The time is ripe for Jeff Bezos to work his business acumen on an area of the US food system thats been slowly growing for years: organic food. And with his purchase of Whole Foods Market earlier this month, hell have even more reason to try and convince US farmers to join him.

The meteoric growth of Whole Foods over the last several decades has been a testament to the growing popularity of natural and organic foods in America. The Organic Trade Association estimates those foods now account for 5% of total food sales, or $47 billion. Thats still a tiny sliver of food sales. But even before the Amazon acquisition, people in the industry were saying that number would jump to about 10% in coming years. Now that Amazonwith a much broader consumer base than Whole Foodshas officially picked up the natural-and organic-foods mantle, previous growth estimates might actually be conservative.

But theres a problem for Bezos if he wants to make organic food as ubiquitous as an Amazon-branded delivery box. As demand for organic fruits and vegetables has grown, the number of acres used to farm those crops has remained about the same.

One of the reasons is that its particularly onerous for farmers to switch from conventional farming techniques to organic. The government requires they create a three-year plan for how they will transition to accommodate more rigorous standards. The idea is that it takes about three years for conventional soil to contain the nutrient levels needed for organic certification. Organic crops must be rotated, and farmers must follow stricter standards for pest management and erosion control, among other things.

During that three-year transition period, farmers essentially go through the motions required for growing organic foods, but they have to sell it as conventional food at conventional prices. But if Amazon manages to give more people cheaper access to organic foods, there will be an incentive to push more farmers to go through that process, says Maggie Monast, a sustainable sourcing expert at the Environmental Defense Fund.

Most people have computers but they might not have access to a Whole Foods, Monast tells Quartz. But if this acquisition does increase demand for organic, there will be serious challenges in terms of scaling up.

For now, the US has relied on importing organic vegetables and fruits from other countries to make up the differencesomething some experts remain dubious about (paywall) when there are instances of imports of so-called organic corn and soy from China, for example, that have been found to be fraudulent.

Can Bezos overcome the challenges of producing more organic food the way that he overcame the books trade and then pretty much every bricks-and-mortar retailer? Well find out soon enough.

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Amazon's new grocery venture gives Jeff Bezos his greatest challengecreating enough organic food - Quartz

PAOLI -- Ken and Sherrie Ruegsegger opened the 700-square-foot Paoli Local Foods as a way to sell and market the meat and vegetables grown on their farm near New Glarus.

Since 2007, the business at 6895 Paoli Road, now known as Paoli Cafe & Grocery, has expanded to 5,000 square feet and in 2012 included the addition of a cafe where the offerings have included sandwiches made with meat curated from local producers, stuffed green peppers with wild rice and quiche made with a Swiss chard, kale and goat feta cheese.

Ken Ruegsegger packs cartons with chicken eggs in between waiting on customers at Paoli Grocery & Cafe. Ruegsegger's farm near New Glarus is home to 35 ducks and 400 laying hens.

Customers routinely stop in to purchase duck and chicken eggs and bicyclists have made the store and cafe a regular stop but the business in downtown Paoli is closing, not due to a lack of business, but because of a divorce. Friday is the last day of business for the cafe, while the store will remain open through Wednesday. An auction is tentatively set for July 13.

"It's been an awesome journey," Ken Ruegsegger said. "I get to grow the food, cook the food. ... It's really sad that I have to leave but I'm trying to do the work of three people, and it's not working."

Paoli Grocery & Cafe offers a wide range of organic and natural products but is closing after 10 years of business.

The grocery store became known for its wide range of locally raised products including grass-fed Angus beef, chicken, turkey, organic produce, homemade jams, pickles, wild gathered items and organic compost from the family farm that Ken's father, Albert, purchased in 1958. Ken took over what is now a 140-acre operation in 1980.

The store also helps support about 80 local producers and has been one of the staples of Paoli, an artisan community along the Sugar River just south of Verona. Other businesses in the hamlet founded in 1856 include Paoli Schoolhouse Shops & Cafe; Cluck, The Chicken Store that sells backyard chicken supplies and art; Paoli Pub & Grill, Zazen Gallery, Hop Garden and Paoli Bread & Brat Haus.

Carol Torregrossa of Verona carries a carton of duck and chicken eggs purchased from Ken Ruegsegger. Torregrossa said she likes the taste of the eggs from Ruegsegger's poultry. "His stuff you can count on it all being good," she said.

