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.