A North Point Breeze natural and organic food market may expand into PPG Place, while the New York developer spurned in its bid to buy the August Wilson Center and top it with a hotel has its eye on another Downtown landmark Macys department store.

The East End Food Co-op has been talking to Highwoods Properties, owner of the PPG Place complex in Downtown, about putting a grocery in the food court space in the 2 PPG building, co-op general manager Justin Pizzella confirmed Wednesday.

In general, its no secret that were looking to expand our business. Were evaluating a lot of opportunities, and thats one of them, he said.

The members-owned co-op has been a staple in the East End since 1980, offering a selection of natural and organic foods, fresh meats, and locally grown produce long before Whole Foods Market moved in to the region.

With business brisk, the co-op is seeking to expand its reach. Mr. Pizzella noted that about 50 percent of its 11,000 members live 5 miles or more from the store.

Theres definitely a market and theres definitely a need to serve our members better, he said.

The co-op is early on in its talks with Highwoods, he added. It is looking at a 15,000- to 20,000-square-foot space in 2 PPG, more than triple the size of its 4,500-square-foot East End store, which would remain open.

At PPG, the co-op has hopes of taking the existing format to another level. It plans to emphasize fresh natural and organic foods and expand its prepared food selection, while also offering fresh meat and staples like milk, cheese, eggs and butter. As in the East End store, the PPG location would have a vegetarian cafe and coffee and juice bars. I think we can bring something pretty unique down there, Mr. Pizzella said.

The co-op is probably months away from a decision, he said. Highwoods has been considering a grocery for the food court space for the past two years. It now is seeking a $3 million state redevelopment capital assistance grant to help bring those plans to fruition.

Success in securing the funding is going to be a big part of the decision making regarding a possible expansion to PPG, Mr. Pizzella said.

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Development could be in store for Downtown Pittsburgh landmarks

The American Soybean Association wants to see the GMO labeling debate move towards a certification model that has worked in areas such as organic food.

Wade Cowan, president of ASA and a farmer from Brownfield, Texas, told reporters at Commodity Classic in Phoenix that ASA is going to couch all of its arguments in a positive light. He said this will be apparent in ASA's new stance on biotech labeling.

"For too long organizations in ag have said 'Don't do this. Don't do this.' Now we would like to present the consumer community with a positive outreach," Cowan said.

ASA wants to change the dialogue on GMO labeling by supporting a voluntary certified non-GMO label through USDA. The group argues it would be easier to label food that does not have ingredients from products containing ingredients from biotech crops than labeling all of the products that do have ingredients from GMOs. That's particularly true given the volume of food products that contain ingredients derived from soybeans, corn or sugar beets, all of which high percentages of biotech acreages.

"What's more effective is that we have a positive outlook and that we have a GMO label that is certified by USDA as non-GMO," Cowan said. "Those people and those companies in the food chain that want to go into that market have the ability to label theirs as such," Cowan said.

Cowan added that it lets people know whatever is labeled is certified by USDA. That's the most efficient and effective way to inform consumers, he said. "It's a good message to the consumer and I hope it goes forward," he said.

Such a label would piggyback on similar programs under USDA for organic certification.

Cowan said biotech supporters can't continue spending money battling labeling efforts, though it doesn't make sense to have a potential hodge-podge of labels if some states demand GMO labeling and others do not. "It's a losing argument when you say consumers don't have a right to know what's in their food," Cowan said. "What we want them to know is what they want to know if they have the opportunity to buy food that is non-GMO."

Cowan said the idea of non-GMO certification has been looked at by the Grocery Manufacturers Association for the new Congress and a possible reintroduction of a bill championed in the last Congress by Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan.

Cowan added, "Hopefully this is a message that catches fire and goes forward in the U.S. and we can put this issue behind us."

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ASA Seeks to Change Dialogue on GMO Labeling Debate