But the loss of the business will leave a sizable retail space empty at the corner of Ridge Trail and Paoli Road and be one less outlet for organic produce, meats and locally produced foods, although Ruegsegger plans to continue selling products from his farm through his website, his delivery service and at the Dane County Farmers' Market.

He has 3,500 subscribers to his newsletter and the number continues to grow. On Thursday, he was busy packing eggs from his farm into cartons in between waiting on customers at the deli counter. He has 35 ducks and 400 laying hens. The soy-free duck eggs sell for $10 a dozen and the soy-free chicken eggs for $6 a dozen.

"I sell out. I can't keep up," Ruegsegger said of the demand for his eggs.

A basket of soy-free chicken and duck eggs gathered from Ken Ruegsegger's farm wait to be packed in cartons. The duck eggs are more white and larger than the chicken eggs.

In 2008, the Ruegseggers were nominated by the local chapter of Slow Food Wisconsin to represent the state at the Slow Food Nation festival in San Francisco and were nominated for a Dane County small-business award.

Among the items that are part of the store's liquidation are 300 free-range, soy-free chickens that were just recently butchered and pastured, and soy-free pork. The sale also includes jams and jellies, pickles, salsas, cheese, Kombucha, granola and bulk grains and pasta. All restaurant and store equipment is being sold, including a walk-in freezer and walk-in cooler, shelving and cooking and baking equipment.

Ken Ruegsegger rolls a cart topped with 30 dozen chicken eggs out of his Paoli Grocery & Cafe. These eggs were purchased by a vendor who plans to sell them at a farmers' market in the Milwaukee suburb of Elm Grove.

Ken Ruegsegger said his wife has been gone from the business for nearly two years and he only has a few part-time people working at the farm and the cafe and grocery operation. There is little free time for Ruegsegger but it also has been his life.

"It's insane but you know what? I've enjoyed every minute of it," Ruegsegger said. "I love what I do, I love the people, I love the food. I've learned so much and I've helped so many people. It was just an incredible experience, but there will be a transition period."

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'It's been an awesome journey,' but Paoli Cafe & Grocery to close - Madison.com

June 28, 2017 New rules to increase consumer trust in organic foodstuffs and unleash the sectors potential for growth were informally agreed with Council negotiators on Wednesday.

To increase consumers trust:

Four years after entry into force of this regulation, the Commission would report back on the efficiency of the EU anti-contamination rules and national thresholds and, if need be, come up with a draft law to harmonise them.

To boost EU organic food production:

Rapporteur and chief EP negotiator Martin Husling (Greens/EFA, DE) will hold a press conference on Thursday at 09:30 on the outcome of the negotiations (Anna Politkovskaya room PHS 0A50).

More detailed information about the content of the deal are available in the background note.

After 20 months of negotiations we have managed to reach an agreement, which will help organic sector grow and will increase consumers trust in organic foodstuffs. It was a laborious task but I believe new rules will bring benefits to both EU consumers and organic farmers, said Martin Husling.

Next steps

The agreed text now needs to be approved by the Agriculture Committee, the Parliament and the Council before it can enter into force. It shall apply from 1 July 2020.

Procedure: Ordinary legislative procedure (co-decision), 1st reading agreement

Type of the document: Regulation

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Organic food: new rules for EU label agreed - YubaNet

In Chef's Choice, the Naperville Sun asks local chefs to share their culinary background and experiences and talk about a featured dish found on their menu.

This week, we speak with Rick Van Buren, 49, who co-owns Fire It Up Taco Fusion Grill with his wife Julie. The restaurant's taco feature organic ingredients in unique combinations.

Van Buren has a finance degree, but started working in restaurants while in college and has a wide variety of experience, including stints at the Cubby Bear in Chicago, Bar Louie and private golf courses. He operated a food truck business from 2011 to 2013, which he sold to open his first brick-and-mortar location in Wheaton. The Naperville restaurant at 1523 N. Aurora Road opened in 2016.

Question: Where does the name, "Fire It Up," come from?

Van Buren: The name came from the food truck. When we first bought it, I'd say we need to fire it up to see what's wrong with it. My wife, being the marketing guru she is, said we should call it that.

Q: Actually food trucks are pretty popular. Why did you decide to do a regular restaurant location instead?

Van Buren: Because we live in Illinois and the truck thing is a very seasonal business. Even though it's winter, the kids have to eat.

Q: Has your experience been mostly fast food or has there been fine dining as well?

Van Buren: As far as my experience, it's been more to the full-service casual dining side of things.

David Sharos / Naperville Sun

The Asian tacos served at Naperville's Fire It Up include a homemade citrus slaw, braised pork and a spicy/sweet Asian sauce.

The Asian tacos served at Naperville's Fire It Up include a homemade citrus slaw, braised pork and a spicy/sweet Asian sauce. (David Sharos / Naperville Sun)

Q: What food trend would you say is most exciting right now?

Van Buren: I think the food business in general has people getting back to real food vs. stuff in a bag. I think having people getting back to real food is exciting. We're doing what we're doing because we felt it was the right thing to do.

Q: Where did the taco idea come from?

Van Buren: (The idea was) to keep it affordable. (If) you're buying organic food and if you're doing an organic burger, you're going to have to charge $16 for it. That doesn't seem affordable.

Q: What's the biggest change when you go from a food truck to a restaurant, besides the space?

Van Buren: Staffing that's a challenge across the industry. There aren't as many people in the market.

Q: What's the most amazing thing you've ever eaten?

Van Buren: That's really tough. There are so many things I've tried that I've liked.

Q: How about this: if you could only eat one type of cuisine the rest of your life, what would it be?

Van Buren: It would have to be Italian because there are so many options between the meats and the pastas and the things that could come together.

Q: Most people's palates change over time. What's something you enjoy eating now that you wouldn't touch as a kid?

Van Buren: As a kid, I couldn't stand cucumbers but now I love them. I wouldn't touch something like sushi either and now I love it.

Q: What's a go-to dinner at the Van Buren house?

Van Buren: Believe it or not, it's still tacos. We are always trying new recipes at home.

Q: Who out there in television or magazines has been an influence for you? Do you follow Rick Bayless, for example?

Van Buren: Not really. Maybe someone like Guy Fieri, who find these places on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives."

Q: Describe for us the dish you're featuring today

Van Buren: This is a new Asian taco we're featuring, with a homemade citrus slaw on the bottom, braised pork that goes on and a fresh ginger, soy, garlic-based Asian sauce that is sweet and spicy, and some house made pickled red onions. We serve it with our tri-colored quinoa.

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.

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Chef's Choice: 'Real' food an exciting trend for owner of Fire It Up fusion tacos - Chicago Tribune

Cincinnati-based grocery giant The Kroger Co. (KR) saw its shares tank 10% last week on news of ecommerce leader Amazon.com Inc.s (AMZN) proposed $13.7 billion all-cash acquisition of high-end grocer Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM). (See also: Is Kroger Stock a Buy After Falling Last Week?)

Despite the sell-off, Kroger Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rodney McMullen spoke to CNBC on Tuesday with confidence regarding his company's ability to adapt and outperform in a rapidly changing industry. Many suggest Kroger should make a counteroffer for Whole Foods to protect its market share, but McMullen called the organic grocer a good fit for Amazon, indicating that he was not at all surprised by the blockbuster deal.

The number two U.S. grocers CEO says its business will continue like normal, as the firm remains hyperfocused on the long term, which he defined as three to five years. Kroger will continue to ramp up its efforts to transition into a more organic and natural foods focused retailer. McMullen hopes the health transformation will help the company grab a larger portion of the organic food market, as it sees sales in that segment boom to $16 billion.

I think the retail industry is in constant change. Weve been saying that for years, said McMullen. Amazon wanted to do something from the physical asset standpoint We are trying to take care of customers. The news comes just as German discount grocers Aldi and Lidl plan their U.S. strategy, pressuring prices which have already been heavily cut by Wal-Mart Stories Inc. (WMT).

Kroger shares gained 2.6% on the heels of McMullenss interview to close at $23.35 on Wednesday. The day's gain trims KR stock loss year-to-date (YTD) at 32.3%. (See also: Kroger Nosedives on Downward Revised Guidance.)

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Kroger CEO Not Phased by Amazon-Whole Foods Tie Up, Shares Pop - Investopedia

New Delhi, Jun 28 Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today held discussions with his counterpart in the commerce ministry, Nirmala Sitharaman, on ways to promote organic food products and their certification.

In a tweet, Singh said that a single system for organic certification to cater to all stakeholders, including farmers, exporters and consumers, was also deliberated on.

This meeting assumes significance as the commerce ministry is emphasising on promoting exports of organic goods and for that certification of products is important as it helps increase competitiveness in the global markets and fetch higher value.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the food regulator, has recently released a draft regulation for organic food products, seeking to ensure that these food items are actually organic.

