, and at a time when America as a nation has never been fatter or eaten so badly. Seventeen per cent of children and teenagers are overweight, and 66 per cent of adults, of whom 32 per cent are obese. Seventy-eight per cent of adults admit they do not eat enough fruit or vegetables.

The Wal-Mart move is among several signs that Americans are beginning to think more seriously about what they eat. In a grocery market, stagnant for many years, the organic and fair trade sector — though small — is expanding by 20 per cent every year, says Joseph Mendelson of the Centre for Food Safety in Washington. Demand for organic milk regularly outstrips supply, and each year more farm acreage is used for organics.

Wal-Mart going organic? Good or bad? Post your comments here, and sign up for our newsletter at www.organic-food-and-drink.com for all the latest.

USA's First LEED-Certified Winemaking Facility Opens in Oregon

Stoller Vineyards, producer of world-class artisanal Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, is pleased to announce the opening of the first and only winemaking facility in Oregon to be 100% LEED-certified at the gold level. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System® is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.

GOING ORGANIC

In the 1980s, organic farming groups began sprouting, and certifications became available for organic food. Sales hit $1 billion for the first time in 1990, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture implemented standards for organic food and beverages in 2002.

"Organic is one of our fastestgrowing categories," said Jim Spilka, vice president for produce and bulk food at Meijer. "It still accounts for a small percentage of total sales, but yet it keeps doubling itself."

European organic crops market in the wait, farmers told

Farmers have been encouraged to cultivate more organic crops, which have a waiting market in Europe so that they can easily fight poverty.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, the Country Manager of Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa (EPOPA), Marg Leijdens, said many developed and developing countries now prefers to use organic produce than other crops.

David Michael Offers FairTrade Vanilla

Almost a decade ago, David Michael & Co. addressed the organic concerns of its clients by offering one of the first organic vanilla products on the market. Today, David Michael answers the call for social responsibility. Fair Trade ensures that farmers around the world use sustainable farming methods and are paid a fair price for their crops, which leads to thriving communities and a healthy environment. When market prices fall below the cost of production, farmers are still guaranteed the Fair Trade price.

Fair Trade vanilla is new, but you can find fair trade coffee at www.organic-food-and-drink.com.

Fair Trade Certified(tm) Chamomile, Hibiscus, Mint Now Available in US Market; Join Booming Fair Trade Certified Tea, Rooibos Market

The caffeinated world of Fair Trade just got a little calmer. TransFair USA -- the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade goods in the United States -- has introduced Fair Trade Certified(tm) chamomile, hibiscus and mint to the U.S. market, expanding an already booming Fair Trade Certified tea market -- which grew a record 187 percent in 2005 -- to include consumers who prefer a non-caffeinated brew, as well as diversify the Fair Trade Certified ingredients available to the culinary, nutraceutical and herbal supplement industries.

Don't know where to find fair trade products? Keep checking www.organic-food-and-drink.com for the best sources on the Web.

Back to the basics of organic

Organics represent about 2 percent of the total U.S. food market, yet they are the only sector of the industry experiencing sustained growth.

According to Juli Brussell, an expert with University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, organics have experienced a "25 percent or greater increase every year," while conventional markets flatlined.

Looking for something in particular? Keep visiting www.organic-food-and-drink.com as we add more and more food, drinks and resources.

Resorts and Hotels Try Growing Organically

Wal-Mart caused a stir recently when it announced it was going to push organic foods, but it is hardly alone in that marketing approach. Increasingly, hotels and resorts are featuring organic cuisine on their menus and in their guest programs.

Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico (www.rancholapuerta.com), which has a six-acre organic farm that produces vegetables, herbs and fruit used by the spa's chefs and therapists, plans to open a cooking school next spring with a focus on natural foods.

How does your vineyard grow?

Once upon a time, chemical fertilizers and pesticides were in vogue.

When they first emerged in the agricultural world, more well-off farmers hopped on the plant-steroid train, leaving others to grow their crops as they always had -- organically.

That trend has reversed in the past decade. Chemicals are out, and organic is in.

Organic wine and where to find it...visit www.organic-food-and-drink.com.

TeaForHealth Presents the Only Green Tea with FDA Qualified Health Claim at the Summer Fancy Food Show

Dr. Lee's TeaForHealth Organic Green Tea inabottle is the First Bottled Green Tea to Meet the National Cancer Institute's Standard Required for Anti-cancer Benefits

TeaForHealth(R) will present the only green tea product with a qualified health claim from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), based on the de facto standard recommended by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for effectiveness against cancer, which is 800 ml (27 oz) of green tea containing 710 mcg/ml (-) epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) per day in an adult. The new TeaForHealth 710EGCG(TM) organic green tea "inabottle(TM)" product, in four ready-to-drink flavors, will be made available for tasting at the Summer Fancy Food Show.

