All About Organics
Organic Consumers Association Campaigns, Essays, Headlines, Action Alerts, Downloads and Videos on Organic Food.
Organic food is pure food. It's safer, more nutritious and free of chemical additives. Organic crops are grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers and organic livestock are raised without antibiotics, growth hormones or other drugs. Organic food isn't genetically modified or irradiated.
3/24/2006 - A new report rating the nation's organic dairy brands according to ethical farming practices has sparked fierce debate in the industry as it accuses a number of market leaders of "shortchanging organic consumers."
Issued this week by agricultural policy research group Cornucopia Institute, the study was based on responses to a survey sent out to organic dairy farmers.
The report, which rates 68 different organic dairy brands, accuses a handful of "industrial-scale" farms of compromising organic standards through "unethical" production practices with 20006000
Read moreTom's of Maine -- a niche brand whose renown as a socially
responsible maker of natural products exceeds its market share -- is
selling itself to Colgate-Palmolive Co. for about $100 million, the
company said yesterday.
Best known for toothpaste, Tom's of Maine got its start in 1970 by
making a phosphate-free laundry detergent. Over the years, cofounder
Tom Chappell, 63, poked fun at major brands like Colgate, saying they
put artificial additives in their toothpastes while Tom's of Maine
used natural ingredients.
Chappell said he will
Read moreWeb Note: Sales of certified organnic products in the USA reached $15 billion in 2005, of which $1.5 Billion or 10% were imported. USA organic exports, on the other hand, totaled $150 million or 1% of sales.
Shortages of many organic raw ingredients, including dairy, produce and meat, is stunting growth of the U.S. organic industry, according to a January 2006 report from research firm Organic Monitor in London. "Nearly all market sectors would grow at much higher rates if sufficient supply was available,² the report stated.
The shortages are forcing U.S
Read moreConsumers who want to see how their favorite organic brands fared on the Cornucopia's ratings scorecard can click here
http://cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/index.html
From: The Cornucopia Institute <www.cornucopia.org>
3/22/06
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Kastel, 608.625.2042
Organic Dairy Being Corrupted by Factory Farms
New Study Highlights Both Corporate Exploitation and Ethical Brands
CORNUCOPIA, WI: A
Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.
Dear Umbra,
I just read your column on organic syrup, and you made a comment about the futileness of the phrase "free range." I always try to buy free-range eggs and, whenever possible, the same with chicken. Am I wasting my money?
Jeff Pritts
St. Louis, Mo.
Dearest Jeff,
Yes, basically. There is a chance that your egg purveyor uses "free range" in the way that you understand it, but the only way to tell is call them and ask about range freedom on their chicken ranch. The Food and Drug Administration
Read moreNow Available!
The Cornucopia Institute's national survey of organic products in the dairy case showcases ethical family farm producers and exposes factory farm producers and brands that threaten to take over organic dairying. With this Web-based rating tool, you can see which brands and dairy products found in your region are produced using the best organic farming practices and ethics. Based on a year's research into the organic dairy business, the scorecard rates 68 different organic dairy brands and private-label products.
Maintaining the Integrity of Organic Milk
Read moreTHE CORNUCOPIA INSTITUTE, a nonprofit agricultural policy research group in Cornucopia, Wis., will release a report today that ranks organic milk and dairy products based on federal organic standards as well as environmental and humane concerns.
"It is simply an analysis comparing the ethics and management practices of all organic name brand and private label dairy products," said Mark Kastel, a founder of the group, last week. "This is a tool to help consumers shop with firms that represent their values."
Shoppers have come to expect that a container of milk bearing the
Read moreAnd organic food has become a bona fide 21st-century retail hit. In 1976, consuming food produced by organic farmers was cutting edge, a counter-cultural reaction to the pervasive use of pesticides and herbicides by family farmers and agribusiness alike.
In 2006, having been embraced by mainstream consumers, organics have become a big business, with annual sales in the United States zooming from $1 billion in 1990 to $20 billion in 2005.
The Organic Trade
Read moreChefs at many high-end restaurants prefer to whip up their culinary treats with the vivid flavors provided by organic produce and food products.
Many organic products are tastier and healthier than their conventional counterparts. Unfortunately for those of us on a tight budget, the eye-popping price tags often put organic foods out of reach.
But you don't have to carve up your budget to serve organic produce and food, said Craig Minowa, an environmental scientist with the Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit industry group.
Through comparison shopping, bulk
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