Researchhas found that while environment doesnt necessarily benefit, such foodstuffsare more profitable for poor farmers and can produce food with a higher nutritional value

ORGANIC food may be no better for the environment or consumers than standard fruit and veg, a study suggests.

The pricey produce is often thought of as better for the planet.

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But a study has found the environment doesnt necessarily benefit because of how many more resources it takes to produce the same amount as non-organic fare.

Researchers analysed organic crop farming across 17 criteria such as yield, impact on climate change, farmer livelihood and consumer health.

They found it typically has a positive influence on local biodiversity, is more profitable for poor farmers and can produce food with a higher nutritional value.

But it often produces yields that 19 to 25 per cent lower and leads to higher consumer prices.

This means some of the environmental benefits may be lost once the yield differences are taken into account.

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A pack of six small bananas in one supermarket cost 90p but their organic equivalent are 1.39. A 400g bloomer loaf costs 70p or 80p for organic.

Researcher Verena Seufert, from University of British Columbia, in Canada, said: Organic is often proposed a Holy Grail solution to current environmental and food scarcity problems.

While an organic farm may be better for things like biodiversity, farmers will need more land to grow the same amount of food.

And land conversion for agriculture is the leading contributor to habitat loss and climate change.

We need to stop thinking of organic and conventional agriculture as two ends of the spectrum.

Instead, consumers should demand better practices for both so that we can achieve the worlds food needs in a sustainable way.

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Her colleague, Professor Navin Ramankutty, said the health benefits are marginal in countries with strict pesticide regulations, such as the UK.

The only entirely unequivocal benefit of organic foods is reduced contamination from pesticide residues although this might not matter for consumers in high-income countries, where pesticide contamination on conventionally grown food is far below acceptable daily intake thresholds.

In a developing country, where pesticide use is not carefully regulated and people are micronutrient deficient, we think that the benefits for consumer and farm worker health may be much higher.

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Organic farming covers approximately 1 per cent of agricultural land and is the fastest growing food sector in North America and Europe.

The findings are published in the journal Science Advances.

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Organic produce may be no greener than standard fruit and veg, says study - The Sun

Dive Brief:

Grocery retailers are pushing organic and natural sales because those products provide more revenue thanks to higher prices. Plus, with consumers looking to eat healthier,demand has never been higher.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, organic products are now available in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and nearly 3 out of 4 conventional grocery stores. Produce makes up almost half of that.

Packaged Facts released a report that the organic and natural industry reached $69 billion in total sales last year, an 11% increase over 2015, and a 32% gain over the past five years.

Shoppers'interest in produce on the whole is skyrocketing. While stores should make organic produce available, they should also continue to stock lower-margin conventionally grown produce. Consumer research has shown some are confused about the benefits of natural and organic products and would rather buy conventional produce. Through signage and staff to provide information to shoppers, stores can work to educate shoppers on why they may want to choose organic products, as well as an explanation about what makes them different.

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How to encourage more organic produce sales | Food Dive - Food Dive

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Fruit, vegetables and meat produced without using chemicals is becoming an increasingly popular choice because people believe it is healthier both for humans and good for the environment.

But researchers at the University of British Columbia believe this may not be the case because organic farming has between 17 and 25 per cent smaller yields than conventional farming on average.

As a result, to produce the same amount of food more land is needed affecting soil and water quality.

It uses more energy, conditions of farm workers may not be better and its high prices puts it out of reach for poorer consumers.

Dr Verena Seufert at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability said: Organic is often proposed a holy grail solution to current environmental and food scarcity problems, but we found that the costs and benefits will vary heavily depending on the context.

The study analysed organic crop farming across 17 criteria such as yield, impact on climate change, farmer livelihood and consumer health.

It was the first systematic review of the scientific literature to identify the conditions leading to good or bad performance of organic agriculture.

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Factors include biodiversity, how it affects climate change, water use and quality, soil quality, yields, problems of scaling organic farming up, its impact on farm workers and consumer health and how affordable the food is.

Many people choose organic because of worries about overuse of pesticides and the belief organic is more nutritional.

The study argued in countries like Canada where pesticide regulations are stringent and diets are rich in micronutrients, the health benefits of choosing organic may be marginal.

Co-author Professor Navin Ramankutty said: But in a developing country where pesticide use is not carefully regulated and people are micronutrient deficient, we think that the benefits for consumer and farm worker health may be much higher.

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Consumers argue it is more sustainable and past research has compared the costs and benefits of organic and conventional farms of the same size, which does not account for differences in yield.

But organic crop yields are lower than under conventional farming and many of the environmental benefits of organic agriculture diminish once lower yields are accounted for.

For example fields managed organically have on average lower nitrogen loss and lower pesticide leaching than conventional farms.

It also uses more recycled nitrogen and phosphorus, thereby introducing less new nitrogen and phosphorus into our water systems.

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But in lower yields the nitrogen loss per unit food produced might actually be higher under organic management and run off of manure impacts water quality.

In terms of biodiversity on average, organic management results in a 40 to 50 per cent increase in organism abundance in agricultural fields and researchers do not know if this is offset because lower yields require more land to feed the same number of mouths.

But plants and bees benefits the most, while other arthropods and birds benefit to a smaller degree.

Organic farms typically have lower energy use and lower green-house gas emissions than conventional farms but when poorer yields are taken into account emissions might actually be higher under organic management.

And water use is lower on organic farms because the land can hold more of it.

Dr Seufert said: While an organic farm may be better for things like biodiversity, farmers will need more land to grow the same amount of food.

And land conversion for agriculture is the leading contributor to habitat loss and climate change.

While their findings suggested organic alone cannot create a sustainable food future, it still has an important role to play.

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Organic is one way that consumers have control over and knowledge of how their food is produced since it is the only farming system regulated in law.

Dr Seufert said: We need to stop thinking of organic and conventional agriculture as two ends of the spectrum.

Instead, consumers should demand better practices for both so that we can achieve the world's food needs in a sustainable way.

The study was published in Science Advances.

Originally posted here:

Organic food may NOT be good for you or the planet after all, shock study finds - Express.co.uk

Regardless of whetheryoure a parent, an environmentalist, or just a plain old shopper, chances are youve gazed out overthe supermarket producesection and asked yourself, Should I buy organic?

Everyones heard of the scary chemicals used by agribusiness to keep yourapples worm-freeits what generates the fearthat makes organic produce lucrative. In exchange for more money,consumers are told they can have pesticide-free peace of mind.On Wednesday, the Environmental Working Group (which calls itselfanonpartisan organization aimed atprotecting human health and the environment) released its annual ranking of the best (Clean Fifteen) and the worst (Dirty Dozen) producewhen it comes topesticide content. The list is meant to be a tool for the consumer: If your favorite fruit is among the Dirty Dozen, the thinking goes, youd be safer buying organic.

Strawberries and spinach hold the top two spots inthis years Dirty Dozenmore than 98percent of samples tested positive for pesticide residue. One sample of strawberries, the report states, came with 20 different pesticides, while spinach samples had on average double the amount of pesticide residue by weight as any of the other crops reviewed.

Strawberriesrankhigh on the Dirty Dozen list.

Photographer: Mark Elias/Bloomberg

When buying conventional, the guide says, try to stick with the Clean Fifteen: These fruits and vegetables, including sweet corn, mangoes, eggplant, and cabbage, had the fewest pesticides present and in the lowest concentrations. The guide also helps shoppers feel as if they are saving money safely: You dont need to cough up extra cashfor already expensive avocados, for example,becauseonly 1percent had detectable pesticide.

But experts in pesticides and toxicology say thisannual list, seen as helpful for sales of organic produce, oversimplifies a complicated issue. Just because pesticides are on an apple doesnt meanthe apple is dangerous. Meanwhile, critics say, the EWG survey muddies what is a much more important message for American consumers: Eat more fruits and vegetables. Period.

