Hyderabad, Jan 1:

With reports of pesticide residues found in organic food hitting the headlines last month, the pro-organic groups have asked farmers to move towards non-pesticide management and organic farming in the real sense.

Pro-organic groups want genuine growers of organic food to become whistleblowers against the unscrupulous players, while maintaining transparency. They also want consumers to know more about their food (both conventional and organic), including the source, and how the food is grown.

As the findings that emanated from Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) showed a third of organic food sold in the national capital contained pesticide residues, the pro-organic groups termed the report a frivolous diversionary ploy to keep peoples attention away from real food safety concerns of citizens.

Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI) and Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) have said that agri-chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides were unsustainable inputs in agriculture.

It is ironical and unreasonable that conventional foods produced using hazardous substances like synthetic pesticides totally escape the onus of disclosure, while significantly safer organic produce is being portrayed as being more unsafe, they said in the joint statement.

There is an urgent need to ensure proper systems, checks and measures are in place to protect organic consumers from malpractices in the market that unethically cash in on their concern for safe food.

The groups wanted the government to provide easy and affordable access to labs for testing toxic chemical residues. Currently, accessing labs for such testing of marketed foods is both costly and cumbersome for consumers or organic farmers. This will have a positive effect on transparency relating to both, allowing greater informed choice to consumers, the statement said.

The groups asked the government to procure organic food for public distribution system and other schemes.

(This article was published on January 1, 2015)

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Pro-organic groups want proper systems to protect consumers

A new style of restaurant is opening in Hamilton on the corner of Second and Main streets called Flavorful Local Pizza. The Flavorful company is thinking big and dreaming big.

Augusto Gus Daza Obregon is a chef and the chairman of development for Flavorful, and he has a huge vision with lots of partners.

Its going to be awesome, said Obregon. I believe Montana will change the world.

Obregon is originally from South America. He moved to Florida, then he came to Montana and graduated from Columbia Falls High School. Twelve years ago, he graduated from the Institute of Culinary Arts in Fort Lauderdale.

Ive been cooking for a long time; Im the lucky guy that gets to go to all the Stock Farm houses and cook for those awesome people, said Obregon.

Ive really studied the importance of organic food and the importance of nutrition, and Im also a restaurant consultant, so Ive helped a lot of restaurants around the valley and around Missoula. I go in when they are failing and I help them succeed. Ive seen what works the most efficient way in all the restaurants and then I put it all together.

I started coming up with a more innovative way to create the food a faster way. So I can compete with McDonalds, Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut and do it organically.

We plan to keep it 100 percent sustainable and local were helping the farmers with technology and advice to be able to produce food for us that is organically certified.

The floor plan for Flavorful Local Pizza is familiar. The customer will enter the restaurant, go to the counter and convey their desires to Flavorful chefs selecting from different types of dough (including a 100 percent gluten-free option that they are creating), a variety of healthy and flavorful sauces, pizza toppings organic locally grown meat and fresh vegetables and finally the creation is baked in a special oven with radiant heat at 1,000 degrees. The customer then selects what theyd like to drink; Flavorful is working out a contract with Jones Soda, an organic soda company.

By the time you get your soda, your pizza will be ready, said Obregon.

Excerpt from:
Flavorful: New restaurant set to bring organic pizza to downtown Hamilton

Today I posted an article my cousin sent me on my Facebook wall. She had just read my post about Cornucopia Institutes recent investigation dubbed the Organic Watergate (rightly so) and the harmful ingredient carrageenan that is allowed in organic foods. The article I posted was entitled 38 Non-Organic Ingredients Found in USDA Organic Foods. Although dated 2007, I found the reasons for allowing these ingredients to be fascinating. A majority of the foods were allowed because no other substitute from an organic supplier was widely available or for economic reasons. Majority of the foods were allowed only after companies submitted specific petitions to the USDA to include them.