New organic flavour extracts hit European market

A European supplier of organic flavour extracts has added a range of new ingredients to its portfolio, designed to produce a cleaner label and boost the profile of organic products in the eyes of consumers.

The new ginger root, cinnamon and hibiscus extracts are the fist in a range of organic products, with the line due to expand within the next few months, said supplier Euringus.

Biodynamics helps wine find its inner grape

Farming a vineyard so that most of the environment is incorporated into the grapes is what terroir is all about. And, as many winemakers would have us believe, the greater the terroir, the greater the wine.

A growing number of wineries are taking that philosophy further with the concept of biodynamics, a type of organic farming that calls for more than eliminating the use of chemical sprays or fertilizers.

Biodynamic, organic, NSA...find them at www.organic-food-and-drink.com.

Change brewing at Wal-Mart?

Wal-Mart is in the midst of overhauling its tightfisted image to win over shoppers searching for more than low prices.

That effort has taken the company that built an empire on the principle of high volume and low costs into previously uncharted territory, into the realm of trendy apparel and organic food.

Now, with the help of Pereira, it is embarking on one of its most radical undertakings to date: fair trade.

Shopping queues get into step

THOSE of us who love good food and wine have long been aware of the rise and rise of organic and biodynamic farming and even slow food, but now these movements are starting to touch a mainstream nerve. It seems the wider public – the mums and dads putting packaged animal products in their supermarket trolleys each day – are becoming more conscious of the health, moral and environmental consequences of factory animal farming. Not to mention the inferior flavours.

Keep on top of all the developments at
www.organic-food-and-drink.com.

Consumers buy with their beliefs

Eat chocolate, save the planet.

That’s the message of Endangered Species Chocolate, which sells organic and “ethically traded” candy bars.

And more people seem to be buying it.

Find more of what people are buying at
www.organic-food-and-drink.com.

DTI Kalinga helps farmers acquire organic coffee tag

Due to increasing demand here and abroad, Kalinga is gearing towards organic coffee production.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Kalinga is helping local farmers grow coffee the organic way.

Organic coffee farming is being piloted in three areas—one site in Pinukpuk town and two in Upper Tabuk.

The technology is in line with the “One Town, One Product” program of the government and is in response to the global trend on the use of organic products.

If you're not already in the Philippines, you don't have to go that far to find organic coffee. Visit www.organic-food-and-drink.com/coffee instead!

Organic Coffees are Perfect for Holiday Gifts and Entertaining

Consumers today are equating organic coffee with quality, driving up sales up of the product 40 percent last year to $89 million. The 12 participants in the Organic Coffee Collaboration - a project of the Organic Trade Association, hope holiday coffee purchases for gifts and entertaining will be organic and have provided recipes for both hot and cold organic coffee beverages.

Where can you buy organic coffee? Find the answer here: www.organic-food-and-drink.com/coffee/.

Olives, emus and snails

The secret of producing organic products lies in working with insects. "You need positive insects and the right variety of olive trees and flowers to make them happy," he says.

More information about organic foods and beverages: www.organic-food-and-drink.com.

One item, two prices - that's fair trade

AT CERTAIN shops in London, a cup of "fair trade" coffee costs 25 cents more than an ordinary cup. But investigations reveal that, though the Guatemalan farmers supplying the coffee are paid almost double the market price, the quantity of beans used in a cup of coffee is so small that this extra cost works out at only 2.5 cents a cup. So 90 per cent of the higher price of fair trade coffee ends up in someone else's pocket.

More information on organic coffee: www.organic-food-and-drink.com

Organic coffee loses appeal for Nicaragua growers

"There is no marked difference in the market price for organic and non-organic coffee, and that is why the producers feel unmotivated to produce (organic)," Martha Stella Gutierrez, the executive director of Cafenica, a group of cooperatives that says it produces 90 percent of the country's organic coffees, told Reuters.

"It is something we are noticing and it worries us because we know that the production costs (of organic) are higher."

More information on organic coffee: www.organic-food-and-drink.com

Beyond sugar and banana

The Mayan Indians are one of the indigenous peoples of South America. Between AD 250 and AD 900 they created an advanced civilisation. They built great cities and trading centres around palaces plazas and pyramids. And they were the most sophisticated agriculturalists of the time. But today they are a marginalised rural community in countries like Belize and Guatemala.

