Jun. 13, 2015

Whole Foods Market's new program Responsibly Grown is drawing heat from grocery chain's longtime organic suppliers, who complain program can give conventional growers higher rankings than their own organic produce; company's stock fell 14 percent in May and its gross profit margin fell below 36 percent, signalling possible damage from competition with mainstream grocery chains. MORE

Estimated 5,000 independent natural products retailers are headed by former activists and health food pioneers now reaching retirement age and facing decision on whether to close, sell to strangers, or turn business over to their children; familial business transitions can be difficult and complicated, and experts say taking the time to get outside advice in planning the turnover can be critical to to ensuring stable second-generation ownership. MORE

Group of consumer and environmental advocates, grocers and seed growers files lawsuit against Agriculture Dept, challenging change to rules for granting approval for nonorganic substances used in organic farming. MORE

Textile company Coyuchi offers completely organic, watercolor bedding. MORE

Animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere releases troubling video of laying hens at Northern California farm that supplies eggs to Whole Foods and Organic Valley; owners of Petaluma Farms claim group is distorting conditions under which its eggs are raised; incident raises questions over whether such video footage can be misleading. MORE

Boris Akimov, Russian founder of organic farm cooperative LavkaLavka, hopes ban on food imports from the West will boost Russia's fledgling farm-to-table movement; Akimov found himself flooded with requests from grocery chains after Pres Vladimir Putin imposed ban in retaliation for Western sanctions. MORE

Agriculture Dept plans to announce that it will spend $52 million to support local and regional food systems like farmers' markets and food hub and to spur research on organic farming. MORE

Small fast food chains are making a splash in the restaurant industry by offering enticements like grass-fed beef, organic produce, sustainable seafood and menus that change with the season; all are thriving, despite higher costs and prices, and are planning national expansions. MORE

Comprehensive review of earlier studies to be published in British Journal of Nutrition finds substantially higher levels of antioxidants and lower levels of pesticides in organic fruits, vegetables and grains compared with conventionally grown produce; findings stop short of claiming that eating organic produce will lead to better health. MORE

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organic food news - Times Topics - The New York Times

Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and restaurants.

Requirements vary from country to country, and generally involve a set of production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping that include:

In some countries, certification is overseen by the government, and commercial use of the term organic is legally restricted. Certified organic producers are also subject to the same agricultural, food safety and other government regulations that apply to non-certified producers.

Certified organic foods are not necessarily pesticide-free, certain pesticides are allowed.[2]

Organic certification addresses a growing worldwide demand for organic food. It is intended to assure quality and prevent fraud, and to promote commerce. While such certification was not necessary in the early days of the organic movement, when small farmers would sell their produce directly at farmers' markets, as organics have grown in popularity, more and more consumers are purchasing organic food through traditional channels, such as supermarkets. As such, consumers must rely on third-party regulatory certification.

For organic producers, certification identifies suppliers of products approved for use in certified operations. For consumers, "certified organic" serves as a product assurance, similar to "low fat", "100% whole wheat", or "no artificial preservatives".

Certification is essentially aimed at regulating and facilitating the sale of organic products to consumers. Individual certification bodies have their own service marks, which can act as branding to consumersa certifier may promote the high consumer recognition value of its logo as a marketing advantage to producers.

To certify a farm, the farmer is typically required to engage in a number of new activities, in addition to normal farming operations:

In addition, short-notice or surprise inspections can be made, and specific tests (e.g. soil, water, plant tissue) may be requested.

For first-time farm certification, the soil must meet basic requirements of being free from use of prohibited substances (synthetic chemicals, etc.) for a number of years. A conventional farm must adhere to organic standards for this period, often two to three years. This is known as being in transition. Transitional crops are not considered fully organic.

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Organic certification - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Biodiversity Park at Expo Milan 2015 / presentation
video presentation of the Biodiversity Park and the Pavilion of Organic Food, at Expo Milan 2015 from 1st May to 31st October, organized by BolognaFiere, one of Expo 2015 Official Partners....

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Impromptu Speech on Organic Food Prices
Description.

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Impromptu Speech on Organic Food Prices - Video

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Organic Food By: Lindsey Ely COM111-882
Persuasive Speech.

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Organic Food By: Lindsey Ely COM111-882 - Video

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GreenIsGood - George Metrik - Coconut Organics
We were always coconut fanatics and wanted to create a company that reflects our passions for clean organic food and reconnects people back to the amazing coconut through our delicious, healthy...

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Organic Food Marketing Hype-Roshni Patel

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Are Organic Foods Safer?
Subscribe for free to Dr. Greger #39;s videos at: http://bit.ly/nutritionfactsupdates DESCRIPTION: Organic food consumption appears to reduce exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant...

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Are Organic Foods Safer? - Video

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Why is organic food so expensive? What we eat determines the energy we put out into the world.
Aloha! What a beautiful place to be sick at:) Excuse the greasy Hawaiian glow I #39;ve got going on (not the best look). I would love to say that I am THRIVING here in Hawaii but that is not...

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Why is organic food so expensive? What we eat determines the energy we put out into the world. - Video

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~Target Haul! Organic Food Run for the Kids~
Come follow me on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/kateschwanke.youtube Hi everyone! Welcome to my channel 🙂 If you loved this video please subscribe to see more! This is my very first...

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