Weekly Top 5: Organic News You Need to Know #31

1. Wegmans Looks to Get Ahead of Organic Supply with Farming Innovations

Innovation is the name of the game in the organic sector, and Wegmans is playing it in spades. Following the suit of Costco, the company was recently highlighted in Democrat & Chronicle for its organic farming program. In the initiative, the company uses a 168-acre testing ground looking for “old” solutions to take farming back to basics, producing food as it was grown hundreds of years ago without any artificial compounds, then sharing breakthroughs and collaborating with grower partners to make their ventures more financially viable.

Read more here. 

2. Organic Research Funding Bill Builds Bipartisan Support 

The Organic Agriculture Research Act (H.R. 2436) gained crucial bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress today. The bill’s main author, Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME), confirmed 21 new representatives have cosponsored the proposed legislation, joining initial cosponsors of the bill, Representatives Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA). 
The proposed legislation would renew and provide $50 million in funding for the USDA’s flagship organic research program, the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI).

Read more here. 

3. Certified Organic Pot? Find Out Why Not! CCOF Webinar October 3, 2017

Are you an organic farmer who is wondering if you can add cannabis to your crop rotations now that it is legal to grow in California? Are you a current marijuana grower curious about whether organic certification now applies to cannabis? While marijuana cultivation may now be legal in California and a growing number of other states, the plant is still considered an illegal drug by the federal government. Join the CCOF Foundation on October 3 for a webinar that explains why cannabis cannot be certified organic under the USDA National Organic Program and gives an update on California’s state cannabis regulations.

Learn more here. 

4. Door to Door Organics Launches New Meal Planning Solution

 Door to Door Organics, a leading natural and organic online grocery delivery service, announced the launch of a new meal planning service today in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., with a rollout across the rest of Door to Door Organics’ delivery footprint planned for October. The innovative meal planning service will transform the way people shop and eat by making every step — from recipe inspiration to meal planning to food preparation — simple, accessible and fun.

Read more here. 

5. Are Packaging Claims Deterrents to Healthful Eating?

In This Today's Dietitian article, authors Mindy Hermann, MBA, RDN; Michael P. Holsapple, PhD, ATS; and Heather E. Dover, RDN discuss whether buzzwords can backfire and foster fear and scare consumers away from healthful, accessible, and affordable food choices. For example, the fear of ingesting pesticides often prevents people from eating produce if they can't afford organic varieties. 

Read more here. 

There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat. 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson