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Archive for the ‘Organic Food’ Category

Sharing organic food-growing knowledge across the Pacific – ABC Online

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Posted March 09, 2017 16:16:34

A central Victorian organic farmer has teamed up with a Samoan counterpart in sharing farming techniques and to learn from each other's experiences.

Norma Tauiliili, who is touring Australia on a three month Rotary-funded visit, said farming in the Pacific nation was a slow, laboured process often troubled by a lack of resources.

"We don't have that much equipment, like machinery, we all use our hands to do our work. That's the problem," Ms Tauiliili said.

"Even with seeds we don't have that much, we have to buy them from the agricultural store and give them out to our farmers."

Ms Tauiliili is from Apia in Samoa where she works as a senior field officer for Women in Business Development Inc (WIBDI), an NGO that works in 183 Samoan villages which nurtures certified organic agricultural enterprises.

Her first stop was a certified organic orchard in Harcourt, central Victoria, run by third generation orchardist and 2015 Victorian Rural Woman of the Year, Katie Finlay.

"We're a tiny farm here in Australia but we're fully mechanised. We have forklifts and tractors and every bit of equipment we could want," Ms Finlay said.

"Having Norma come here, through her eyes, we're a big fancy farm that's got all the equipment they just dream of having."

Ms Finley said that many Samoan farmers just wanted access to tools.

"They want hoes and rakes and seeds. It's that very basic form of infrastructure that we take for granted," she said.

Ms Finley said it had been a "real eye opener" understanding the practical considerations of bringing market opportunities to farmers with so few resources.

It was not just a lack of mechanised equipment that made farming more challenging in the small Polynesian country.

Many Samoan farmers do not have vehicles, making it difficult to transport goods to the local market.

That is where WIBDI step in.

"[We] pick [the farmers] up and help them out with transportation, and after the night market we deliver them back home," Ms Tauiliili said.

The support offered by WIBDI also extends to funding a youth program tackling truancy and unemployment.

"We reach out to those villages that have youth that don't go to school and don't have jobs," Ms Tauiliili said.

"[It involves] learning and giving them knowledge and skills for organic farming and how to take care of their environment because nowadays climate change is a really big issue for our country."

While Samoa lacks resources, Ms Finley said its people have a different, more prosperous relationship to their land than in Australia.

In Samoa, most families own land and additional family members also have access.

"If it's family land then each of the [family members] have a right to the land. They can build houses on the land," Ms Tauiliili said.

"Some of them will divide the land and some will share it."

Ms Finley said one of the barriers for young farmers in Australia was this access to land.

"It changes your perspective of what is wealth and who has access to what," Ms Finley said.

"Farmers in Samoa don't have access to seeds and tools, but they've got as much land and water as they could possibly want so they have a lot of inherent wealth available to them.

"One of the gifts that we can give our young farmers here in Australia is helping them get access to farming land.

Topics: human-interest, women-in-agriculture, women, sustainable-and-alternative-farming, community-and-society, feminism, work, harcourt-3453, pacific, samoa

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Sharing organic food-growing knowledge across the Pacific - ABC Online

Written by simmons

March 9th, 2017 at 12:48 pm

Posted in Organic Food

Thank Leonard for organic legacy – The Register-Guard

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In Lane County we have been blessed to have a visionary entrepreneur at the genesis of the organically grown produce and foods movement, Pat Leonard. With the help of Leonards talents, research and advocacy, Oregon passed the nations first organic foods laws and statutes in 1973.

Former U.S. Congressman James Weaver helped immensely by educating and nudging decision-makers in the direction of supporting the greatest public interest.

California incorporated many of the provisions of Oregons law in enacting its own organic foods-labeling law in 1979. Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy introduced meaningful organics-related legislation in 1990 as part of that congressional sessions Farm Bill.

Weavers successor in Congress worked for amendments to water down organic food production standards, and that weaker version of organic standards passed Congress. Removed were the environmental stewardship and sustainable agricultural purposes in Leahys proposed legislation.

Were fortunate to have had visionary leaders in some parts of the business community here, such as Leonard. Our burgeoning green business sectors and our local food economy all have Pat Leonard to thank each wakeful day for his efforts and successes, which some once said were quixotic.

