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.