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A meditation chamber you can keep in your living room – The National

Posted: June 11, 2017 at 5:45 am



The National
A meditation chamber you can keep in your living room
The National
Yoga classes and meditation tapes are all very well, should you be able to find one that aligns with your exact specifications. But imagine if there were a space, open to you at any time of day, that not only provided colour and sound therapy, but also ...

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A meditation chamber you can keep in your living room - The National

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June 11th, 2017 at 5:45 am

Posted in Meditation

Church open for prayer, meditation on the anniversary of 2016 flood – Beckley Register-Herald

Posted: at 5:45 am


The sanctuary of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in White Sulphur Springs will remain open for prayer and meditation by the general public on the night of June 23rd, the first anniversary of the flood of 2016 which claimed the lives of 27 West Virginians, including 15 Greenbrier County residents.

Through the cooperation of the congregation of St. Charles Borromeo parish and the Alleghany Highlands Council 8689 Knights of Columbus, the sanctuary will be open 9 p.m. June 23rd until 8 a.m. June 24th, Perk Berry of White Sulphur Springs, grand knight of the Alleghany Highlands Council and a member of the St. Charles Borromeo parish, announced.

The church is located on U.S. 60 at the western entrance to the city.

This is for those who have memories of that night one year ago, who wish to remember loved ones in prayer and those who are looking forward with praise and thanksgiving for the future, Berry added.

The residents from throughout the area affected by the flood are invited, regardless of religious affiliation, or hometown. There will be no formal service or prayer, only private prayer and meditation.

Meantime, the Knights of the Alleghany Highlands Council will be leading the recitation of the Holy Rosary on Sundays, June 11, 18, and 25 at 5 p.m. in St. John, the Evangelist, Catholic Chapel in Sweet Springs, Monroe County. This is the oldest standing Catholic church in WV and is a chapel in the Parish of St. Charles Borromeo in White Sulphur Springs.

The Alleghany Highlands Council serves the Pocahontas, Greenbrier, Monroe, eastern Fayette, counties W.Va. and Alleghany and Bath counties, Va., and meets on the second and fourth Sundays at 6 p.m. EDT and 3 p.m. EST at St. Louis, King of France, Catholic Church in Lewisburg.

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Church open for prayer, meditation on the anniversary of 2016 flood - Beckley Register-Herald

Written by admin |

June 11th, 2017 at 5:45 am

Posted in Meditation

Breath & Meditation: Tools to manage stress & anxiety – Gilroy Dispatch

Posted: at 5:45 am


Neither at home nor at school do we learn to deal with negative emotions. One of the best things you can do to reduce levels of anxiety and stress overall and over time is to learn how to meditate, with a certified instructor and a proven technique.Sudarshan Kriya, a powerful, simple and ancient breathing meditation technique, is scientifically proven to increase #energy levels, bring#clarity, improve #sleep, and reduce #stress and #anxiety, leading to better quality of #life. It is practiced by millions of people worldwide.Join us for a FREE 90-minute introductory workshop to: Where: Madrone Room 1, 17000 Monterey Rd, Morgan HillWhen: 11th June, 3pm - 4:30pmContact: 408-359-7996RSVP: http://tiny.cc/itstimemhSession Contents#EXPERIENCE a live guided #meditation#EXPLORE the connection between meditation and #emotions#MEET certified meditation instructors who can answer your questions#LEARN next steps to incorporating meditation into your daily life, including how to learn Sudarshan Kriya*** This session is an introduction to the Art of Living Happiness Program. The cornerstone of the Happiness Program is the Sudarshan Kriya, a technique that has provided powerful benefits [1] to millions of people globally.Relevant Scientific Research[1] https://www.artofliving.org/us-en/research-sudarshan-kriyaContact Infocost

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Breath & Meditation: Tools to manage stress & anxiety - Gilroy Dispatch

Written by grays |

June 11th, 2017 at 5:45 am

Posted in Meditation

Stillwater Senior Activity Center offers water aerobics class – Stillwater News Press

