In a world where we are in a daily struggle against the proliferation of GMOs and toxic pesticides, one essential aspect of our ecological system gets widely ignored – the quality of our soil.

As I often say, the quality of our food is largely dependent upon the quality of the soil. Without healthy soil, our plants cannot provide us with the vital minerals and nutrients that we need. And that holds true for organic food as well. (A farm needs only to be free of chemicals for three years in order to be certified organic.) Read more »

Every five years, Congress votes on the Farm Bill, which dictates food and agriculture policy for many years to come.

Unless we get involved and demand that our representatives pass pro-organic policies, they will continue to give large bailouts to agribusiness companies and the country’s largest industrial farms at the expense of consumers, family farms, and the environment.

Needless to say, there is A LOT at stake here.

Yet, all that is required from you is signing an electronic form and making a few simple phone calls to your Senators in Washington D.C.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

A number of amendments to the Senate version of the 2013 Farm Bill have been offered that would support the labeling of genetically-engineered food, support organic farmers, repeal the “Monsanto Protection Act,” protect honey bees, and numerous others. Read more »

Courtesy of People Magazine

Last year, there was a ton of buzz about Oprah Winfrey’s rumored entrance into the organic food industry when she filed for the trademarks “Oprah’s Organics” and “Oprah’s Harvest”.

Speculation was swirling about exactly what she was up to – would it be salad dressings, prepared foods, personal care products. No one really knew, and I wondered if she would be making a cameo appearance at Natural Products Expo West this past March at the Anaheim Convention Center. (She never showed up.)

Well, now we are getting the first bit of confirmed information about Oprah’s foray into organics.

In the June issue of O Magazine, the media superstar is giving readers an inside look at her organic farm in Hawaii. And on People magazine’s website, there is a video where Oprah and her good friend Bob Greene discuss the importance of growing organic fruit and vegetables, especially in Hawaii where 90% of the island’s food is imported. Read more »

I am thrilled to announce that I have just launched the world’s first Pressed Organic Juice Directory.

The site developed out of a personal need that was not being met in the marketplace.

When I would travel, I wanted to know where I could find pressed organic juice, but locating these places was not an easy thing to do. And when I did my research online, the results were very incomplete. Some were organic, some weren’t. Some were using a centrifugal juicer, others were using a hydraulic press.

I knew exactly what I was looking for – pressed organic juice, the healthiest and best juice that a person can drink – but finding places that sold it was a quite a challenge. Read more »

Yesterday at Natural Products Expo West, the biggest organic trade show of the year, Whole Foods made a HUGE announcement.

The company said that by 2018, all products in its U.S. and Canadian stores must be labeled to indicate whether they contain genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).

The importance of this announcement cannot be underestimated. Why? Read more »

From the people who brought us Food, Inc. comes another important documentary called A PLACE AT THE TABLE, which opens tomorrow, March 1st, at theaters across the country.

In the U.S., approximately 50 million people (one in four children) do not know where their next meal is coming from, despite our having the means and resources to provide healthy, nutritious meals for everyone.

A PLACE AT THE TABLE examines this issue through the lens of three individuals who are struggling with food insecurity – Barbie, a single mother with two kids in Philadelphia; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school and; Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford. Read more »

I interact with a countless number of early-stage, organic food companies and I can tell you one thing – running these businesses is not an easy task.

Aside from the tight profit margins, increasing food costs, and extensive paperwork dealing with organic certification, raising investment dollars is a very challenging endeavor.

These are not high-flying technology companies, which attract the lion’s share of angel investment money. Furthermore, most investors don’t understand the intricacies of consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies.

Fortunately, a San Francisco-based start-up called CircleUp is helping to address this fundraising problem. Read more »