Rob Handy

Eugene

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Thank Leonard for organic legacy - The Register-Guard

Written by simmons

March 9th, 2017 at 12:48 pm

Posted in Organic Food

Can Organic Food Prevent a Public Health Crisis? – Civil Eats

Posted: March 8, 2017 at 6:43 pm


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Is organic food better for us? A growing number of scientific studies suggest that it is.

And now, the latest evidence to support this claim is a new report from the European Parliament, written by scientists at universities across Europe, including one who is also a professor at Harvard. The team reviewed the existing science on both organic food and agriculture and concluded that an organic food system offers clear health benefits.

Previous reports have looked selectively at the potential benefits of organic food and agricultureits environmental sustainability or whether it contains certain pesticide residues, for example. This report, however, takes an unusually comprehensive look at the full range of possible benefits, from nutrition to absence of toxics. Its also based on hundreds of studies that include food analyses and epidemiological and laboratory studies.

Their findings are clearest when it comes to minimizing exposure to pesticides and to antibiotics used in livestock production. But the report also found that organically grown produce tends to contain less of the toxic metal cadmiumwhich the authors note is highly relevant to human health.

Most striking in its findings is the evidence suggesting organic food can help protect children from the brain-altering effects of some pesticides. And while there is evidence of greater nutrient content in some organic foodparticularly milk and meatas health benefits, these differences appear to be less significant than organic foods lack of hazardous chemicals.

When it comes to pesticides, antibiotic resistance, and cadmium exposure, the authors write, If no action is taken, an opportunity to address some important public health issues would be missed.

The report was prepared for a European audience, but its findings clearly apply to the U.S. They did a really comprehensive job of a global literature search, so I dont think anything in the report wouldnt be applicable, said Boise State University assistant professor of community and environmental health Cynthia Curl, who researches links between diet and pesticide exposure.

Pesticides Can Damage Childrens Brains

The immediate benefit of organic food and agriculture is to avoid pesticide exposure that can damage early-life brain development, said report co-author Philippe Grandjean, a professor at the University of Southern Denmark and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

While some pesticides are allowed in organic agriculture, most of the widely used toxic ones are not. And those that are allowed are far more limited in quantity. (Food testing has confirmed that organic foods have far lower pesticide residues than conventionally grown food.) One class of pesticides that organic farmers must avoid is organophosphates. These are among the insecticides most widely used on U.S. produce and include chlorpyrifos, which is commonly applied to dozens of crops, including grapes, citrus, tree nuts, broccoli, spinach, blueberries, and strawberries.

Organophosphates are highly toxic to the nervous system. Several long-term studies have examined the impacts of chlorpyrifos exposure on childrens brain development, finding that virtually any level of exposure can adversely affect their IQs.

Scientists have also found that prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure can physically alter the development areas of the brain that control behavior, emotion, language, and memory. Prenatal exposure has also been found to cause arm tremors in children, another sign of nerve damage. Exposure to chlorpyrifos has been linked to behavioral problems, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In an interview on Harvards website, Grandjean called these impacts quite scary.

People who eat organic foods, on the other hand, have been found in multiple studies to have lower and fewer pesticidesincluding organophosphatesin their bodies than those who ate conventional food. And while such studies cant make definitive links with health impacts, they do show that eating organic food reduces pesticide exposure.

Even though the scope of this observation is limited, it is apparent that both pesticide exposure and the calculated health risks are far lower for organic products than for conventional products, says the report. As a consequence of reduced pesticide exposure, organic food consequently contributes to the avoidance of health effects and associated costs to society, write the authors, noting that research suggests these costs are currently greatly underestimated.

Organics Can Make a Dent in Antibiotic Resistance

When it comes to antibiotics, We are seeing a worrisome increase in resistant microorganisms, and agricultural uses are part of the reason, says Grandjean. He noted that World Health Organization (WHO) director Margaret Chan has called the global rise of antibiotic resistance a global crisis. Indeed, according to the WHO, more antibiotics are now used in food production than in medical care.

The report explains that organic animal agriculture is often less concentrated, crowded, and allows more space per animal. It cites studies demonstrating for these reasons and others that raising food animals organically has several positive consequences in relation to animal welfare and health, including reduced incidence of diseasehence reduced used of antibiotics. And it adds, With regards to antibiotic use, U.S. organic standards are stricter than EU standards. Generally, no animal that has received any antibiotic treatment may be labeled organic in the USA.

When practiced, the authors conclude, organic production may offer a way of restricting and even decreasing the prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Yet they acknowledge that organic production is only part of a solution to the antibiotics resistance issue.

Cadmium: Theres More in Conventional Food Than We Thought

Although its not often discussed, food is a major source of cadmium (Cd) exposure. In the U.S., leafy vegetables, potatoes, peanuts, and grains are all a primary source of cadmium exposure, says the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Cadmium is a probable human carcinogen thats also toxic to kidneys, lungs, bones, and to childrens brains, particularly if theyre exposed prenatally or through breast milk.

The report found that organically grown produce tends to have lower amounts of cadmium than conventional produce, due to differences in soil and fertilizer use. Low soil organic matter generally increases the availability of Cd for crops, and organically managed farms tend to have higher soil organic matter than conventionally managed farms, the authors explain.

Some fertilizers, including those designed to add phosphorus to soil, canbecause of their mineral contentsalso add cadmium to crops. While there is much research to be done in this area, the report says that organic agriculture could help reduce food as a source of cadmium exposure.

An Endorsement of Organic, but More Work Needed

The reports authors are clear about the fact that both individuals and public health can benefit from organics. But accessibility is still a big question. And when it comes to pesticide exposure, the scientists say more must be done to prevent ongoing harmful exposures.

Pesticide uses are changing and we need to ensure that the pesticides used from now on do not constitute a danger to children and pregnant women, said Grandjean. As it is now, pesticides are not routinely tested for effects on brain development and we ought to change that.

Boise States Curl agrees. We should have a food supply that is equally safe for everyone regardless of what they buy, she said.

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Can Organic Food Prevent a Public Health Crisis? - Civil Eats

Written by grays

March 8th, 2017 at 6:43 pm

Posted in Organic Food

Is Costco the New Whole Foods? – Organic Authority

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Organic food no longer has to use up your whole paycheck it seems Costco has finally toppled the king of organics. Not only has the wholesalerbeen outselling other conventional retailers in organics for three years, but in 2015, itofficially surpassed Whole Foods in organic food sales, reporting a whopping $4 billion as compared to Whole Foods $3.5 billion.

The recentsales victory was a turning point for the development of inexpensive organic food: Whole Foods has been reporting difficulties of late,closing nine storesafter its sixth straight quarter of same-store declines, a period the Chicago Tribune has calledthe stores worst sales slump in more than a decade.

Meanwhile, Costco and other retailers like Trader Joes have been growing their organic offerings and attracting customers with lower prices.Blogger Whole New Mom writes that she was surprised when, after transitioning to an organic, whole foods diet, her grocery bills didnt actually change much, and via a price analysis, she found that over 90 percent of organic and whole food items were less expensive at Costco, and in many cases, the price difference was dramatic.

But Costcos victory didnt happen overnight: the wholesalerhas actually been working toward this goalfor more thanfive years, according to HeatherShavey, assistant vice president and general merchandise manager at Costco, who toldWell + Goodthat the company decided to invest in organics when many other retailers thought it was a fad that would pass.

Instead, Costco took an interest in not only expanding its own organic offerings but also in the organic landscape itself. Currently, less than one percent of farmland in the U.S. is certified organic, and with a minimal 2.5 percent annual growth, the market cant sustain increasing demand for organic food, which has averaged a ten percent annual growth over the past five years.

Costco was going to have a hard time keeping up with the demand for organics unless it made some changes to these statistics.

As the largest U.S. retailer of organics, Costco is in a good position to address the supply shortage, Ronnie Cummins, the international director of the Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit group that advocates for sustainable food production and consumption, told The Huffington Post, and this is exactly what the retailer did.

In April of last year, Costco launched a program to lend money to farmers to purchase new land and equipment in exchange for first dibs on organic produce.The storehas even purchased its own cattle and contracted with owners of organic fields in Nebraska to raise them.

Through these and other efforts, Costco is not only making organic food more affordable, its also ensuring that we have enough organic food to meet ever-growing demand its no wonder the wholesaler has become Americas favorite place to buy organic food.

Related on Organic AuthorityFor Organic Farmers, Costco Is the Future Costco Switches to Cage-Free Eggs, Changes the Industry for Good Costco Refuses to Sell GMO Salmon in its 474 Warehouse Stores

Emily Monaco is an American food and culture writer based in Paris. She loves uncovering the stories behind ingredients and exposing the face of our food system, so that consumers can make educated choices. Her work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Vice Munchies, and Serious Eats.

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Is Costco the New Whole Foods? - Organic Authority

Written by grays

March 8th, 2017 at 6:43 pm

Posted in Organic Food

Even if organic food was as cheap as conventional food, not everyone would buy it, study finds – Genetic Literacy Project

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[Editors note: Jayson Lusk is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University.]

I presumed most people would choose organic if it were priced the same as conventional. [A European food retailer said], however, that his retail experience was [that] even when he substantially lowered the price premium for organic, the market share remained relatively low.

We conducted studies with apples and with milk [to test this observation].

Even in these controlled studies, we find that if organic were priced the same as conventional (a price premium of 0%), not everyone would buy organic. Priced evenly with conventional, organic would pick up only about 60% of the apple market (the remaining 40% going to conventional), and organic would pick up only about 68% of the milk market (the remaining 32% going to conventional).

Given differences in yield and production costs, organic is almost surely going to be routinely higher priced than conventional. But, even if this werent the case and organic could be competitively priced, these survey results show us that not everyone prefers organic food.

[Read the full study here (behind paywall).]

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:Does everybody prefer organic?

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Even if organic food was as cheap as conventional food, not everyone would buy it, study finds - Genetic Literacy Project

Written by grays

March 8th, 2017 at 2:44 am

Posted in Organic Food

EU ministers sign Chile organic food deal – just-food.com (subscription)

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Honey among products set to be covered by trade deal

The EU's Council of Ministers has approved a deal that will see the trading bloc and Chile recognise each other's rules on organic certification.

The agreement, the first of its kind between the EU and a Latin American country, will now move to the European Parliament for its consent before going back to the Council for formal adoption.

The deal covers EU organic products including processed food products of all kinds, and unprocessed meat, vegetables, honey and farmed fish. Chilean processed food products, honey and unprocessed vegetables will be covered.

A joint EU-Chile committee on organic products will be established to adjudicate disputes over whether a product should be regarded as organic, or not.

Although the EU is a net food-importer from Chile, Brussels expected the agreement will promote EU organic exports to Chile.

Aspokesperson for the EU's Council of Ministers said: "This agreement with Chile will give a boost to EU organic production and exports, and so help generate growth and create jobs."

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EU ministers sign Chile organic food deal - just-food.com (subscription)

Written by grays

March 8th, 2017 at 2:44 am

Posted in Organic Food

Conventional vs. organic farming: We’re having the wrong debate – Sacramento Bee

Posted: March 4, 2017 at 9:43 am


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Sacramento Bee
Conventional vs. organic farming: We're having the wrong debate
Sacramento Bee
Despite the USDA's enthusiastic support for organic food, the USDA makes no claims of any kind for organics or for any advantages over conventional farming methods. The reason? Absence of clear evidence for superiority on any meaningful aspect.

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Conventional vs. organic farming: We're having the wrong debate - Sacramento Bee

Written by grays

March 4th, 2017 at 9:43 am

Posted in Organic Food

Organic Foods From China? Buyer Beware! – The New American

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Im not a ramen noodle fan. Empty calories and little taste beyond the MSG. Just my biased gastronomic opinion. But as I pushed my cart down the aisle at Costco, the aroma wafting from the sample table did indeed tempt my olfactories and my growling stomach. To my surprise, the steaming contents of the paper cup offered by the cheerful, grandmotherly matron turned out to be delicious. And the brown rice noodles were organic to boot, certified as such by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Says so prominently, right there on the label.