For more on organic food and beverages, visit www.organic-food-and-drink.com.

Dominicans stage III Organic Coffee Festival

The Organic Coffee Festival to take place on the 3-4 June in Polo, Barahona, has turned into one of the most interesting cultural and ecological tourism propositions of the Caribbean.

It is a community-oriented festivity that gathers organic producing families of the Southeastern zone, to thank and celebrate the year’s harvest.

For more information on organic coffee, visit www.organic-food-and-drink.com.

Vowing to be Green

More couples are choosing to make their weddings organic and eco-friendly — and fashionable...Engaged couples are thinking about the environmental and social impacts of their big day. They are seeking organic and ethically sound options, and that demand is creating more green choices for gowns, flowers, salons, cakes, catering, gifts, jewelry and even honeymoons.

Natural Products Sales Top $51 Billion in 2005

American shoppers spent more than $51 billion on natural and organic products in 2005, according to research published in the 25th Annual Market Overview in the June issue of The Natural Foods Merchandiser. NFM (www.naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com) is the leading trade magazine serving the natural and organic products industry and is read by more than 15,000 retailers, industry leaders and trend watchers each month.

More info...www.organic-food-and-drink.com

Cuban Organic Coffee Goes to Japan & EU

Cuba exported 120 tons of organic coffee in 2005, despite several years of severe drought, informed Pascual Caro, head of the ecological coffee and cacao project.

Violence Threatens E.Timor Coffee Industry

East Timor's resurgent coffee industry, known for its high-quality organic beans, has been badly hurt by a wave of violence in the capital that halted operations at the start of the harvesting season, officials said Thursday.

Cold Organic Coffee Perfect for Hot Summer Days

To help coffee drinkers switching from hot to cold coffee during the hot summer months, the Organic Coffee Collaboration, a project of the Organic Trade Association (OTA), is providing seven delicious cold organic coffee recipes. These include iced coffee, malteds, and even cold coffee shakes blended with avocado! The organic coffee drinks can be made with organic decaffeinated, caffeinated, flavored and instant coffees widely available at retail outlets nationwide and direct from roasters via the Internet.

Bolivian organic coffee farmers target niche markets

In the green and misty hills of Bolivia's tropical Yungas region, thousands of farming families are working together to get better prices for their organic, high-altitude coffee.

May is the start of the harvest for the Yungas cooperatives and red coffee berries hang heavy on their branches in the shade of mandarin trees and banana plants. Everywhere, families are at work, picking, hulling and sun-drying the coffee beans on which their rural way of life depends.

"Our coffee compares well with coffee from Jamaica or Central America but it's not so well-known. We still need to earn the confidence of buyers," said expert coffee taster and grower Martin Oluri, adding that the region's coffee is characterized by chocolate, honey and citrus flavors.

Winner: Best Organic Wine

At the Los Angeles County Fair Wines of the World Competition, judges rated 3,786 wines entered from 18 countries. Their vote for the best organic wine: 2005 Bonterra Vineyards Muscat, Bartolucci Vineyard, Lake County, California ($16-$18) - Their description: "a delightful, light and delicate little orange blossom."

Cotton’s sustainability story hits the road

Agriculture’s latest buzzword “sustainability” probably has as many definitions as it does letters, nevertheless, whatever it is is impacting agriculture from the turn row to the retail counter.

California wine grape growers have had a major sustainability push for several years and others are trying to meet a sustainability litmus test to mollify consumers.

Cotton is the latest crop to be called on the sustainability carpet, not yet by consumers but by people who buy cotton and make and sell textile products from the natural fiber.

What's new with food? These healthful products

Amid the flavored water, organic beef jerky and other samples offered by 2,000 exhibitors at the Food Marketing Institute's trade show this month in Chicago, a theme with a familiar flavor emerged.

Food companies are catering, above all, to consumers' desire for ever-more-healthful, ever-more-organic products.

How a £1.50 chocolate bar saved a Mayan community from destruction

Green & Black's Maya Gold, the first British Fairtrade product, is more than an organic chocolate bar - it's the livelihood for a whole district of Belize. But with demand outstripping supply, could a newly discovered 19th-century cacao plantation be the answer?

What is fair trade?

The idea of fair trade dates back to the 1940s when American churches were selling handicrafts made by refugees in Europe after World War II. The first fair trade certification of commodities began in 1988, when coffee was imported from Nicaragua and Mexico according to “fair trade” standards. Most international trade, however, operates under so-called “free trade” standards.

