Food police target organic foods in California! on TV News

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifvp3Fxi7Uo
Police raided the Rawsome Foods organic grocery store with guns drawn in search of “raw-foods”. George Hemminger (George4Title) said the battle over organic foods is heating up because large agricultural businesses and corporations feel threatened by local co-ops and have hijacked the FDA and other government regulatory agencies.

RAW VIDEO: California Police raid Organic Food store GUNS DRAWN looking for raw milk!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHoFY7h-do8
California Police raid organic food store looking for raw milk!!

Keep Raw Milk LEGAL!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56tiOnGSgyQ
In October 2007, California State Legislature passed a bill banning the sale of raw milk. Despite its medicinal value, raw milk will no longer be available to the public. Republican Presidential Candidate Dr. Ron Paul has introduced a bill to legalize the transportation of unpasteurized milk. Please help save raw milk. Visit www.organicpastures.com to make a donation.

H. R. 778 Unpasteurized (Raw) Milk Legalization Bill

To authorize the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk and milk products that are packaged for direct human consumption.

BOULDER – Earth Balance, a line of all-natural buttery spreads, shortenings and nut butters, will launch a new line of organic, non-GMO verified soymilk exclusively at Whole Foods Market stores across the country next month.

Earth Balance’s soymilk is made with 100 percent USA-grown soybeans and is available in original, vanilla, chocolate and unsweetened varieties. The soymilk is also vegan, free of lactose, cholesterol, dairy, gluten and is a source of calcium, vitamin D and omega-3s.

“As the soymilk market has recently strayed from organic, we are happy to be working with Earth Balance to provide the highest-quality soymilk available, as it is now the first and only refrigerated soymilk product that is both organic and non-GMO project verified,” said Errol Schweizer, senior global grocery coordinator of Whole Foods Market.

Based in Longmont, Earth Balance is a division of Paramus, N.J.-based Smart Balance Inc. (Nasdaq: SMBL), which has 73 employees and posted revenue of $239.5 million in 2009.

http://www.bcbr.com/article.asp?id=52751

EUGENE, Ore.–So Delicious Dairy Free® Coconut Milk Beverage received a Non-GMO ProjectCertification from the Non-GMO Project. Turtle Mountain, manufacturer of So Delicious Dairy Free® foods, expects the rest of the lines in its product portfolio to achieve Non-GMO Project certification and bear the program’s mark on its packaging by the end of 2010.

“As a leader in the natural foods industry, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our practices, lesson our environmental impact, and provide consumers with accurate information regarding the sourcing of these foods,” says John Tucker, senior vice president of marketing and technology at Turtle Mountain. “We are proud to receive this status and gratified to see the industry move in this direction with such consensus.”

The Non-GMO Project is a nonprofit organization, created by leaders representing all sectors of the organic and natural products industry in the U.S. and Canada, to offer consumers a consistent non-GMO choice for organic and natural products that are produced without genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technologies.

The Project began as an initiative of independent natural foods retailers who were interested in providing customers with more information regarding the GMO risk of their products. With the help of technical consultants and industry leaders, the Non-GMO Project created a collaborative non-GMO third-party verification program that began enrolling products in the fall of 2008. Working at every level of the supply chain, all the way back to the seeds, the Project’s role is to inspire and ensure viable non-GMO alternatives long into the future.

Manufactured food products that have been through this rigorous process may display a “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal, which means that the item has been produced according to best practices for GMO avoidance.

Genetic engineering is the practice of altering genetic blueprints of food products to enhance specific traits, such as increased resistance to pesticides or disease. Although genetically modified foods can improve yield and other crop characteristics, a growing number of consumers fear the technology used to create genetically modified foods is unpredictable and poses a potential threat to human health and the environment.

March 30, 2010 - Eden Foods submitted EDENSOY to the Non-GMO Project (The Project) August 28, 2008. After thorough scientific and methodical studies covering everything from the seed to aseptic packaging, it recently became the first – and remains the only – soymilk in North America to be verified compliant with The Project’s standards for avoiding GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

The Non-GMO Project was created by members of all sectors of the natural food industry in the USA and Canada. Eden Foods being one. The Project is North America’s first third-party, independent non-GMO verification program utilizing on-site facility audits, document and systems reviews, and DNA PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing of all inputs at risk of GMO contamination. The Project provides the first credible third-party, non-GMO verification program through all levels of the supply chain, thus providing verified non-GMO alternatives.

In 1993 Eden pioneered and perfected a process to avoid genetically engineered organisms and their derivatives in food. Soybeans today are predominantly genetically engineered. To keep EDENSOY GMO free, much work is demanded, including multiple tests of all beans used as seed, in growing, at the elevator, and at the manufacturing plant. Eden Foods rejects use of pharmaceutical enzymes and knows all of its farms, fields, and suppliers involved in the creation of EDENSOY.

Eden Foods enthusiastically supports The Project and has helped it become a dependable and much-needed filter that knowledgeable people require. As of today Eden has verified 128 foods, including EDENSOY; 80 in the U.S. and 48 in Canada. To view Eden enrolled and verified-pure food, visit edenfoods.com/verified.

About Eden Foods
Eden Foods is a 42 year principled manufacturer of natural food offering more than 250 authentic, organic, traditional, pure foods. All are superb pantry fare. Information and over 975 free recipes are at www.edenfoods.com. Retailers, institutions, and co-ops, please visit access.edenfoods.com.

The Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine adopted as a basis the bill on amendments to the Law on Baby Food (concerning toughening of the demands to the production and sale of foodstuffs).