Posted: at 5:40 am


The City of Stillwater Senior Activity Center is offering a water aerobics swimming class for Senior Center participants. The class takes place Tuesdays and Thursdays at the City of Stillwater Municipal Pool from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. It will run through August 3 with the exception of the week of July 3 7, in which no classes will be held. Cost for the class is $2 per session and is paid at the pool. The Center welcomes all seniors, 50 and over. Activities include: card games, pool and snooker, bridge, exercise classes, line dancing, Zumba, bingo, a painting/crafting class, and an evening of music with country tunes performed by several musicians. Also, a walking trail is located right outside by the Center, in Couch Park. Regular hours at the Senior Center are Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and music night is held on the second and fourth Thursday during the summer, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The facility is closed on weekends. Stop by 1015 E. 12th Ave. or call 405-747-8080 for more information and make sure to pick up a calendar of events.

Monday A free exercise class is offered to seniors every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 9:30 a.m. This class is called, Sit n Be Fit and offers a cool place to get a good workout routine that can strengthen your muscles and increase your flexibility. Everyone has a chair for support. Also, women pool players come in at 9:30 a.m. for some friendly competition in 8-ball games. Bring your pool stick or use one at the Center and join the fun. After the exercise class, a line dancing class is held. The boot scootin begins at 10:30 a.m. At 1 p.m. canasta, social bridge, pool, and snooker are played. Come enjoy the cool activities.

Tuesday If you would like a little more intense exercise class you should check out the free exercise/dance class that is offered every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m. It is called, Zumba with Angie. This class will get you moving to some Latin American type music. Please wear good sturdy shoes for all the quick stepping. No slide on shoes allowed. Remember, water aerobics at 12:30 p.m. Afternoon games include canasta, duplicate bridge, and pool/snooker. Most card games start around 1 p.m. except for duplicate bridge which starts at 12:15 p.m. New duplicate bridge players should call the Center ahead of time to make arrangements. Duplicate bridge is played with a partner. Exercise equipment that includes exercise bikes, a treadmill, and a weight set are available for use in the afternoon. Pool and snooker playing are popular, also. Bingo is called at 2 p.m. Its a lot of laughs and everyone wins a prize! We always have a jig saw puzzle out, for the puzzlers.

Wednesday Exercisers and women pool players arrive at 9:30 a.m. again, ready to participate in their activities. At 10:30 a.m., line dancers do some quick stepping to country tunes. In the afternoon, games of canasta and other card games are played starting around 1 p.m. along with pool and snooker. A puzzle is always out ready to be solved.

Thursday Free guitar lessons are offered at 9:30 a.m. Then at 10:30 a.m. Zumba dancers begin moving to some jazzy tunes. The afternoon brings out canasta and bridge players and pool players, at 1 p.m. Bingo sometimes has a guest caller on Thursdays and the exciting games begin at 2 p.m. Music night will not be held this week.

Friday Friday mornings are active with Sit n Be Fit exercise class, womens pool, and a painting/crafting class that all take place at 9:30 a.m. The artists bring in their art projects and supplies and share their ideas and instructional skills with each other. They would like to welcome new painters to the group. The puzzle table is always waiting for someone to stop by and find a piece to the puzzle.

Last weeks reported duplicate bridge winners were: Jane Anderson and Lucy Robinson, 1st and Al Perry and Lionel Raff, 2nd.

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Stillwater Senior Activity Center offers water aerobics class - Stillwater News Press

Written by simmons |

June 11th, 2017 at 5:40 am

Posted in Aerobics

Yes, Austin Aries is a vegan wrestler. His new book seeks to answer … – For The Win

Posted: June 9, 2017 at 11:50 pm


Austin Aries realizes that when you think vegan, you dont think professional wrestler. But he also understands that when he announced in 2011 that he ate only a plant-based diet, being a vegan pro wrestler became a big part of his identity.

