Growers and Grocers

Food & Water Watch (aka Democracy in Action), sent me a press release urging concerned citizens to protest the National Organic Standards Board’s definition for “organic” as it pertains to aquaculture.
According to F&WW, the standards fall short in a number of ways (you can read the PDF proposal yourself from this location). Here are their […]

The world’s top food companies aren’t very concerned about your health and weight, according to a major report just released by London’s City University.
The research team comprised Food Policy Professor Tim Lang, Visiting Research Fellow Geof Rayner, and Research Assistant Elizabeth Kaelin. The group studied food manufacturers, […]

My friend Tim alerted me to this article on The New York Times, which announces that Wal-Mart will offer financial grants to the local businesses that typically wither and die when Wal-Mart bulldozes into town.
Not only that, Wal-Mart will train these small businesses on how to stay afloat with a superstore nearby. I’d love […]

The INAO, France’s national institute for appellations of controlled origin, announced on March 27th, 2006 the creation of five new AOCs for food products.
The products that will benefit from the label are:
-“Fin Gras” beef, raised near Puy en Velay , just west of the Rhône river valley
- “Ardèche” chestnuts, grown in the Ardèche administrative department in […]

One debate about the modern seafood industry focuses on heavy metals and other toxins in the fish we eat, especially large predators such as tuna. The press’s alarmist coverage suggests that we should all stop eating tuna salad sandwiches and toro sushi.
After much hue and cry, the public has been left with a murky understanding […]

Pili nuts are the marriage between macadamias and almonds. Relatively unknown to the rest of the world, pili nuts are popular in the Philippines due to their versatility.
Also known as the Philippine Nut, Java Almond and Kenari Nut. The Philippine pili variety is classified as species Canarium ovatum. Seventy percent of this minor crop, produced […]

Forbes.com reports that, despite Greenpeace’s claims, Heinz’s Baby Rice Cereal does not contain GMOs. At least not in China, where government officials tested the product after the environmental group made its claims. China has put money into research on genetically modified organisms, but has not yet approved any GM products. Unlike the U.S., the Chinese […]

Thanks to the Beyond Organic blog for this chart that details corporate ownership of organic or partially organic brands. Rampant mergers probably make this data obsolete on a regular basis, but the chart is a good starting point. Color coding indicates the type of partnership.

Many Americans imagine that Europeans shop for groceries the old-fashioned way: butchers, bakers, open-air markets. In reality, European “hypermarkets” are more sprawling and all-encompassing than most American supermarkets, and these monstrous stores have progressively eliminated thousands of small food shops.
Enter a new concept: the épicerie conviviale, or friendly grocery store, which serves not only as […]