The bill is called to strengthen requirements to the production of baby food and raw materials used for this production. The bill specifies the norms concerning the ban on the use in the production of baby foods of the raw materials made of genetically modified organisms, containing hormonal substances, antibiotics, heavy metals, pesticides, radionuclides and other harmful substances. It was also determined that the production of baby food shall proceed on an exclusively industrial basis, at specializes enterprises, shops or technology lines.

source: National Radio Company of Ukraine

Credit: Organic Exchange

Non-profit organization Organic Exchange has published a response to the headline-grabbing “organic cotton fraud” news, that major retailers–including H&M, C&A, andTchibo–are knowingly selling genetically modified (GMO) cotton from India as organic cotton. The news was initially published in the German edition of the Financial Times, on Friday January 22, 2010, the article states “not every product that is labeled as organic cotton is truly organic.” OE weighs in on the controversy, and shows us where the contamination of GMO material in certified organic cotton is possible:

“Last year my little boy, Jonah, asked me if we could make organic gummy bears as we walked through our local supermarket. He knows we don’t eat stuff with corn syrup or chemicals, but at 4 years old, he did not know that in order to make an organic gummy bear with the quintessential bouncy gummy bear texture everyone loves, Sergio and I would have to invent the recipe. It took over a year to perfect the recipe and to make them taste fabulous. We all had a blast doing the taste tests and are so proud to share our new confections with you. Introducing: the world’s first ever true organic gummy bears from YummyEarth.”

YummyEarth has launched the first USDA- and EU-certified organic gummy bears with the texture of a traditional gummy bear.

The company claimed that the Organic Gummy Bears and Organic Gummy Worms are gluten-free, fat-free, dairy-free, soy-free, GMO-free, peanut-free, tree-nut free and have no artificial dyes, no MSG and no corn syrup.

According to the company, organic purple carrots and black currants are used to give them their colors. Each serving is loaded with Vitamin C.

The company said that the Organic Gummy Bears and Gummy Worms join the YummyEarth candy family, which includes the lollipops.

Reportedly, YummyEarth offers 21 flavors of organic candy, including Pomegranate Pucker, Blood Orange Cocktail, Strawberry Smash and Chile Mambo Mango, and a range of candy products, such as Organic Lollipops, Organic Vitamin C Pops and Organic Drops.

Rob Wunder, co-founder of YummyEarth, said: “Making wholesome, organic Halloween treats for my children and my neighbor’s kids gives me a real sense of pride. We have had such an overwhelming response from retailers that we are already working on gummy bears for Easter.”

The company said that the Organic Gummy Bears is available in a 5 ounce bag for a retail price of $2.59, Organic Gummy Worms is available in a 5 once bag for a retail price of $2.59 and the Organic Gummy Bears Family Snack Pack includes 10 snack packs and is available for a retail price for $5.99.

http://www.yummyearth.com/

In a word, yes. To learn more, read on.

Mention the word organic and many people immediately see dollar signs. They may understand that organic products are grown without pesticides, are not genetically modified, and do not come from chemically fertilized fields. But they may not realize what those words really mean and certainly still do not understand or realize the added health benefits of eating this cleaner, more nutritious food. Mention organic milk or dairy products and the average consumer will cringe. That’s because organic dairy products typically cost a significant amount above conventional dairy and people still do not understand that there is more to think about than just the cost of the product.

According to an article in the New York Times from earlier this year, there is a glut of milk. This, obviously, affects the price paid to the farmer and ultimately the price paid for the product. In this economy many people welcome the slowly lowering price of dairy products. The difficulty comes from not understanding the difference between the types of products available. Conventional milk comes from cows who are confined to feedlot operations, crowded and not given access to fresh pasture. They are also still fed products that are pesticide, herbicide and drug laden as well as having genetically modified organisms (GMO) in their food. They may also be given large amounts of antibiotics. Natural milk comes from cows who are not given growth hormone (which increases their production of milk) however all the other conventional practices apply from crowding in feedlots to chemicals and GMO feed. Organic milk comes from cows who have none of the above. They are required to be pastured for at least part of the day and to have clean feed and a clean environment. This costs more and is part of the reason for the increased cost of the end product.

Dean Foods has now taken over a well-respected organic brand, Horizon. They are planning to change their production process and offer a “natural” product line aimed at young children. Dean Foods claims that this natural product will be less expensive and that they are providing a service to help consumers. The question is with a well-known, well-respected, profitable organic label already on the market why are they trying to adulterate the brand?

Unfortunately Dean’s previous foray into tampering with a well-respected organic brand, Silk organic soy milk, did not go well. According to an article found in the Organic Consumers Association newsletter Dean switched from organic, USA-grown to Chinese-sourced conventionally grown soy beans, relied on the name, and charged the same price. All without mentioning anything to consumers or retailers. In fact many of the retailers only noticed when their customers began to complain. Not only did Dean not lower the price of their reformulated “natural” soy products, they then turned around and raised the price on the organic soy that they were producing. One wonders how long it will be until they try the same profiteering methods with Horizon dairy. It is one way of increasing profits in the face of a glut of product.

In the end it all comes back to remaining vigilant and concerned about what you eat. Read the labels. That point is so important it bears repeating. Read the labels. Because you never know when a profit hungry huge agri-business producer will attempt to capitalize on brand identity to make a change that negatively affects your food and your health.

For more information:

Why chose organic milk
Organic Consumers Association

Kettle brand jalapeno chips

Kettle Brand chips has released a fiery addition to its all-natural repertoire. The new jalapeno flavor is at once salty and sweet with a spicy kick that lingers on the tongue. Along with flavor, well-balanced crunch and crispness make this an addictive snack. So addictive, The Chronicle’s Food & Wine staff went through the bag in minutes. The fact that these chips contain zero grams of trans fat and all natural, non-GMO ingredients makes this spicy treat very cool.