He often got variations of the same questions such as: Where do you get your protein? Is it hard? Is it expensive? How do you live without bacon? What do you eat? Where do you find it? How do you get it on the road?

That provided the genesis for a book that he started working on two years ago and begins shipping Friday. Food Fight: My Plant Powered Journey from the Bingo Halls to the Big Time is not a wrestling book, although Aries touches on his early training and rise to becoming TNA world champion, six-time X-Division champion, Ring of Honor world champion and now in WWEs cruiserweight division. Aries wrote the book with Los Angeles-based author Mike Tully.

The book provides advice and guidance for those who follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, but also provides Aries views on the merits of the food we eat and challenges the reader to consider the choices they have when eating.

The book is about food awareness and digging a little deeper into whats in front of us, Aries told For the Win. Its not about any certain type of a diet or necessarily becoming a vegan. Its about taking another look at food, where its coming from and what its doing to us and realize we all have a choice in that.

Aries writes extensively about the need to read labels, check ingredients and seek alternative food solutions and chronicles the moments in his own food journey he cites driving past a massive chicken slaughterhouse among them that led him to move away from what he thought was the All-American way to eat growing up in the Midwest.

Grey Publishing

For most people growing up, the criteria is, does it taste good, how fast can I get it and how cheap is it? he said. What that shifted to, is it good for me, how much nutritional value am I getting from my dollar and where did it come from? With that, you look at food a whole different way.

By changing things, it forced me to pay attention to my diet understanding what these numbers meant or what these ingredients are looking down the list on the package. When I started figuring it out, it blew my mind how bad the easiest choices put in front of us are for us, how misinformed we are, how much propaganda there is and how what I call the corporate food system has really grabbed hold in taking over our lives.

As for his career in the ring, Aries is coming off a loss in a submission match to WWE cruiserweight champion Neville at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view last Sunday to cap off a feud that lasted more than four months. He followed the match with a cryptic tweet:

As far as whats next for me from a creative standpoint or what my next move is, thats to be determined, he said. I need to regroup and take a look at the landscape and see where I fit in. You just have to keep tuned in and find out whats going to happen.

After an interview earlier this week on Busted Open on SiriusXM, reports indicated that Aries might be taking some time off to deal with injuries. He said that is not the case as far as appearances: Im flying out Friday morning and Ill be working the live events this weekend. He also was at 205 Live this week but was not used.

If you look at the full quote and what I said was, Everyone is dealing with various stuff, he said. I dont think there is anyone in the locker room is 100%. Were all nicked and banged up to various degrees. Like anything else, you pick and choose the times you need address when it needs to be addressed and some times are better than others.

I figure no matter what interview I do, the real good journalists are going to find the completely irrelevant quotes that will drum up some controversy and stick it on their page to get some clicks and completely miss the real context of what the interview is about. Thats what we do nowadays and call it journalism.'

Aries spoke to For The Win about his food journey, the cruiserweight division and more.

The book is about food awareness and digging a little deeper into whats in front of us. Its not about any certain type of a diet or necessarily becoming a vegan. Its about taking another look at food, where its coming from and what its doing to us and realize we all have a choice in that.

This is a mindset and a lifestyle choice. Its what you prioritize with your resources your time, your money and your energy and where we are going to spend those. We spend them on what we deem most important. For whatever reason, a lot of people have decided food is not that important to dedicate our resources to it. One of the things people always ask me is, isnt it expensive to heat healthy or vegan? It can be, but isnt it expensive to live in a nice house or drive a nice car or wear nice clothes? The people lined up for the newest i-whatever because they need the new one when they just got one a year ago and are willing to drop $200 for it are the same people who are trying to find the easiest, most convenient, cheapest food to eat. I feel like were missing the boat on this.

