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Latest Organic News Briefs

Contributed by the Organic Trade Association

Research shows organic farming boosts biodiversity and brings other benefits.

€ A study funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
shown that children who switch to eating organic foods get "dramatic and
immediate" reduced exposure to pesticides used on a variety of crops. In the
study, environmental health scientists from the University of Washington,
Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested
the urine of 23 children ages 3 to 11 in the Seattle area for 15 days.
During the first three days and last seven, children ate their normal diets.
During the middle five days, they were given organic items, including
fruits, vegetables, juices and wheat-and corn-based processed items
including cereal and pasta. Average levels of malathion and chlorpyrifos-two
organophosphate pesticides-in the children's urine decreased to
nondetectable levels immediately after the introduction of organic diets and
remained nondetectable until the conventional diets were reintroduced,
researchers reported in the Sept. 1, 2005, online version of Environmental
Health Perspectives.

€ A report, Breaking the Mold-Impacts of Organic and Conventional
Farming Systems on Mycotoxins in Food and Livestock Feed, released by The
Organic Center shows that organic farming practices can lessen the risk of
dangerous mycotoxin contamination in foods, especially grain-based products.
The report found that organic agricultural practices often reduce the
prevalence of serious fungal infections, and hence mycotoxin risks in the
food supply, by promoting diversity in the microorganisms colonizing plant
tissues and living in the soil and by reducing the supply of nitrogen that
is readily available to support pathogen growth. See:
www.organic-center.org/science.htm?articleid=59.

€ Studying the connections between soil parameters and their
infiltration capacity, scientists at the Institute of Plant Nutrition and
Soil Science and the Institute of Organic Farming, Federal Agricultural
Research Center in Germany, have concluded that organic farming helps
provide "bio-pores" in the soil, improving infiltration and helping to
counteract flooding. Their research found that organically managed soils
have approximately seven times more earthworms and twice as high
infiltration rates as soils on conventionally managed farms. Such positive
effects are evident after only three years of organic management.

€ Results from five years of research to compare the differences
between organic and non-organic cereal-producing farms in lowland England
show that organic farming systems provide greater potential for biodiversity
as a result of greater variability in habitats and more wildlife-friendly
management practices, according to findings published in the Royal Society
journal Biology Letters Aug. 3. In the integrated study covering 160 farms
from Cornwall to Cumbria, researchers showed that organic farms supported
higher numbers of species and overall abundance across most groups of plants
and animals.

€ Meanwhile, a three-year study conducted in southeastern France
found that the great tit, a common European bird, thrived in organic apple
orchards versus orchards where intensive spraying occurs. Findings,
published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (Vol. 24, No. 11),
showed that the birds produced more young in organic orchards than in those
where pesticides are used. The authors credited the difference to the loss
of insect prey killed by pesticides in the non-organic orchards.
Organic products are becoming more readily available in some regions.

€ For instance, Greenling, Inc., has launched an organic produce
delivery service for consumers, businesses, restaurants and caterers in
Austin, TX, and surrounding areas.

€ The café menu at the new Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in
Durham, North Carolina, focuses on local and organic products.

€ Food Lion has remodeled 63 stores in Maryland and Delaware to offer
more fresh, natural and organic products. More than 40 of the stores have
added a section devoted entirely to natural and organic products.

€ Supervalu Inc. will launch Sunflower( Market, a value-priced
organic foods retail outlet, with the first to open in Indianapolis, IN, in
January 2006.

€ A 92,000-square-foot Giant Super Food Store opened in October 2005
in Camp Hill, PA, with its natural and organic department featuring 3,500
stock-keeping units.

€ Sam's Club stores have begun selling organic frozen blueberries.

€ McDonald's restaurants are partnering with Green Mountain Coffee
Roasters, Inc., to source, roast, and package Newman's Own Organics Blend
coffee exclusively for more than 650 McDonald's restaurants in
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and
Albany, NY. The blend is made from Fair Trade Certified( and organic
specialty coffees.

Meanwhile, students continue to support organic production through their
purchases.

€ Students, faculty and staff at California State University-Monterey
Bay can purchase organic salad greens, vegetables, fruit and other items at
the Otter Bay Café due to a partnership between foodservice provider Sodexho
and Earthbound Farm.

€ Taking part in the United Students Against Sweatshops' "Sweat-Free
Campus Campaign," students at more than 200 universities are urging their
administrations to switch to Fair Trade organic cotton for apparel that
bears their school's logo. Meanwhile, the Sustainable Cotton Project is
urging college bookstores to sell organic cotton apparel.
Consumer studies show much interest in organic products.

€ A survey conducted in August 2005 for Whole Foods Market found 65
percent of Americans saying they had tried organic foods and beverages, up
from 54 percent in similar surveys conducted in 2003 and 2004. Of those
polled, 27 percent reported consuming more organic foods and beverages now
than a year ago, and ten percent consume organic foods several times per
week, up from seven percent a year ago. According to the 2005 Whole Foods
Market( Organic Foods Trend Tracker survey, the top reasons for buying
organic foods and beverages were: to avoid pesticides (70.3 percent),
freshness (68.3 percent) and health and nutrition (67.1 percent). More than
half (55 percent) said they buy organic to avoid genetically modified foods.
More than half of all respondents agreed that organic foods are better for
their personal health and better for the environment.

€ Based on an August 2005 ESP (E-Screener Panel) study conducted by
the Natural Marketing Institute, consumers using one natural/organic product
category were three to 12 times more likely to use another natural/organic
category.

€ In a consumer survey conducted by the Soil Association in the
United Kingdom, 95 percent of respondents said they buy organic products to
avoid pesticides and food additives. Meanwhile, 72 percent said organic
fruits and vegetables taste better than their non-organic counterparts, and
71 percent said they preferred the taste of organic meat.

€ Consumers are extending the concept of health and wellness from
personal health to that of planetary health and wellness, according to the
Natural Marketing Institute's Health & Wellness Trends Database(. "Almost
one in four American consumers state that when given the choice to buy a
product or service, they make decisions with an understanding of the effect
the purchase will have on the health and sustainability of the world, its
environment and people," said NMI managing partner Steve French.

€ An online survey conducted by GCI Group and Equation Research in
June 2005 found that 68 percent of expectant mothers willingly make changes
to their eating habits after becoming pregnant. Of those, 26 percent started
eating more natural and organic foods, according to Whole Foods Market.
Forty-two percent of all expectant and new moms completing the survey said
eating natural or organic products is important, and 37 percent said they
believe natural and organic foods offer health advantages. A total of 2,344
persons completed the survey.

With demand continuing to grow for organic products, efforts are under way
to encourage more farmers to go organic and to conduct more research
concerning organic practices.

€ With demand outstripping supply of organic dairy products, Organic
Valley and Stonyfield Farm are partnering in a program to provide premiums
to dairy farmers transitioning to organic production.

€ Meanwhile, California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) is expanding
its Going Organic farmer training, education, and mentoring program. CCOF
estimates its project will increase regional organic acreage by nearly five
percent through converting 40 conventional farms in California's Central
Valley, San Joaquin Valley, and the Napa and Sonoma regions.

€ In November 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $4.5
million in research grants to address organic agricultural issues and
priorities. These include projects for its Organic Transitions Program and
Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative. Grants were awarded
to Montana State University, Oregon State University, University of Maine,
University of New Hampshire, Fort Valley State University, Louisiana State
University, Texas Agriculture Experiment Station, Auburn University, Alabama
A&M University, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, the
University of Florida the Rodale Institute, University of Nebraska, and
Michigan State University.