In fact, organic marketing that emphasizes the perceived threat of pesticide residue could be dissuading some consumers from buying fruits and vegetables at all. And thats really not healthy.

One critic of the list is Carl Winter, director of the FoodSafe Program at the University of California, Davis. In 2011, heco-authored a studyconcluding that the level of pesticides consumers were exposed to viathe Dirty Dozen was negligible. Whats more, they found thatorganic produce had some pesticide residue, too.And finally, they reported, EWGs methodology does not appear to follow any established scientific procedures.

Take the bell pepper. According to EWGs 2010 report, it had high levels of the organophosphate insecticide methamidophos. Organophosphates can be verydangerous, and even mild poisoning can cause vomiting and chest tightness. But Winter found that thereference dose (RfD), or the highest acceptable level of a toxin that can be consumed orally, as set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was almost 50times higher than what was found on those bell peppers.

Sonya Lunder, an EWG senior analyst, acknowledged Winters report but advised caution that the EPAs continued efforts to revoke tolerancesspecifically for neurotoxic insecticidesis a sign that some pesticides do pose a safety risk in the food supply.

Other studies do support theEWGto a point. In 2011, three reportsshowed prenatal exposure to organophosphates had a measurable impact on achilds neurological development, including lowering their IQ byan average of as much as seven points. The independentstudies began during pregnancy and followedthe children until they were seven years old, both in low income New YorkCity neighborhoods where they were exposed through home pesticide use, and in Californias Salinas Valley, Americas No. 1vegetable-growingregion. The studies showed that prenatal exposure to organophosphates (as opposed to consumption of food tainted by it) islikely to have long-term, deleterious impacts on children.

Immigrant farm workers harvest spinach near Coachella, Calif.

Photographer: David McNew/AFP via Getty Images

In 2015, another study compared organophosphate byproducts in the urine of conventionalproduce consumers withthose in the urine of organic consumers.Not surprisingly, organic fans showed lower levels. But,says Cynthia Curl, an assistant professor at Boise State University and the studys lead author, there isnt firm evidence that organic eaters were any healthier in the end.

An organic diet dramatically and immediately reduces or eliminates exposure to organophosphates, Curl said. Is that enough to lead to a measurable health difference? Thats what we dont know. In other words, working in a field or living in a home where pesticides are sprayed isnt the same as eating a fruit or vegetable with just a little bit of residue, and even less after its been washed or cooked or both.

Winter points to the old toxicologist adage: Its the dose that makes the poison.

Testing has shown that organic produce sometimes haspesticide residue, both chemicalsapproved for use in organic agriculture and those coming through drift, irrigation, and other kinds of inadvertent contamination, Winter saidin a2012 study, Pesticide Residues in Imported, Organic and Suspect Fruits and Vegetables.

QuickTake Organic Food

In 2010, for example, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation analyzed 137 organic produce samples and found 20 of them, or 14.6percent, had pesticide residue, including seven that had higher levels than would be allowed under the rules of the U.S. National Organic Program. Wintersconclusion: Organic produce has lower levels of pesticides than conventional produce, but none of it is worth worrying about.

The EWG doesnt include testing on organic produce in its calculations, andLunder points out that the testing that has been done involves many fewer samples. Plus, says Curl from Boise State, the pesticides most people are concerned with, such asorganophosphates, arent used in organic agricultureat all.

As for long-term buildup, Winter says the studies that setallowable levelstake that into account and are done over long periods of time. Our typical exposure is often 100,000 times lower than levels that show no effect in lab animals who have been fed the chemicals on a daily basis throughout their lifetime.

Curlconcedes that the EWG list remains helpful for consumers despite its shortcomings. If you are concerned about reducing your level of exposure to pesticides, she says, eating organic is one way to do that.

One misperception about the value of organic foods, saysMichael Joseph, chief executive of Green Chef, a certified organic meal kit company, is that consumer pesticide exposure isthe overriding concern. Eating organic means supporting an industry that uses less harmful chemicals, and thats good for soil health, minimizing runoff into waterways.