Whatever diet switch youre thinking of doing go seek out information from people who are actively doing it. Give yourself the information and the tools. Just start slow. No one is going to sustain big, dramatic changes overnight unless you have strong conviction or that a-ha moment. I kinda did. There was one day where I just stopped eating meat, but then the transition to get rid of the dairy and eggs took 12 years. Maybe pick a meal, some people do Meatless Mondays. There is material on social media and a website for that. Maybe you cant do the whole day. Pick one meal on one day.

Everyone gets into a routine or comfort zone and you eat the same six things you know you like it, you know you can make it and you know what it costs. When you start taking things away, you have to replace it. For me, that opened up new foods that I didnt grow up eating in Wisconsin all these different foods from these different cultures. Everyone wants to enjoy eating food. I love food and dont want to sacrifice my enjoyment to be healthy. You can enjoy food and can e mindful and healthy while you do it but it just takes a little time and effort.

I preach to everybody whatever their opinion is that patience is the key. I know thats now how people nowadays digest entertainment. When youre trying to build a new brand and introduce new characters and help them find themselves and connect with the audience, it takes time. I feel like if people dont place their own expectations on what they think it should be and enjoy it for what it is and watch it as it evolves and what it will become, the process would be more enjoyable for everybody.

Neville is a highly accomplished guy who is as talented as any guy in the company and my accolades speak for themselves and I have some name notoriety from being in the game a while. If were able to stabilize it and that includes Brian Kendrick and bringing in Tajiri for a short time to allow time for some of those guys who will make their names over the next 10 years, thats a winning formula.

WWE performers know about the Hometown Curse when you come to your hometown, you generally lose your match but maybe the tide is turning.

Rich Swann Sasha Banks won a mixed tag team match at Extreme Rules in Swanns hometown Sunday. On Tuesday, Luke Harper scored the pin in an eight-man tag team match before SmackDown Live in Rochester, N.Y. During the match, he blew a kiss to his wife and 5-year-old in the front row. Harper had been 0-3 at home.

Luke Harper (Photo: WWE)

Now on his own after a brief reunion with the Wyatt Family in the winter, Harper is looking to find his place.

Its almost like a career is restarting or for lack of a better term reborn, Harper said in a lengthy interview for USA TODAY Network partner The (Rochester, N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle. Its a blank canvas right now and Im looking forward to whatevers going to come. I hope somethings going to come fairly soon. Ive been working every weekend (at live events), but nothing on TV as of right now and thats the goal to get back on there and make some major strides. I always have goals set and its hard when youre not being utilized right now.

Great moment after SmackDown Live went off the air Tuesday night in the arena. Two older women in the front row were wearing red, white and blue sweaters and Uncle Sam-style hats. One held up a poster that said, My heart belongs to RKO.

Randy Orton, scheduled for a dark match with WWE champion Jinder Mahal, saw the sign and got out of the ring. He embraced one of the women, who produced a pen and wanted him to sign the poster. He signed, as the referee implored him to get back in the ring. Orton held up a finger to tell the referee to wait one moment while he finished. The crowd responded with cheers.

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Yes, Austin Aries is a vegan wrestler. His new book seeks to answer ... - For The Win

Written by grays |

June 9th, 2017 at 11:50 pm

Posted in Vegan

Grab ‘n’ go vegan option opens in South Tampa – Tampabay.com

Posted: at 11:50 pm


Kyoko Faison is making it easy to grab vegan-friendly foodin South Tampa with her new concept, Pure Kitchen Organic Vegan.

"I used to be a chef at Grass Roots, a vegan restaurant, but they closed about three years ago," Faison said. "After working at SoHo Sushi, the owner, Jeffrey, encouraged me to open a restaurant because he believes in what I do. There aren't many vegan places in Tampa; Tampa is behind. I was excited Farmacy Vegan Kitchen +Bakery opened downtown, but we should have more places."

So Faison rented a space next to SoHo Sushi at 3214 W Kennedy Boulevard and filled it with pre-packaged, ready-to-go vegan meals.

"It's good for busy people. There's no stress and you don't have to wait," Faison said. "It's also good for the vegan people, because they used to have to go to St. Petersburg all the time for vegan options. They're so happy we opened."

