Late-night burger chain White Castleannounced this week that it will start offering a 99 veggie slider, essentially a vegetarian version of the mini beef burgers the chain is known for. Coming from a company thatsellssacks(and even crates)of tiny cheeseburgers to the munchie afflicted, the move is something of a surprise. Especially becauseveggie burgers and other fare marketed as "healthier" than typical fast foodhave barely moved the needleat other chainsso far.

Veggie burgers remain few and far between in fast food. Burger King offers one,butWendy's never has. In 2011, McDonalds then-chief operating officer (and now chief executive officer) Don Thompson told investors that the company had attempted several times to launch veggie burgers in the U.S., including in Southern California in the early 2000s. But"weended up serving four a day, he said. Salads typically sell poorly, too, with only 2.3 percent of orders at burger fast-food chains including a salad main dish and 1.3 percent including a side salad,according to data from NPD.

Despite these headwinds, White Castle Vice President Jamie Richardson says he expects the new veggie sliders, a limited-time menu offering, to attract new customers. In a survey the company conduced in 2013, veggie sliders were among the top three suggestions from White Castle customers, Richardson adds. And when White Castle tested the sliders in 12 East Coast stores this summer, the burgerssold better than other products launched in the past two years, includingchicken and waffles and Siracha chicken sliders. Not bad when you consider thatonly 5percent of adults report being vegetarian.

Until now, White Castle has hadno vegetarian option besides fries, onion rings, and cheese sticks, and the only vegetables the chain stocks in the kitchen are onions and pickles (seriously, unless you count ketchup). So the company is likely banking on the idea that vegetarians, who probablyavoided White Castle before, can now join their meat-eating friends for a meal. That prevents what's known in the industry as "the veto vote"when an entire group decides not to eat at a restaurant because it doesn't offer a menu item that suits the dietary requirements of oneperson.Ifoptions like a veggie burger exists, it reduces the veto vote and gives everyonein the party a chance to order what they want," says Darren Tristano, executive vice president at Technomic, a foodindustryresearcher.

It also gives diners the option to diversify their meal, Richardson says. A sack of meat burgers with a veggie slider on the side, perhaps, or a mix-and-match crate. Still, says Tristano, when it comes to healthy menu items, our research indicates only half of the consumers who arelooking for the healthier option will actually choose it when ordering. Not that veggie burgers are necessarily healthier--their calorie and fat count(pdf)clocks in at around the same as plain beef sliders. The new burger does at least putWhite Castleon the map for those after a meat-free meal. And if it doesn't work, the chain can rest assured that 84 percent of vegetarians and vegans go back to eating meatanyway.

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White Castle Now Serves Veggie Sliders, but Will Anyone Eat Them?

Organic food advocates and business leaders gather for three days of workshops in Portland next month at the Organicology 2015 conference. Its the fourth biennial conference for organic farmers, activists, policy experts, educations, retailers and sustainability-oriented organizations.

Highlights include an organic farm and tasting tour the day before the Feb. 5 to 7 conference; an organic trade show; and keynote addresses from Matthew Dillon of Clif Bar and Seed Matters; LaDonna Redmond of the Campaign for Food Justice Now; and Arran and Arjan Stephens of Natures Path Organic. Workshops will focus on climate change; marketing organic foods, genetically modified organisms and other topics.

The conference is sponsored by Oregon Tilth, Organic Seed Alliance, Sustainable Food Trade Association and Organically Grown Co.

It takes place at the Hilton Portland Downtown.

Registration is requested by Jan. 16.

For conference details: http://www.organicology.org.

Steve Law can be reached at 503-546-5139 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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Organicology conference returns to Portland

January 2, 2015 - Organic grain traders, buyers and processors are paying top dollar for corn, soybeans and many other grains and expect this trend to continue.

Depending on test weight and the shipping period, we expect to pay $12 to $14.50 per bushel for organic corn in 2015, says Rita Felder, Owner and CEO of Field Farms Marketing near Petrolia, Ontario.

Tom Manley, President of Homestead Organics near Cornwall, Ontario and Dan Bewersdorff, Organic Grain Program Director of Herbrucks of Saranac, Michigan will be offering similar prices. (Although Herbrucks is based in western Michigan they source from Ontario as well as Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana.)

Even with organic yields being lower than conventional, Tom estimates that for 100 acres of organic corn, farmers could increase their profit by $700 to $1360 per acre versus conventional.

And its not just corn. I need a lot more of everything, says Tom. Growing niche products such as hops, millet or hemp isnt necessary. There are very strong markets for soybeans, corn, wheat, barley and oats, he adds. All three buyers expect organic soybean prices to be in the range of $29 to $34 per bushel.

In my 17 years in organic, the prices have never been so high. Theyre 2 to 3 times that of conventional, says Tom. Its very lucrative, he adds.

Demand for organic grains is being driven by consumer demand for organic food in a wide variety of categories. As the largest organic egg producer in the United States with over 1 million chickens, Herbrucks sees this trend first hand. The demand for organic eggs is growing so then the demand for organic grain grows too, says Dan. What we can offer growers is a good, solid, established market, he adds.

With strong demand and prices two to three times that of conventional, why arent farmers lining up to convert?

Its a big step and requires people to change how they have been farming for the last two generations, say Dan.

Rita notes that, many conventional farmers have also taken on jobs off the farm. Their plates are already quite full without adding the learning curve of converting to organic.

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Demand and prices for organic grain remains strong in Ontario