Organic foods will have to comply with the provisions under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) administered by the government or the Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India) run by the Agriculture Ministry or any other standards notified by the food authority.

It has sought public comments on the draft regulations, which has been prepared in view of rising demand for organic food products, being considered as healthy, in the country.

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Agri, commerce ministers discuss ways to promote organic food - Outlook India

By Matthew Staver/Bloomberg/Getty Images.

Jeff Bezos has yet to actually take over Whole Foods, but the prospect of the acquisition deal has already disrupted the grocery industry. On the day Amazon announced plans to buy the upscale grocer for $13.7 billion, investors pulled billions of dollars from competing companies, with the market cap destruction totaling almost $40 billion for the 20 worst-performing food and retail stocks on the S&P alone. And the fallout from the potential merger isnt over.

On Wednesday, meal-kit delivery company Blue Apron announced plans to slash the target share price for its upcoming I.P.O., from $15 to $17 per share to $10 to $11 per sharea dramatic cut for a company that, while unprofitable, was generating significant year-over-year revenue and closing its losses. The new share price would value Blue Apron at about $2 billion, compared to its previously expected $3.2 billion valuation.

At least part of the blame for the sudden change in value can be attributed to the Amazon-Whole Foods deal: between Amazons logistics and Whole Foods fresh inventory and organic foods, the merger of the two companies would almost certainly give Blue Apron a run for its money. Amazon already offers AmazonFresh, a food delivery service, and has given thought to expanding into the meal-kit delivery space, too. In the deal, Amazon would also have access to 400 Whole Foods locations, giving Bezos hundreds of potential delivery hubs in the same upscale markets in which Blue Apron is trying to establish a foothold. Though the companies havent announced plans to take on Blue Apron yet, it remains an existential worry facing the company.

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The Amazon-Whole Foods Merger Is Already Wreaking Havoc - Vanity Fair

Many grocery store shoppers believe that organic vegetables are healthier than their conventional counterparts, but studies comparing nutritional content have produced mixed results. Now, researchers have completed the first-ever multiyear field test of a crop grown with organic methods versus conventional ones. They report that organic onions contain a significantly higher amount of two types of flavonoidscompounds that some studies have shown may protect against chronic health conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer (J. Ag. Food Chem. 2017, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b01352).

Previous studies of differences between conventional and organic produce have relied on vegetables bought off the shelf or have encompassed just a couple of years of side-by-side growth, making it difficult to rule out the effects of annual differences in weather or other factors. In this study, researchers from Teagasc Food Research Centre wanted to do a longer, better-controlled study by growing the same vegetables in the same location over six seasons using conventional versus organic methods. Between 2009 and 2014, the researchers grew red and yellow onionsRed Baron and Hyskin varietiesusing both organic farming practices as defined by the European Union and conventional methods, which involved the use of mineral fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. Then they analyzed the compounds in freeze-dried extracts from the onions using high-performance liquid chromatography and other techniques.

Not surprisingly, the red onions had higher levels of the red-pigmented flavonoid anthocyanin, while the yellow onions had higher levels of quercetin, which imparts a yellowish pigment. Annual weather factors like rainfall and temperature also contributed to variability in phytochemical content.

Overall, however, across the six years of the study, the total flavonoid content was 10-50% higher by dry weight in the organic onions. Consistently higher levels of individual flavonoids were also present in the organic onions, and the extracts had higher antioxidant activity in two assays that measure radical scavenging activity.

The teams analysis attributed the flavonoid content increase in the organic onions primarily to the differences in soil management and pest control practices. Under organically farmed conditions, the plant experiences more stress as it grows, explains Dilip K. Rai, the studys senior author. Without synthetic pesticides, for example, microbial attacks increase. Plants generate secondary metabolites such as anthocyanin and quercetin as a defensive mechanism, he says.

Rai points out that the studys findings align with a major 2012 meta-analysis that found no nutritional differences between organic and conventional produce but noted that flavonoids and other polyphenol compounds increase in organic farming. We have to make a distinction between nutritional compounds like protein and minerals that we need for growth and health-promoting ones, he says.

Pinning down whether the increase translates to real health benefits is difficult, however. Thats the million-dollar question, says Rai. Thunder Jalili, a nutritional scientist at the University of Utah who studies the physiological effects of phytochemicals, notes that a handful of studies have shown that taking quercetin reduces blood pressure. The doses given are generally much higher than could be consumed from onions, however.

