Friday, June 12

Organic farmers object to Whole Foods rating system

via New York Times

The symbiotic relationship between organic farmers and Whole Foods is beginning to fray as some farmers say the retailer's Responsibly Grown program can make conventionally grown produce seem just as good as organically grown. Read more...

California announces restrictions on water use by farmers

via New York Times

The amount of water that farmers in parts of California will be able to use is being drastically reduced by the state as its faces the threat of a prolonged drought. Read more...

Mighty farming microbes: Companies harness bacteria to give crops a boost

via NPR

Some of the biggest names in the pesticide business are looking at ways to potentially use microbes as a mechanism of fighting off insects and weeds. Read more...

Bayer braces for trial in probiotic supplement dispute with FTC

via Natural Products Insider

Monday is set to mark the beginning of a weeks-long trial that will decide whether Bayer Corp. made unfounded claims about the benefits of its probiotic supplement. Read more...

Sprouts shares secrets to healthy growth

via Food Business News

Targeting middle-class customers, locating near grocery stores and offering a broad array of fresh products has allowed Sprouts to cut into Whole Foods' Market share, President and CEO Doug Sanders says. Read more...

Thursday, June 11: Groups want to ban 8 artificial flavorings | America's snack bar obsession

Snack bars push the price envelope and find consumers don't push back

via The Wall Street Journal

There are a whopping 1,012 nutrition bars on the market today, according to WSJ—many of them protein-packed, and some of them costing even more per ounce than steak. Read more...

Petition asks FDA to ban 8 synthetic flavorings now considered GRAS

via Food Safety News

Science, health and consumer groups are asking the FDA to ban substances including benzophenone and ethyl acrylate, saying the ingredients have been shown to induce cancer in lab animals. Read more...

Class action lawsuit targets Blue Diamond, Silk almond milks

via Legal Newsline

The suit alleges that the companies' almond milks are only 2 percent almond, despite being advertised as made mostly of almonds. Read more...

We're more concerned with nutrients than actual foods

via Time

Is America's love for nutrients distorting how we think of food? Read more...

Fishmeal will move from being commodity to 'high-price,' stragegic marine protein

via Undercurrent News

Falling supply and rising demand for fishmeal will cause prices to rise, according to a report from Rabobank. Read more...

Wednesday, June 10: Why we'll all soon eat less meat | Ben & Jerry's dabbles in dairy-free ice cream

We'll all eat less meat soon—like it or not

via Mother Jones

If trends in global meat demand continue, mass meat production like we have in the U.S. would have to scale up. But it's just not sustainable. Read more...

Ben & Jerry's is making a dairy-free ice cream

via Metro

A coconut milk or almond milk-based Ben & Jerry's flavor is apparently set to debut next spring. Read more...

Why so many nutrition studies are 'fundamentally and fatally flawed'

via Vox

By asking people to recall what foods they consumed in a given time period, are researchers really getting an accurate picture? Read more...

B&G betting big on Booty

via Food Business News

Two years after buying Pirate's Booty, B&G Foods says it's on the lookout for another better-for-you snack brand with similar growth potential. Read more...

Costco egg supplier under scrutiny for 'inhumane treatment' of chickens

via Food Safety News

The Humane Society of the United States says it found safety concerns and animals being treated inhumanely at a farm that supplies some Costco stores under the brand name "Nearby Eggs." Read more...

Tuesday, June 9:  Ireland cracks down on food labeling | Organic e-cigarettes?

Ireland is getting really hardcore about food claims

via Time

It took The Food Safety Authority of Ireland two years, but it finally came up with definitions for the words artisan, farmhouse, traditional and natural that will help the courts interpret food labeling lawsuits. Read more...

America's first certified organic e-cigarette vaping liquid is here

via Modern Farmer

As the world debates whether e-cigarettes are safe, this California company at least makes sure its product is free of pesticides. Read more...

Monsanto-Syngenta merger unsettles U.S. farmers

via Wall Street OTC

Fear of price hikes for genetically modified seeds and chemicals is a common concern among farmers as the world's largest seed company attempts to woo its Swiss competitor. Read more...

Sales of lower-calorie products grow at supermarkets

via Food Business News

A new report from the Hudson Institute found an 18.1 percent growth rate in sales of lower-calorie products from 2009 to 2013. Read more...

Using walnut aromas to control pests

via Science Daily

Volatile compounds in walnuts may keep away pests that harm them. Read more...

Monday, June 8: Organic literacy still a work in progress | Why chickens are first in antibiotic-free movement

Why chicken is going antibiotic-free first

via Food Safety News

Chickens have shorter life spans, and producers have vertically integrated production systems, which makes change easier for chickens than for other kinds of meat. Read more...

The organic thing: For many, still a mystery 25 years later

via U.S. News and World Report

Organic farming faces many challenges, but the biggest barrier to growing organic may be hwo under-informed Americans are about what organic means. Read more...

Schools say ciao to plastic lunch trays, hello to compostable plates

via NPR

Member schools of the Urban School Food alliance, which together serve up 2.5 million meals a day, are ditching polystyrene lunch trays in favor of compostable lunch plates. Read more...

Analyst: Competition slowing growth for natural/organic retailers

via Supermarket News

Major natural retailers like Whole Foods Market as well as value-focused retailers like Sprouts Farmers Markets are showing signs of slowing, according to a report from Wolfe Research analyst Scott Mushkin. Read more...

Grocery stores find productivity and service improve when employees become owners

via The Buffalo News

Increased profits and vast expansion are just some of the benefits that stores are reaping after letting employees take over. Read more...