Not that ramen would be likely to become a staple in our household diet, but it might be handy to have as easy-to-make quick meal during busy times, or a half-meal serving during Lent. So I picked up a six-serving package for $8.99. However, while unpacking the groceries at home, I did what I should have done (but was too hurried to do) at the store: I read the label. In rather small print came the fatal words: Product of China. Big oops! Communist Chinas takeovers of our tool, electronics, clothing, and other consumer markets are alarming enough, but Beijings huge inroads into our food sector over the past two decades is beyond scary.

Nearly a decade ago, in September 2007, The New American published Michael Telzrows New Chinese Take-Out: Tainted, Poisoned Exports, which detailed the frightening extent to which China had already succeeded in penetrating and even dominating our internal consumables: foods, beverages, vitamins, pharmaceuticals. Its gotten markedly worse in the years since, thanks to both Democrats and Republicans in the White House and in Congress who have caved in and/or sold out to the China Lobby. Its not just melamine in pet food, diethylene glycol a highly toxic solvent in cough syrup and toothpaste, and lead paint on childrens toys. After those and other Made In China food scandals made it through a few news cycles, the issue was largely swept under the rug by the establishment press. Instead of heeding these canary-in-the-coalmine warnings, government officials and business leaders opened the floodgates even further so China could accelerate its conquest of the American food market.

In June 2011, Food & Water Watch, a non-profit consumer watchdog group, published an eye-opening report entitled A Decade of Dangerous Food Imports China.Among other things, this important monograph tabulated from U.S. government records the alarming year-by-year increases in Chinas food exports to the United States: apple juice, mushrooms, garlic, cauliflower, asparagus, broccoli, pears, apples, cherries, strawberries, catfish, salmon, tilapia, cod, sardines, shrimp, clams, crab, honey, spices, tea, nuts, onions, vegetable oils, soy sauce, and much more.

In 2010, China was the second-largest source of U.S. processed fruit and vegetable imports, shipping in more than a billion pounds, the Food & Water Watch report noted. China was the third-largest source of imported fresh vegetables. The United States also imported 102 million pounds of sauces, including soy sauce; 81 million pounds of spices; 79 million pounds of dog and cat food; and 41 million pounds of pasta and baked goods from China in 2010.

The study goes on to further report:

China is also the worlds leading seafood producer and leading exporter to the United States, supplying nearly a quarter of all U.S. imports. In 2010, the United States imported more than 1 billion pounds of seafood from China, including 723 million pounds of frozen fish fillets, 33 million pounds of shrimp and 109 million pounds of mollusks, such as scallops. Chinese seafood exports totaled more than $2 billion in 2009, accounting for 19 percent of the seafood Americans eat.

More alarming still is the fact that China has gained a lock-hold on our foodstream by inserting itself into many food products that are made here in the United States. How? By dominating production of widely used ingredients: preservatives, sweeteners, enhancers, and flavorings. The Food & Water Watch study reports:

Chinas largest role in the American diet may come through the myriad ingredients it exports for processed foods that reach U.S. consumers every day. China had supplied up to 90 percent of U.S. imports of citric acid, a flavor enhancer and preservative that is used in soft drinks, cheese, and baked goods, although these imports dropped off in 2009. China is also a leading supplier to the United States of other ingredients like xylitol, used as a sweetener in candy, and sorbic acid, a preservative. China also supplies around 85 percent of U.S. imports of artificial vanilla, as well as many vitamins that are frequently added to food products, like folic acid and thiamine.

This, obviously, is not only a threat to our nations health but also to Americas food independence. Chinese imports have even made that healthy sugar substitute, honey, a very suspect commodity. The Epoch Times reportedin 2011, Millions of pounds of hazardous honey are being smuggled in large quantities from China to the United States, constituting as much as a third or more of the honey on American shelves, a recent investigation found.

On May 8, 2013, China expert and author William C. Triplett testified before U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on The Threat of Chinas Unsafe Consumables. After making reference to the above-cited Food & Water Watch study, Triplett observed: Two years later, it appears the problem is worse rather than better. Last fall thousands of German children fell ill after eating Chinese strawberries served to them in their school cafeterias. And just last month the FDA revealed that thanks to toxic battery recycling operations, rice imported from China showed lead levels 60 times above the recommended safe levels for children. (Emphasis added.)