Link:

Organic onions richer in flavonoids - Chemical & Engineering News

This Week in Weird Science: Facebook reduces the amount of gray matter in the brain. Dont worry, its not necessarily making you dumber, but rather it has the same effect on your brain as heroin does to addicts. Next, researchers from Germany and Sweden conclude that organic food is actually worse for the environment than the cheap stuff. Finally, a fish the size of a fucking bus was discovered in Russia. Lets not anger the beast.

Facebook reduces gray matter in the brain.

Facebook addicts who spend their days scrolling through the app, passive-aggressively commenting pictures, and playing arm-chair politician tend to have less gray matter in their brains.

The region inflicted with reduced gray matter is the nucleus accumbens, the brains reward centers. Its part of the organs mesolimbic pathway, which activates during pleasurable experiences. Its the region of the brain flooded with dopamine when an addict injects heroin or a sex addict gets whipped by a melanesian hooker.

During a five-week study, researchers from Germanys Ulm University and the University of Bonn tracked the Facebook habits of 46 male and 39 female users. They monitored the time spent on the social network, the number of times they checked in. In coordination with the analysis, the team also used MRI scans to survey the participants brain structures.

It appeared, thathigher daily frequency of checking Facebook on the smartphone was robustly linked with smaller gray matter volumes of the nucleus accumbens, said the study.

Indeed, frequency of Facebook checking can be compared to an energetic SEEKING activity, the researchers wrote, whereas the users of the smartphones are checking their Facebook account in expectation of Likes, nice comments, etc.

This trial is one of many that delve into the psychological repercussions of social media, and it could also explain why heavy social media users tend to be more reclusive and depressive than the rest of the population.

Organic food is worse for the environment than you ever thought.

To all of the organic-only yuppies who subsist on $5 organic apples, just know that the simple farm-to-table lifestyle is only healthy for you, not for the environment. A team of researchers out of Sweden and Germany have noticed that the carbon footprint associated with both conventional and organic diets is pretty much the same, the only difference is that an organic diet requires 40 percent more land.

These results may seem disappointing to those extolling virtues of free-roaming, happy chickens and the freshness of pesticide free strawberries. Sure, an organic lifestyle is significantly healthier than a conventional diet. Organic adherers tend to eat significantly more fruits and vegetables and 45 percent less meat. But, it turns out, that the meat produced at organic farms has a significantly larger carbon footprint that those normal farms. Also, these organic farms not only require more land but they also yield 20 percent less crops.

From a carbon emissions perspective, organic farming is worse for the environment because, perhaps obviously, using more land to produce fewer crops is inefficient and unsustainable. Then again, so is much of the diet of conventional eaters. A hamburger a day aint keeping global warming away.

A fish the size of a fucking bus was just found in Russia.

Fossils of a new species of marine reptile was just found in Russia, and its the size of a fucking bus.

The pliosaur, an ancient sea-dwelling reptile, had a 7 foot skull, teeth the size of bus seats, and extremely powerful jaws that could probably devour a Great White in a single bite.

These swimming reptiles, not dinosaurs but cousins of fucking turtles, possess an unusual, slender body shape with four large flippers, stiff trunk, and, according to the researchers, highly varying neck length. Theyre most known for ferocious fucking appetites.

Researchers found the creature, dubbed Luskhan itilensis, meaning Master Spirit from the Volga, in the Russias Volga River, near the city Ulyanovsk, and the fossils date back 130 million years.

This is the most striking feature, as it suggests that pliosaurs colonized a much wider range of ecological niches than previously assumed, said lead researcher Dr. Valentin Fischer of Liege University in Belgium. The new results suggest that pliosaurs were able to bounce back after the latest Jurassic extinction, but then faced another extinction that wouldthis timewipe them off the depths of the oceans, forever.

Its a shame pliosaurs are supposedly extinct (remember we know virtually nothing about the deep oceans) because Cthulhu could use a rival.

Top photo courtesy of Masahiro Ihara, CC BY 2.0

Tommy Burson is a travel writer, part-time hitchhiker, and hes currently trying to imitate Where in the World is Carmen San Diego but with more sunscreen and jorts.

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Weird Science: Organic Food Is Actually Worse For The Environment - Paste Magazine

Patch.com

Free Food At MOM's Organic Market In DC Sunday Patch.com Founder Scott Nash hand-delivered his first box of organic produce in Rockville on July 2, 1987. Since then, the concept has grown to include stores in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.. "I started this company out of my ... and more »

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Free Food At MOM's Organic Market In DC Sunday - Patch.com