Ive been down in Costa Rica to conventional banana fields where whats happening is you wind up polluting that local water system and make it unusable for a local population, he says.

But Winter said lists leveraging the fear of pesticides might be doing harm to the most vulnerable.

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In astudy published in late 2016 that surveyed more than 600 low-income household shoppersin the greater Chicago area, one reason people avoided buying fruits and vegetables was because of publicity about pesticides levels in non-organic options. In response to several statementsabout the differences between organic and conventional fruits and vegetablesincluding assertions that organics werent more nutritious and that both may have safe, low levels of pesticidesthe statement citing the Dirty Dozen list elicited thegreatest number of people to choose less likely to purchase any type of fruits or vegetables.

Put simply, fear of pesticides can drive people away from fruits and vegetables in general. And even EWG recognizes thats a bad result. (Eating conventionally grown produce is far better than skipping fruits and vegetables, the group said in its 2016 report.)

We know so much about the health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables and theres so much uncertainty about levels of residues, Curl said. I never want my work to be interpreted as we shouldnt eat fruits and vegetables because we can't afford organic.

The rest is here:

How Organic Produce Can Make America Less Healthy - Bloomberg

Posted March 09, 2017 16:16:34

A central Victorian organic farmer has teamed up with a Samoan counterpart in sharing farming techniques and to learn from each other's experiences.

Norma Tauiliili, who is touring Australia on a three month Rotary-funded visit, said farming in the Pacific nation was a slow, laboured process often troubled by a lack of resources.

"We don't have that much equipment, like machinery, we all use our hands to do our work. That's the problem," Ms Tauiliili said.

"Even with seeds we don't have that much, we have to buy them from the agricultural store and give them out to our farmers."

Ms Tauiliili is from Apia in Samoa where she works as a senior field officer for Women in Business Development Inc (WIBDI), an NGO that works in 183 Samoan villages which nurtures certified organic agricultural enterprises.

Her first stop was a certified organic orchard in Harcourt, central Victoria, run by third generation orchardist and 2015 Victorian Rural Woman of the Year, Katie Finlay.

"We're a tiny farm here in Australia but we're fully mechanised. We have forklifts and tractors and every bit of equipment we could want," Ms Finlay said.

"Having Norma come here, through her eyes, we're a big fancy farm that's got all the equipment they just dream of having."

Ms Finley said that many Samoan farmers just wanted access to tools.

"They want hoes and rakes and seeds. It's that very basic form of infrastructure that we take for granted," she said.

Ms Finley said it had been a "real eye opener" understanding the practical considerations of bringing market opportunities to farmers with so few resources.

It was not just a lack of mechanised equipment that made farming more challenging in the small Polynesian country.

Many Samoan farmers do not have vehicles, making it difficult to transport goods to the local market.

That is where WIBDI step in.

"[We] pick [the farmers] up and help them out with transportation, and after the night market we deliver them back home," Ms Tauiliili said.

The support offered by WIBDI also extends to funding a youth program tackling truancy and unemployment.

"We reach out to those villages that have youth that don't go to school and don't have jobs," Ms Tauiliili said.

"[It involves] learning and giving them knowledge and skills for organic farming and how to take care of their environment because nowadays climate change is a really big issue for our country."

While Samoa lacks resources, Ms Finley said its people have a different, more prosperous relationship to their land than in Australia.

In Samoa, most families own land and additional family members also have access.

"If it's family land then each of the [family members] have a right to the land. They can build houses on the land," Ms Tauiliili said.

"Some of them will divide the land and some will share it."

Ms Finley said one of the barriers for young farmers in Australia was this access to land.

"It changes your perspective of what is wealth and who has access to what," Ms Finley said.

"Farmers in Samoa don't have access to seeds and tools, but they've got as much land and water as they could possibly want so they have a lot of inherent wealth available to them.

"One of the gifts that we can give our young farmers here in Australia is helping them get access to farming land.