Originally from Japan, where she also worked at a restaurant, Faison has lived in Tampa for 20 years. But she still includes Japanese recipes on the menu like the popular Bento.

"We can't offer it every day because it's so complicated," Faison said. "It uses 15 to 20 ingredients in just one small box so it takes a long time, but every time we put it on the menu it sells really quickly."

Aside from grab 'n' go, Pure Kitchen also offers weekly meal deliveries for the South Tampa area.

"Put your e-mail address on a mailing list and we send out weekly menus and you can pick whatever you like and we'll deliver it on Monday and Thursday," Faison said.

In the future, Faison plans to utilize the restaurant's spacious counter and open kitchen to host cooking classes. Saturday sit-down brunches are also in the works.

"People will be able to bring their own bubbles, then we have great organic juices they can add to make mimosas," Faison said.

Pure Kitchen has been operating in soft-opening stages for the last few weeks but a grand opening will take place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (the restaurant will also be open for normal hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) on Saturday with free samples, drinks and food for purchase.

For more information, visit facebook.com/Pure-Kitchen-1886453528296292.

SHARE YOUR NEWS: If you have an item for Everybody's Business, contact Arielle Waldman at Awaldman@tampabay.com.

Grab 'n' go vegan option opens in South Tampa 06/09/17 [Last modified: Friday, June 9, 2017 12:33pm] Photo reprints | Article reprints

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Grab 'n' go vegan option opens in South Tampa - Tampabay.com

Written by grays |

June 9th, 2017 at 11:50 pm

Posted in Vegan

Paradise Cafe Is Bringing Vegan Food With Caribbean Flavors to Livernois – Eater Detroit (blog)

Posted: at 11:50 pm


Cant get enough Detroit restaurant intel? The EaterWire is your guide to all the food industry news hits you may have missed.

COMING ATTRACTIONS Three new restaurants are heading to Northwest Detroit and Hamtramck. Clock Fine Food in Hamtramck is in the process of being renovated for an as-of-yet unnamed Yemeni restaurant. The city will also gain a California-style burger spot near Conant and Commor Street. Meanwhile, a Caribbean-influenced vegan restaurant, Paradise Cafe & Juice Bar, is popping up 18 Church St. in Highland Park in preparation for a summer opening. The brick-and-mortar location will be located near Seven Mile and Livernois around the University District. Founder Nezaa Bandeles menu features dishes like Jamaican jerk barbecue burgers, yam fries, roasted veggie lasagna, and more. [Metro Times]

MEALS ON WHEELS Downtown Street Eats, the organizers of Cadillac Squares summer food truck rallies, is on the hunt for more rolling restaurant vendors to park in Grand Circus Park, the Woodward Esplanade, Capitol Park, and the DTE Energy Park. Applications are available at the Campus Martius website. [EaterWire]

EVENTWIRE Cellarmens in Hazel Park is hosting another fundraiser for bartender Marisa Rahdar who was recently diagnosed with cancer. The event will run from 7 p.m. to midnight on June 12 and feature an inflatable boxing ring with $1 from each drink going towards Rahdars recovery. [EaterWire]

RUMORMONGERING Is there a new burger restaurant headed to Capitol Park? It appears so. Ferndale-based architecture firm Five/Eighths (the folks who designed Voyager) previewed a layout for an unnamed Detroit burger restaurant on Facebook this week. Hashtags suggest that the building may be a Bedrock property and that its slated for the fast-developing Capitol Park area. Representatives for Bedrock were unable to confirm whether the project was in the works. Have details about what this might be? Whisper in our ear at the tipline. [Facebook]

VITAL UPDATES Mark your calendars. The legendary lobster rolls at Mudgies Deli in Corktown will be up for grabs July 24 through July 29. For those who arent familiar, these lobster rolls inspire mania and round-the-block lines. [Facebook]