Because the article was outdated a bit, I thought it would be prudent to easily make available the whole list of ingredients that are currently legally allowed in organic food. While most of the agriculture and non-synthetic substances are not harmful to your body some of them along with synthetic ingredients do alter your bodys alkalinity, making you more acidic. This matters, because an alkaline body avoids disease, repair cells, and removes free radicals/toxins more effectively.

I could spend days discussing each ingredient, but one synthetic ingredient that jumped out at me is cellulose otherwise known as wood pulp. The amount of cellulose food companies can put in your food is not regulated by the FDA. Cellulose is used as filler to processed foods because it doesnt contain calories or fat content and is cheap. Some common products that contain it are frozen waffles, shredded cheese, and salad dressings. Your body simply cannot use this ingredient at all nutritionally and lacks the enzymes to digest it. I dont know about you, but I certainly dont want to eat things that my system cant process. I cant believe companies are allowed to sell food we cant even digest as humans!

This list hopefully serves as a reminder why it is so incredibly important to avoid overly processed foods even when they are certified organic and to check every single label on everything you buy. The products I share and support on my shop and the ones I use on a daily basis rarely if ever contain any of the below ingredients. And for the record I will ALWAYS choose an organic product vs. a conventional one.

I obtained this list from the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations ECFR and is current as of May 22, 2012. Please feel free to share it how ever you like.

You can view all the other ingredients that are allowed in actual production of organic products here, dont get too crazy looking at that list either.

* List provided by Electronic Code of Federal Regulations May 22, 2012

Non-Organic Agriculture Products Allowed:

Non-Synthetic Allowed:

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Full List of Non Organic Ingredients Allowed in Organic Food

Compiled by: Mary V. Gold Alternative Farming Systems Information Center

June 2007

On this Page... What is Organic Production? What are organic production systems and practices? Where are the best organic production research and information sources? How can I find organic production people and organizations? Where can I explore educational and career opportunities? Who will fund my organic farming or food research project? Where can I find organic-related conferences and workshops?

What is organic production?

USDA Definition and Regulations:

The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), enacted under Title 21 of the 1990 Farm Bill, served to establish uniform national standards for the production and handling of foods labeled as organic. The Act authorized a new USDA National Organic Program (NOP) to set national standards for the production, handling, and processing of organically grown agricultural products. In addition, the Program oversees mandatory certification of organic production. The Act also established the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) which advises the Secretary of Agriculture in setting the standards upon which the NOP is based. Producers who meet standards set by the NOP may label their products as USDA Certified Organic.

USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) definition, April 1995

CFR Regulatory Text, 7 CFR Part 205, Subpart A Definitions. 205.2 Terms defined

Organic production. A production system that is managed in accordance with the Act and regulations in this part to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. USDA National Organic Program. http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NOP/standards/DefineReg.html

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Organic Production and Organic Food: Information Access Tools

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Since the formation of its predecessor in 1976, this natural and organic food distributor has grown its business both organically and through acquisitions which have expanded its distribution network, product selection and customer base. Since fiscal 2004, its net sales have increased at a compounded annual growth rate or CAGR of 15.1%.

Highlights

* Sustained Financial Strength * Strategic M & A * Strategic New Customer Wins * Strong Balance Sheet * Growing To Over $10 Bln By 2017

The Stock In Focus

United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI: Quote) is an independent national distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods and related products including nutritional supplements, personal care items and organic produce, in the United States and Canada, serving more than 40,000 customer locations.

Its thirty-two distribution centers, representing about 7.2 million square feet of warehouse space, provide the company with the largest capacity of any North American-based distributor in the natural, organic and specialty products industry.

The company offers more than 80,000 high-quality natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products, consisting of national, regional and private label brands grouped into six product categories: grocery and general merchandise, produce, perishables and frozen foods, nutritional supplements and sports nutrition, bulk and foodservice products and personal care items.

Operating Structure

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Why United Natural Foods Looks Healthy?