Topics: human-interest, women-in-agriculture, women, sustainable-and-alternative-farming, community-and-society, feminism, work, harcourt-3453, pacific, samoa

Excerpt from:

Sharing organic food-growing knowledge across the Pacific - ABC Online

In Lane County we have been blessed to have a visionary entrepreneur at the genesis of the organically grown produce and foods movement, Pat Leonard. With the help of Leonards talents, research and advocacy, Oregon passed the nations first organic foods laws and statutes in 1973.

Former U.S. Congressman James Weaver helped immensely by educating and nudging decision-makers in the direction of supporting the greatest public interest.

California incorporated many of the provisions of Oregons law in enacting its own organic foods-labeling law in 1979. Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy introduced meaningful organics-related legislation in 1990 as part of that congressional sessions Farm Bill.

Weavers successor in Congress worked for amendments to water down organic food production standards, and that weaker version of organic standards passed Congress. Removed were the environmental stewardship and sustainable agricultural purposes in Leahys proposed legislation.

Were fortunate to have had visionary leaders in some parts of the business community here, such as Leonard. Our burgeoning green business sectors and our local food economy all have Pat Leonard to thank each wakeful day for his efforts and successes, which some once said were quixotic.

Rob Handy

Eugene

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Mail letters to: Mailbag, 3500 Chad Drive, Eugene, OR 97408-7348

E-mail: rgletters@registerguard.com

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Thank Leonard for organic legacy - The Register-Guard

Is organic food better for us? A growing number of scientific studies suggest that it is.

And now, the latest evidence to support this claim is a new report from the European Parliament, written by scientists at universities across Europe, including one who is also a professor at Harvard. The team reviewed the existing science on both organic food and agriculture and concluded that an organic food system offers clear health benefits.

Previous reports have looked selectively at the potential benefits of organic food and agricultureits environmental sustainability or whether it contains certain pesticide residues, for example. This report, however, takes an unusually comprehensive look at the full range of possible benefits, from nutrition to absence of toxics. Its also based on hundreds of studies that include food analyses and epidemiological and laboratory studies.

Their findings are clearest when it comes to minimizing exposure to pesticides and to antibiotics used in livestock production. But the report also found that organically grown produce tends to contain less of the toxic metal cadmiumwhich the authors note is highly relevant to human health.

Most striking in its findings is the evidence suggesting organic food can help protect children from the brain-altering effects of some pesticides. And while there is evidence of greater nutrient content in some organic foodparticularly milk and meatas health benefits, these differences appear to be less significant than organic foods lack of hazardous chemicals.

When it comes to pesticides, antibiotic resistance, and cadmium exposure, the authors write, If no action is taken, an opportunity to address some important public health issues would be missed.

The report was prepared for a European audience, but its findings clearly apply to the U.S. They did a really comprehensive job of a global literature search, so I dont think anything in the report wouldnt be applicable, said Boise State University assistant professor of community and environmental health Cynthia Curl, who researches links between diet and pesticide exposure.

Pesticides Can Damage Childrens Brains

The immediate benefit of organic food and agriculture is to avoid pesticide exposure that can damage early-life brain development, said report co-author Philippe Grandjean, a professor at the University of Southern Denmark and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

While some pesticides are allowed in organic agriculture, most of the widely used toxic ones are not. And those that are allowed are far more limited in quantity. (Food testing has confirmed that organic foods have far lower pesticide residues than conventionally grown food.) One class of pesticides that organic farmers must avoid is organophosphates. These are among the insecticides most widely used on U.S. produce and include chlorpyrifos, which is commonly applied to dozens of crops, including grapes, citrus, tree nuts, broccoli, spinach, blueberries, and strawberries.

Organophosphates are highly toxic to the nervous system. Several long-term studies have examined the impacts of chlorpyrifos exposure on childrens brain development, finding that virtually any level of exposure can adversely affect their IQs.