State St. & Griswold St., Detroit, MI 48226

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Paradise Cafe Is Bringing Vegan Food With Caribbean Flavors to Livernois - Eater Detroit (blog)

Written by simmons |

June 9th, 2017 at 11:50 pm

Posted in Vegan

Boombox 2.0 debuts at Belly Up Aspen on Thursday – Aspen Times

Posted: at 11:48 pm


Late last year, the electro-rock duo BoomBox announced that its bandmembers would split up after their New Year's Eve concert at the Gothic Theatre in Denver. This week BoomBox (version 2.0) is making its first trip to Colorado home of some of its most fervent and loyal fans with a show at Belly Up Aspen today followed by Red Rocks Ampitheatre on Friday night and the Boulder Theatre on Saturday.

"The amicable separation is in no way a dissolution but rather the opening of a new chapter for BoomBox moving forward," the band wrote in a statement to fans in November. That new chapter started pretty quickly, with BoomBox guitarist, singer and songwriter Zion Godchaux bringing DJ and keyboard player Heath "DJ Harry" Bennett on board to replace founding member Russ Randolph.

Godchaux never considered ending the BoomBox project when Randolph left, he said.

"Quite the contrary, I'm ready to make and am making a lot of music these days for BoomBox," Godchaux said in a recent phone interview from his home in Alabama. "We need to be releasing lots of music. That's the reason Russ and I went our separate ways."

Randolph left the band, in part, to focus on producing other project locally in and around Muscle Shoals. Godchaux, meanwhile, wanted BoomBox to record and release music more actively than it had been and break the band internationally.

"BoomBox needs our full attention," he explained.

Godchaux has been working on new music feverishly in recent months, aiming to feed fans a steady stream of new BoomBox tracks. Based on the first one, "Laid Back and Loaded," the band's signature sound of chilled-out psychadelia and funky house music remains in tact.

"That's pretty much my mode right now: to record and make as much music as I can in my studio at home," Godchaux said.

For the band's first time back in Colorado with DJ Harry, Godchaux said, BoomBox will play a mix of brand-new material and the familiar songs local crowds have heard in countless shows over the years.

"Harry brings a new energy to the show he's an amazing DJ and an excellent musician," Godchaux said. "We've had a chance to retool some of the older songs and get them freshened up. It's sounding nice and sparking and cracking. Hopefully it'll be even funkier."

After years of performing clad in feather boas, Godchaux said he's dialing back some of BoomBox's stage aesthetic ("The stage gets hot up there") to focus on the music and creating the laid-back party vibe that connected with audiences immediately in Colorado and made BoomBox a regular at Belly Up over the past decade.

"Our music is about release and it's supposed to be healing and relaxing and freeing very disarming by nature," he said. "Ultimately, it's a universal sound. Something anybody can cue into."

Opening the summer tour with an intimate show in the familiar and friendly confines of Belly Up before jumping to the massive open-air setting of Red Rocks was a creative choice, Godchaux said.

"To be able to relax the night before Red Rocks, and just do what we do and get loose and have a good night, it's sweet and it's necessary," he said.

And Godchaux is eager to share the new BoomBox with its loyal Colorado fans: "If states were friends, Colorado would be our best friend."

atravers@aspentimes.com

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Boombox 2.0 debuts at Belly Up Aspen on Thursday - Aspen Times

Written by grays |

June 9th, 2017 at 11:48 pm

Posted in Relaxing Music

Increasing demand for organic produce could pressure grocers – Food Dive

Posted: at 11:48 pm


Dive Brief:

Organic for a long time was considered a niche, with a strong focus on quality, Jeff Fairchild, produce director at 20-store New Seasons Market in Portland, Oregon,told Supermarket News. But whats happening is that the big chains companies like Walmart and Costco are pushing on the price side, so its definitely changed a lot.

Retailers across the board are ratcheting up their organic food offers. Next to Whole Foods whose lackluster performance latelyhas been widely publicized Costco is recognized as the nations second largest seller of organic food. Costco now sellsmore organic produce than Whole Foods, while Kroger sells more than $16 billion worth of natural and organic foods.

