If you are a consumer or participant in the organic industry, something new is set to hit the marketplace that you absolutely want to know about, and it is called the Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC).
Started by three organizations — Patagonia, Dr. Bronner’s and Rodale Institute — the certification aims to raise the bar for what organic represents.
But contrary to what one might believe, it is not a substitution for the USDA organic seal.Instead, it adds onto the USDA organic seal and is referred to as an “add-on” label. The USDA organic seal is a requirement, or a baseline, in order for a company to receive the ROC certification.
How Tradin Organic is Helping Coconut Farmers in The Philippines
For more than a decade, Tradin Organic has been working with local partners in The Philippines to bring a diversified range of organic products to the market, such as coconut oil, tropical fruits and even cocoa.
The company is helping to support local farmers by assisting them with technical support and organic certification, in addition to paying Fairtrade premium on top of the organic premium.
1) In its pioneering testing several years ago, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) identified up to 493 chemicals in Americans of all ages, including 287 industrial chemical pollutants found in the cord blood of 10 babies born in 2004.
So, from the time we are in the womb of our mother, our body is flooded with synthetic toxins.
2) Even though this EWG data was collected a decade ago, not much has changed since then, in terms of our exposure to chemicals.
* Impossible Foods is “misleading consumers” about the key ingredient in the Impossible Burger.
* The Company told the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that its soy leghemoglobin was “substantially similar” to proteins consumed daily by the global population, in the form of meat and other vegetables.
However, on the Impossible Foods website, it claims that the heme in the Impossible Burger is “identical” to the heme humans have been consuming for hundreds of thousands of years in meat and other foods.
* The FDA told Impossible Foods that its arguments “do not establish safety of SLH (soy leghemoglobin) for consumption.” The company decided to sell the Impossible Burger to the public anyway.
* Impossible Foods relied on the expert testimony of scientists who have worked for or have links to Monsanto, the Gates Foundation, Philip Morris and all of the major biotechnology companies.
* 20 minutes after eating an Impossible Burger for the first time, a man Tweeted “went into anaphylactic shock & taken to ER.”
——
One of the biggest stories in the food world over the past few years has been the Impossible Burger, the plant-based burger that bleeds when you bite into it.
The goal of the Impossible Burger is to help make a dent in climate change by offering a plant-based burger that does not come from an animal. Animals require a tremendous amount of water and feed, and also produce greenhouse gases. Because the burger is made from plants, the other thing that the Impossible Burger would do is to help alleviate the killing of animals.
In a recent online survey of a 1,000 health-conscious consumers conducted by Market LOHAS – Mambo Sprouts Marketing Research, it was found that 80% of shoppers seek out non-GMO products, with 56% saying non-GMO was key to brand buying versus 52% for organic.
Hence, a product that has the words “Non-GMO” on its packaging is going to carry more weight with consumers than “Organic”.
On many levels, this is incredibly worrisome, mostly because shoppers are making the absolute wrong and unhealthy decision at the supermarket.
But milk is by no means the only item that people should be concerned about.
The worst offender on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list are apples.
Forbes magazine recently did an excellent piece talking about five reasons to eat organic apples, and I wanted to share the highlights with you and provide commentary. To read the full article, click here.
Reason #1 – The average conventionally grown apple has more pesticide residue on it than any other fruit or vegetable.
Data from the Environmental Working Group showed that 98% of 700 apples tested had pesticides on them and that 48 different pesticides appeared. WOW!!!!
"My Everyday, Must-Have Green Organic Aquabotanical"
The best testimonial that I can give is that I drink this every single day, as it impacts my mood in an incredibly positive way.
E3Live + BrainON is certified organic, fresh-frozen AFA (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) with a concentrated, aqueous, organic extract of Phenylethylamine and Phycocyanin.
This post originally appeared in Organic Insider. If you would like to receive Organic Insider every other Wednesday, you can sign up for it HERE.
—
If consumers are seeking fair and balanced information about GMOs, they certainly will not find it on the new FDA/USDA/EPA website called Feed Your Mind.
This site is part of the Agricultural Biotechnology Education and Outreach Initiative, which was funded by Congress, and is intended “to share science-based information that educates, informs and broadens understanding about agricultural biotechnology for consumers.”
Not surprisingly, it presents a very one-sided view of GMOs.
While there are many reasons why we should support organic food, we now have yet another one: organic boosts local economies.
In a new study by the Organic Trade Association called U.S Organic Hotspots and their Benefit to Local Economies, it has been found that organic food and crop production – and the business activities accompanying organic agriculture – creates real and long-lasting regional economic opportunities.