Scientists have also found that prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure can physically alter the development areas of the brain that control behavior, emotion, language, and memory. Prenatal exposure has also been found to cause arm tremors in children, another sign of nerve damage. Exposure to chlorpyrifos has been linked to behavioral problems, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In an interview on Harvards website, Grandjean called these impacts quite scary.

People who eat organic foods, on the other hand, have been found in multiple studies to have lower and fewer pesticidesincluding organophosphatesin their bodies than those who ate conventional food. And while such studies cant make definitive links with health impacts, they do show that eating organic food reduces pesticide exposure.

Even though the scope of this observation is limited, it is apparent that both pesticide exposure and the calculated health risks are far lower for organic products than for conventional products, says the report. As a consequence of reduced pesticide exposure, organic food consequently contributes to the avoidance of health effects and associated costs to society, write the authors, noting that research suggests these costs are currently greatly underestimated.

Organics Can Make a Dent in Antibiotic Resistance

When it comes to antibiotics, We are seeing a worrisome increase in resistant microorganisms, and agricultural uses are part of the reason, says Grandjean. He noted that World Health Organization (WHO) director Margaret Chan has called the global rise of antibiotic resistance a global crisis. Indeed, according to the WHO, more antibiotics are now used in food production than in medical care.

The report explains that organic animal agriculture is often less concentrated, crowded, and allows more space per animal. It cites studies demonstrating for these reasons and others that raising food animals organically has several positive consequences in relation to animal welfare and health, including reduced incidence of diseasehence reduced used of antibiotics. And it adds, With regards to antibiotic use, U.S. organic standards are stricter than EU standards. Generally, no animal that has received any antibiotic treatment may be labeled organic in the USA.

When practiced, the authors conclude, organic production may offer a way of restricting and even decreasing the prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Yet they acknowledge that organic production is only part of a solution to the antibiotics resistance issue.

Cadmium: Theres More in Conventional Food Than We Thought

Although its not often discussed, food is a major source of cadmium (Cd) exposure. In the U.S., leafy vegetables, potatoes, peanuts, and grains are all a primary source of cadmium exposure, says the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Cadmium is a probable human carcinogen thats also toxic to kidneys, lungs, bones, and to childrens brains, particularly if theyre exposed prenatally or through breast milk.

The report found that organically grown produce tends to have lower amounts of cadmium than conventional produce, due to differences in soil and fertilizer use. Low soil organic matter generally increases the availability of Cd for crops, and organically managed farms tend to have higher soil organic matter than conventionally managed farms, the authors explain.

Some fertilizers, including those designed to add phosphorus to soil, canbecause of their mineral contentsalso add cadmium to crops. While there is much research to be done in this area, the report says that organic agriculture could help reduce food as a source of cadmium exposure.

An Endorsement of Organic, but More Work Needed

The reports authors are clear about the fact that both individuals and public health can benefit from organics. But accessibility is still a big question. And when it comes to pesticide exposure, the scientists say more must be done to prevent ongoing harmful exposures.

Pesticide uses are changing and we need to ensure that the pesticides used from now on do not constitute a danger to children and pregnant women, said Grandjean. As it is now, pesticides are not routinely tested for effects on brain development and we ought to change that.

Boise States Curl agrees. We should have a food supply that is equally safe for everyone regardless of what they buy, she said.

See the rest here:

Can Organic Food Prevent a Public Health Crisis? - Civil Eats

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Organic food no longer has to use up your whole paycheck it seems Costco has finally toppled the king of organics. Not only has the wholesalerbeen outselling other conventional retailers in organics for three years, but in 2015, itofficially surpassed Whole Foods in organic food sales, reporting a whopping $4 billion as compared to Whole Foods $3.5 billion.

The recentsales victory was a turning point for the development of inexpensive organic food: Whole Foods has been reporting difficulties of late,closing nine storesafter its sixth straight quarter of same-store declines, a period the Chicago Tribune has calledthe stores worst sales slump in more than a decade.

