U.S. food retailer to require GMO disclosure labels

The prevalence of GMOs in the United States, coupled with a lack of labelling requirements, has made it very difficult for retailers to source non-GMO options

Reuters / Whole Foods Market Inc. will require all products sold in its U.S. and Canadian stores to carry a label by 2018 saying whether they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the organic and natural grocery seller said March 8. The United States is the world’s largest market for foods made with genetically altered ingredients.


Tight supplies and growing organic demand signals brighter days

Tight supplies and growing demand mean organic farmers can anticipate decent prices for 2013.   “It’s definitely a good time to be in organics,” Leslie Johnson, marketing manager of Growers International Organic Sales (GIOSI) told a small gathering of organic farmers at Ag Days last week.   “Prices are on the rebound with interest in


Organic farmers reject call to self-insure against GM contamination

Organic growers and food safety advocates are condemning an advisory report to the Agriculture Department claiming its recommendations would be costly for farmers who want to protect their conventional crops from being contaminated by genetically modified varieties. The USDA is studying how biotech agriculture could best “coexist” with organic and conventional farming, but critics slammed


Entz receives award of excellence

University of Manitoba agronomy researcher Martin Entz is among four people honoured recently at the Organic Connections Conference in Regina for their contributions to organic agriculture. Entz was recognized for the more than three decades of research work into improving organic farming systems by studying crop rotation, green manure management, intercropping and comparing long-term organic

Marketing funds for organic food

The federal government is supporting the marketing efforts of two organic trade associations. The Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA) will receive $180,000 from the AgriMarketing Program to help it participate in international trade shows, develop promotional materials, and build a long-term international strategy for the organic sector. The Organic Council of Ontario (OCO) will receive

Bad news for XL Foods is good news for organic beef

Smaller, independently operated production, slaughter and marketing channels 
paying off in higher prices and increased consumer confidence

Some Manitoba ranchers aren’t losing any sleep over the problems faced by the XL Foods beef recall. That’s because their beef is certified organic, and marketed through channels that operate totally independent of the big players. “I think we are definitely starting to see demand perk up, not that it wasn’t hot already,” said Allan


On rural romanticism and “natural” foods

The proliferation on our grocery shelves of foods with “natural” claims shows no sign of abating. With the growing recognition that organic food is not any safer, tastier, more nutritious or more sustainable, in spite of the higher price, consumers now want foods that are produced the old-fashioned way on the small family farm. Not

Joint study sheds light on debate over organic versus conventional agriculture

Researchers at McGill and the University of Minnesota are calling for combining best of both approaches

Can organic agriculture feed the world? Although organic techniques may not be able to do the job alone, they do have an important role to play in feeding a growing global population while minimizing environmental damage, according to researchers at McGill University and the University of Minnesota. A new study published in Nature concludes that