So what is the difference between “free trade” and “fair trade”? Free trade is so named because the prices of goods and services are market-driven, all producers get the same conditions (in theory) and there are no import limits. Does that actually happen? Not so often. In reality, certain industries get government financial help so that they can sell their goods at unfairly low “dumping” price levels. Furthermore, the large corporations that control most of the world’s coffee trade strive to undercut each other on price, which they commonly achieve by cutting wages and benefits to laborers. When these workers earn about $.80 per pound of coffee – while consumers pay double that, and more, for a single cup – “free trade” becomes something less than fair.

The fair trade movement, sometimes called the trade justice movement, promotes standards for the production and trade of different goods and services. Fair trade strives not only for economic development, but also for social justice, environmental protection, and maintaining stronger trade connections.

Labels used in United States ("Fair Trade Certified"), United Kingdom ("Fairtrade") and Europe ("Max Havelaar") are a guarantee that the producers of the goods you buy meet fair trade standards. Today, 19 countries have their own labeling initiatives which operate under the guidelines of the Fairtrade Labelling Organization, and more than 500 partner organizations have already been certified in accordance with international fair trade standards. They require a guarantee of fair process, no child or slave labor, anti-dumping practices, and high quality standards. In addition, they must employ environmentally-friendly growing methods. Thus organic farming is often linked with fair trade movement, because of the common emphasis on environmental and social balance. All these standards also follow the conventions of the International Labor Organization.

As consumers, we don’t need to donate large sums of money to make a difference. When we choose fair trade products – such as coffee, bananas, tea, chocolate, honey, sugar, orange juice or flowers - we support the movement. We help third world producers keep their farms, and improve the living and working conditions of small farmers, workers, and families in regions that need us the most.

It's Not Enough to Be a Vegetarian

here wasn't much wiggle room left for the casual carnivore when über-ethicist Peter Singer got finished with us in 1973. That's when his uncompromising assault on trans-species suffering, Animal Liberation, had millions of readers trading in their T-bones for tofu.

But now even the moral high ground of a vegetarian lifestyle isn't good enough. Singer's new book, The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter argues that, all things considered, only a vegan lifestyle will do. The reasons go far beyond Singer's past exposés of animal abuse and factory farming. Tracking the source of food served at three very different American tables, Singer and his co-author Jim Mason uncover more than they could swallow.

Cool beans

At 8,000 feet, the air is pure and clear in Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico where steep, green hillsides are plushly carpeted in maize fields, banana plants, and coffee trees. Here, in the rich, volcanic soil, the trees break out in red berries that, when mature, produce $250 million in prized altura coffee each year.

Unfortunately, due to the volatility of the coffee market, a lack of equipment and technical know-how, and profiteering middlemen, these Chiapas campesinos, many of whom farm on less than seven acres, live on about $3 a day — less than the price of one Venti latte at Starbucks. ...

Fair Trade practices are viewed as one solution to the coffee crisis, which persists despite rising international prices and demand. Fair Trade principles prohibit forced child labor and provide living wages for farmers, while sustaining their communities. And there are environmental benefits, as well: Although sun-grown coffee produces greater yields, Fair Trade coffee is shade-grown, which eliminates the need for clear-cutting and preserves delicate ecosystems. And since many farmers can’t afford pesticides and other chemicals, there is an ample supply of organic Fair Trade coffee.

Organic farms help to plough in rich returns

KOCHI: Here is some good news for the health buffs and die-hard greens. Organic farming in the country is gradually becoming a movement and those who practice it, a force to reckon with.

The natural progression of organic wines

Not so long ago, folks interested in organic foods and wines had little to choose from; "organic dining" meant a bowl of brown rice and a glass of uninspired wine.

In recent years, though, as demand for organic choices continues to grow, wineries have responded with quality and variety. Still others, committed to the advantages of natural growing methods, are bottling organic wines while leaving "organic" off the label.

Another commercially-available source for organic tea

Bigelow, Inc. has introduced certified Organic Green Tea and Organic Decaffeinated Green Tea, a healthy experience for consumers and the environment, to its more than 50 varieties of specialty teas. Bigelow has put its delightful organic green tea in airtight, flavor-protecting fresh packs to ensure a smooth, all-natural cup each time it is brewed.

The 96-cent daily grind - the real effects of fair trade coffee

Perhaps you're reading this over a cup of coffee. Maybe a Starbucks coffee. Maybe you even paid extra for Shirkina beans, a fair-trade variety that sells for the conscience-soothing premium price of $10 (U.S.) a pound in North America. The employees of Ethiopia's largest coffee processing factory and the small family farmers — all 86,762 of them — who grew the Shirkina beans would like to thank you.