Meanwhile, Costco and other retailers like Trader Joes have been growing their organic offerings and attracting customers with lower prices.Blogger Whole New Mom writes that she was surprised when, after transitioning to an organic, whole foods diet, her grocery bills didnt actually change much, and via a price analysis, she found that over 90 percent of organic and whole food items were less expensive at Costco, and in many cases, the price difference was dramatic.

But Costcos victory didnt happen overnight: the wholesalerhas actually been working toward this goalfor more thanfive years, according to HeatherShavey, assistant vice president and general merchandise manager at Costco, who toldWell + Goodthat the company decided to invest in organics when many other retailers thought it was a fad that would pass.

Instead, Costco took an interest in not only expanding its own organic offerings but also in the organic landscape itself. Currently, less than one percent of farmland in the U.S. is certified organic, and with a minimal 2.5 percent annual growth, the market cant sustain increasing demand for organic food, which has averaged a ten percent annual growth over the past five years.

Costco was going to have a hard time keeping up with the demand for organics unless it made some changes to these statistics.

As the largest U.S. retailer of organics, Costco is in a good position to address the supply shortage, Ronnie Cummins, the international director of the Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit group that advocates for sustainable food production and consumption, told The Huffington Post, and this is exactly what the retailer did.

In April of last year, Costco launched a program to lend money to farmers to purchase new land and equipment in exchange for first dibs on organic produce.The storehas even purchased its own cattle and contracted with owners of organic fields in Nebraska to raise them.

Through these and other efforts, Costco is not only making organic food more affordable, its also ensuring that we have enough organic food to meet ever-growing demand its no wonder the wholesaler has become Americas favorite place to buy organic food.

Related on Organic AuthorityFor Organic Farmers, Costco Is the Future Costco Switches to Cage-Free Eggs, Changes the Industry for Good Costco Refuses to Sell GMO Salmon in its 474 Warehouse Stores

Emily Monaco is an American food and culture writer based in Paris. She loves uncovering the stories behind ingredients and exposing the face of our food system, so that consumers can make educated choices. Her work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Vice Munchies, and Serious Eats.

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Is Costco the New Whole Foods? - Organic Authority

Honey among products set to be covered by trade deal

The EU's Council of Ministers has approved a deal that will see the trading bloc and Chile recognise each other's rules on organic certification.

The agreement, the first of its kind between the EU and a Latin American country, will now move to the European Parliament for its consent before going back to the Council for formal adoption.

The deal covers EU organic products including processed food products of all kinds, and unprocessed meat, vegetables, honey and farmed fish. Chilean processed food products, honey and unprocessed vegetables will be covered.

A joint EU-Chile committee on organic products will be established to adjudicate disputes over whether a product should be regarded as organic, or not.

Although the EU is a net food-importer from Chile, Brussels expected the agreement will promote EU organic exports to Chile.

Aspokesperson for the EU's Council of Ministers said: "This agreement with Chile will give a boost to EU organic production and exports, and so help generate growth and create jobs."

See the rest here:

EU ministers sign Chile organic food deal - just-food.com (subscription)

[Editors note: Jayson Lusk is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University.]

I presumed most people would choose organic if it were priced the same as conventional. [A European food retailer said], however, that his retail experience was [that] even when he substantially lowered the price premium for organic, the market share remained relatively low.

We conducted studies with apples and with milk [to test this observation].

Even in these controlled studies, we find that if organic were priced the same as conventional (a price premium of 0%), not everyone would buy organic. Priced evenly with conventional, organic would pick up only about 60% of the apple market (the remaining 40% going to conventional), and organic would pick up only about 68% of the milk market (the remaining 32% going to conventional).

Given differences in yield and production costs, organic is almost surely going to be routinely higher priced than conventional. But, even if this werent the case and organic could be competitively priced, these survey results show us that not everyone prefers organic food.

[Read the full study here (behind paywall).]

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:Does everybody prefer organic?

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Even if organic food was as cheap as conventional food, not everyone would buy it, study finds - Genetic Literacy Project