One of the particular problems of dealing with toxic food imports from China is illustrated by the honey case, Triplett noted. The FDA and others got onto the Chinese honey issue quite a while ago. The Department of Justice even raided some facilities but the consensus is that through a sophisticated international smuggling network, the Chinese honey producers have pretty well defeated all efforts to control them.

Death by China: Eat, Drink and Be Buried

Horror stories of illness, suffering, and death from Made-in-China food abound (see here,here,and here).How is it possible that this continues? After all, we have a myriad of federal regulatory agencies(virtually all of which are unconstitutional or exercise unconstitutional powers)that harass and destroy American farmers, manufacturers, and marketers in the name of protecting the American consumer.

As with most bullies, these bureaucracies prefer pick on easier targets, rather than go after the real threats. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has done little to address the growing tide of food imports from China, despite a well-documented pattern of chemical adulteration and unsafe drug residues, the 2011 Food & Water Watch study stated. The FDA inspects less than 2 percent of imported food and barely visits Chinese food manufacturers. The FDA conducted only 13 food inspections in China between June 2009 and June 2010.

The FDA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is infamous for sending in armed SWAT units to harass and arrest farmers for selling raw milk, raiding natural food stores for selling apricot seeds or other food supplements, and persecuting physicianswho try to help their patients byutilizing alternative treatments for cancer other than those approved by the FDA bureaucrats.

Why are these agencies not exercising similar zeal concerning genuine threats to American health and safety from a foreign power that regards us as Enemy No. 1 and whose toxic food supply chain has already left a swath of death and carnage across the globe? This crucial food security issue should be a top national priority. Although defenders of the FDA and USDA might argue that these agencies have some sort of constitutional remit under the interstate commerce clause, clearly, the real legitimate functions that they serve are those that attend to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), inspecting materials coming into this country from foreign sources. The primary functions of the FDA and USDA should be exercised under (or alongside) the CPB, while most of their domestic functions should devolve to the states, as the Constitution and the 10th Amendment of the Bill of Rights mandate.

Does the certified USDA Organic label on food from China mean nothing, then? It appears so. (See here,here,here,and here.)So, yes, I returned the organic brown rice ramen noodles to Costco for a refund, and I informed the customer service department that I do not consume and do not buy food from the communist regime. And I will be following up with a note to Costcos corporate management to let them know that I do not appreciate companies that will jeopardize their customers health and safety by flooding our markets with toxic Made-In-China foodstuffs. Now we must prod the new Trump administration and Congress to address this issue posthaste.

Related articles:

USDA Approves Import of Poultry Processed in China

Chinese State-Owned Company Purchases Smithfield Foods

China Buys U.S. Firms at Record Rate

Chinas Communist Billionaires: Darlings of Harvard, Wall Street, CFR

Stop China Buyout of Chicago Stock Exchange: Congressmen to Obama

China Cash and Movie Moguls The Disturbing New Hollywood-Beijing Axis

Is the U.S. Being Colonized By Communist China?

Bureaucrats Giddy With Newly Minted Power

The Rise of the Administrative State

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Organic Foods From China? Buyer Beware! - The New American

Written by grays

March 4th, 2017 at 9:43 am

Posted in Organic Food

Organic food company with Upper Macungie plant looks to reverse fortunes under new CEO – Allentown Morning Call

Posted: March 3, 2017 at 2:43 am


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SunOpta Inc. posted revenue of about $1.35 billion in 2016, up almost 18 percent at least partially because of boosted output from the global organic food company's expanded Upper Macungie Township facility.

But that's about where the good news ended Wednesday as SunOpta released its fourth-quarter and year-end financial results.

Just take a look at the company's fourth quarter: SunOpta posted a loss of about $33.5 million, which translates to a loss of 41 cents a share. In addition, the company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $297.5 million, a 6 percent drop compared with the year-earlier period. Both results fell short of Wall Street expectations.

"Fourth-quarter results were below our expectations, driven by the exit of non-core business lines, impairment charges and sales softness in beverage and fruit that also impacted production volumes," said David Colo, who took over as SunOpta president and CEO early last month. "We believe these results are not in any way reflective of the true earnings power of our company."

But it will take time to reach that true earnings power, Colo said Wednesday on a conference call with analysts, as SunOpta tries to turn around its fortunes as it works through its value-creation plan, which was announced in October.