Midwest-area supercenter operator Meijer owns a stake in a rapidly expanding small-box concept Fresh Thyme. Even discount grocer Aldi has committed to providing a more natural food selection, including an expanded organic produce offer.

This widespread availability of organic fruits and vegetables and organic foods in general,especially at lower price points than typically found at Whole Foods and other natural food specialists is great for the industry and a growing base of consumers wanting to eat healthy. There is a concern that the existing organic produce supply will not be able to keep up with increased interest from retailers and consumers. Supply problems and price increases could be inevitable.

More farmers will need to get on board, but transitioning to organic farming is a long and expensive process. To help ease the process, the U.S. Department of Agriculture partnered with the OTA earlier this year on a new transitional certification programthat could make it more enticing for farmers to make the switch. It could end up being a good short-term solution, provided consumers will understand what transitional certification means and if they will be willing to pay higher prices for food bearing that seal.

Top image credit: Kraft Heinz Co

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Increasing demand for organic produce could pressure grocers - Food Dive

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June 9th, 2017 at 11:48 pm

Posted in Organic Food

Surging demand for organic produce widens U.S. supply gap – Wisconsin State Farmer

Posted: at 11:48 pm


Wisconsin State Farmer 9:41 a.m. CT June 9, 2017

.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

DENVER -Produce processors and retailers are finding it increasingly difficult to secure sufficient supplies of organic produce, as domestic demand continues to rise at a pace that exceeds production, according to a new report from CoBank.

The dollar value of U.S. organic produce sales doubled from 2011 to 2015 and annual sales now amount to $5.5 billion. Currently, 15 percent of all U.S. produce sales are organic. While organic acres have nearly doubled over the last decade, that pace of supply-side growth has been sluggish relative to demand.

"Sales of organic fruit, vegetables and nuts have increased dramatically in recent years and this growth trend will continue," said Christine Lensing, CoBank senior economist, specialty crops. "More than half of U.S. households are now purchasing some organic produce. But for a variety of reasons, production has not been keeping pace with demand and the supply gap is widening."

More domestic growers would need to transition to organic to bridge the supply gap. But Lensing concludes that given current consumption trends and the length of the required transition period, organic produce supplies will likely remain under pressure over the next three to five years.

Food companies and large retailers have increased imports to meet demand and secure supplies throughout the year. The volume of U.S. imports of selected organic specialty crop items soared by almost 800 percent from 20112013 before leveling off.

"It's quite clear the market for organic produce will continue to grow, which creates opportunities for growers," adds Lensing. "However, transitioning to organic comes at a cost and is not without risk. Steady domestic supply growth will be dependent on consistent, wide premiums that reward growers for accepting the elevated risks associated with organic production."

Despite premiums of 30 to 50 percent, the perceived risks associated with transitioning to organic are often a significant deterrent for conventional growers. Key among those risks is the absence of an established market that offers transitioning growers a premium price during the lengthy three-year transition period.

Concerns about market and price sustainability, the additional labor required for organic farming and the absence of support systems such as subsidies or grants compound grower reluctance.

According to Lensing, the organic industry recognizes these challenges and is taking steps to help alleviate some of the pressures on transitioning growers.

A new partnership between the Organic Trade Association (OTA) and the USDA has been established to provide guidance to growers transitioning to organic production and is laying the foundation for a transitional organic market.

"Initiatives such as the transitional organic certification program and the formation of additional strategic partnerships should serve to encourage more domestic organic production and help address the marketing challenges created by supply shortfalls," added Lensing.

Read or Share this story: http://www.wisfarmer.com/story/news/national/2017/06/09/surging-demand-organic-produce-widens-u-s-supply-gap/383810001/

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Surging demand for organic produce widens U.S. supply gap - Wisconsin State Farmer

Written by simmons |

June 9th, 2017 at 11:48 pm

Posted in Organic Food


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