AFRICA: Organic Farming Could be Answer to Food Insecurity

Commercial farmers sometimes fail at organic farming because they switch over too quickly, ditching all chemicals, which is as traumatic for the soil as "a drug addict going cold turkey".

This is how Cornelius Oosthuizen, the head of the South African Biofarm Institute’s management team, explains why there are relatively few organic farming success stories in South Africa. The South African Biofarm Institute promotes sustainable and profitable biological and organic farming.

Organic produce farmers fear the rising costs of newest government food safety legislation

Organic farming worldwide is partly a product of the 1990s boom times when that market grew rapidly. But now, because of the USA's deep recession, according to the July 17th, 2009 Reuters article, "Embattled organic sector worries about regulation," some farmers are worried and/or angry about the future of organic farming due to new food safety rules emanating from Washington.

Is organic food more nutritious?

I was buying salad greens a few days ago when I overheard a woman say to her partner: "Honey, grab an organic red pepper instead. It has more vitamins." Despite being in the middle of researching this very topic, and confident that I was going to get a message to mind my own business, I refrained from launching into a debate. The truth is, the belief that organic produce is nutritionally superior to conventionally farmed is only mildly supported by scientific evidence.

Green tips for buying organic produce and bulk

Organic produce and bulk items are definitely the way to go these days. The use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers is at such a high, it is hard to fully appreciate the impact they will make on the earth and our future generations. So buying organic is not only good for you, it is good for your family and for the earth.

Organic meat is winner

FOR Shane and Ann Blundy, making the decision to switch to organic farming 16 years ago was easy. "When I was farming conventionally, the animals kept getting sick," Shane says. "The only person making any money was the vet."

Now, with 3000 lambs and 1000 cattle on their 485ha south Gippsland property, Cherry Tree Organics, the Blundys' biggest problem is how to keep up with demand.

10 top tips for organic food on a budget

As hard discounts shops continue to hammer suppliers, and organic sales flatten out does this spell the end of the organic revolution? Not at all says the Soil Association who have come out with a simple and easy to manage top ten tips for organic living without first having to have run the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Organic vs. natural a source of confusion in food labeling

At first it may seem only right for Dean Foods, the nation's largest organic dairy producer, to roll out a line of yogurts and milk marketed as "natural."

But Dean's announcement last week alarmed advocates of organic food, who say the burgeoning market for less expensive "natural" foods reaps billions from consumers while guaranteeing little or nothing in exchange.

Organic Trade Association defends organic standards

The Organic Trade Association is refuting a Washington Post article that claims the U.S. Department of Agriculture's organic standards have been relaxed, saying the article is based on "old news and urban legends."

According to the July 3 Post article, the USDA inspector general's office is investigating the USDA's oversight of private certifiers who decide what products can carry the organic label, and whether those products meet the federal organic standards.

EU report reveals pesticides in organic food

An annual monitoring report found traces of pesticides in organic food products for the first time, challenging public perceptions that organic products are free of synthetic plant protection products.