In the Lehigh Valley, Canada-based SunOpta opened a consumer foods plant in 2012 on Daniels Drive in Upper Macungie. It completed a $25 million expansion in November 2015, which added aseptic processing capabilities. That transformed the facility, which employs 114, into a dual-purpose consumer products plant, with one part handling flexible resealable pouches for healthy snacks and baby food, and the newer part focusing on aseptic beverages such as soy or almond milk.

Colo said he sees a lot of opportunity in the consumer products segments and considers the expanded manufacturing footprint for aseptic beverages a "huge strength for the organization."

However, turning around the entire company, he cautioned, will take time, potentially three years or so before SunOpta achieves the margins the company wants. It's something Colo said will require SunOpta to make decisions with a long-term focus, even if that doesn't maximize quarterly results.

"We will clean it up, tune it up and turn it up," Colo said.

But SunOpta's stock took a turn downward Wednesday, dropping 45 cents or 6.25 percent to close at $6.75.

jon.harris@mcall.com

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Organic food company with Upper Macungie plant looks to reverse fortunes under new CEO - Allentown Morning Call

Written by simmons

March 3rd, 2017 at 2:43 am

Posted in Organic Food

This Vertical Farm Wants to Pioneer ‘Post-Organic’ Food – Triple Pundit (registration) (blog)

Posted: March 1, 2017 at 9:42 am


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Once upon a time, every farmer on earth practicedsomething called organic agriculture, although they never bothered to coin the phrase.

The cultivators of this amazing pre-industrial concept spent their days diligently tending and harvesting their cropswithout the aid of manufactured products. They protected their plants with things no longer in abundance: worms, snails, ladybugs, and a full arsenal of homeopathic concoctions passed down from hundreds of years of ancestral heritage. And it was, for sure, a tough row to hoe.

Todays natural agricultureis still organic by definition, but the mechanics to raising that chemical-free produce are a world away from what your parents might have tried in their backyard.

Most states have regulations and long lists that define organic agricultureand what can, by law, be used during large-scale organic farming. And while todays organic farms may skillfully manage to avoid the use of controversial chemical sprays with complicated names like permethrin and thiamethoxam (which have both been suspected of contributing to the decline in bee colonies), theytypically rely on concentrated non-chemical fungicides and pesticides for large-scale production.

An entrepreneur in Kearny, New Jersey, thinks hes found the next evolution for agriculture: post-organic. If that doesnt sound like a very inventive name for a process, the system itself makes up for it.

Irving Fains concept of farming does away with the swaths of green space we normally associate with wholesome agriculture. He traded acreagefor an urban warehouse, a carefully-managed environment and a proprietary technology that produces food 100 times faster than conventional farming. And all of that without pesticides, soil stimulants or other additives, Fain and his company claim.

Warehouse-based vertical farming isnt entirely new. Farmers have been dabbling in various versions of indoor farming for centuries, finding new ways to capitalize on its water-saving techniques and, in so doing, finding faster ways to ensure quality production.

But Fains company,Bowery Farming, uses its own self-automated technology to respond to and manipulate the environmental factors upon which plants rely.

And unlike most full-scale indoor farming operations, Bowerys system can sense when its time to pluck the crops something that is usually done by sight and schedule in conventional farms. That means less wasted product and more predictable harvesting seasons. It also means a more predictable bottom line.

The company shared this glimpse insideits vertical farm on Instagram:

So far the companys post-organic greens are available in two Manhattan restaurants, a pair of Whole Foods Market stores in New Jersey, and Foragers Market in New Yorks Chelsea neighborhood.

With increasing concerns about drought and climate change, vertical farms that can operate in limited space with less water and virtually no natural sun may become the next stage in agriculture.

Whether the post-organic concept will eventually be able to overtake the organic markets sizable revenues ($43 billion yearly), remains to be seen. But in theres something to be said for an industry that uses 95 percent less water than conventional farming and wont wither with climate change.

Image credit:Pixabay

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This Vertical Farm Wants to Pioneer 'Post-Organic' Food - Triple Pundit (registration) (blog)

Written by simmons

March 1st, 2017 at 9:42 am

Posted in Organic Food


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