The current USDA requirements for “Organic” meat involve restrictions on what the animals are fed and when they can be provided antibiotics, but newly finalized rules will expand the criteria for earning an “Organic” label to include considerations of animal welfare. [More]
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USDA Definition Of “Organic” Meat Revised To Include Considerations Of Animal Welfare
By 1.18.17 — Updated: 1.19.17
Is Sustainable The New Organic For Cotton?
By 10.20.16
Pick out any shirt from your closet and you’ll like find cotton listed as a material used in its production. While you generally find the words “organic” and “sustainable” littering the aisles of your local grocery store, those buzzwords are now finding their way to retailer shelves. [More]
Maker Of Skippy Shops The Organic Aisle, Scoops Up Nut Butter Company Justin’s
By 5.18.16
Another day, another trendy organic food brand gobbled up by a large food conglomerate. This time it’s nut butter company Justin’s out of Boulder, CO, which was just bought by Hormel Foods– maker of Skippy peanut butter — for $286 million. [More]
UPDATE: Pepsi Says Organic Gatorade Still Slated For 2016 Release
By 3.30.16
UPDATE: After an earlier report that Pepsi was pushing back the release date of its new organic Gatorade to 2017, a spokeswoman for the company reached out to Consumerist and said that unfortunately, “the wrong date was shared” in the media outlet’s interview. [More]
Colorado Lawmakers Considering Statewide Labeling Standards For Organic Marijuana
By 2.18.16
By now, we’re used to seeing the word “organic” on many things we consume from food and beverages to personal grooming and cleaning products. So why not slap the label on marijuana products that people consume every day? That’s the question Colorado lawmakers are considering this week. [More]
Pepsi Is Planning To Launch An Organic Version Of Gatorade Next Year
By 12.15.15
Whenever you take a swig of Gatorade, you’re probably not thinking about the Riptide Rush tree that bore fruit and provided your drink with flavor. But Pepsi wants to change how customers view Gatorade with a flying leap onto the healthy trend bandwagon, by introducing an organic version of the sports beverage next year. [More]
Pinnacle Foods Takes A Trip Down The Healthy Aisle, Pays $710M For Boulder Brands
By 11.24.15
If you’re a major player in the food industry, the cool thing to do these days is buy up brands with a natural and/or organic bent to them to show consumers how healthy and hip you are. Pinnacle Foods is no different, taking a trip down the organic aisle to scoop up natural packaged foods maker Boulder Brands for $710 million. [More]
Turkey Talk: What Do Labels Like “Young,” “Fresh” And “Natural” Actually Mean?
By 11.19.15 — Updated: 11.17.16
Whether you’re strolling down the supermarket aisle or perusing online grocers’ offerings ahead of Thanksgiving, you’re bound to see turkeys with a wide range of labels: “young,” “fresh,” “premium” and other distinctions that you may think you understand… but you probably don’t. [More]
Truck Full Of Tofu, Organic Drinks Goes Missing From Safeway Parking Lot
By 10.6.15
If we were going to steal a semi truck full of something from a grocery store (we would never do something like that, and we suggest you don’t either), it certainly wouldn’t be one brimming with tofu and organic health drinks. But those items were apparently appealing to one Oregon thief Tuesday when he made off with a truck full of the products. [More]
McDonald’s Now Offering A 100% Organic Burger… In Germany
By 9.25.15
In an attempt to turn around sluggish sales and capture the always desirable millennial market, McDonald’s has introduced new and revised old menu items: offering kale, beefing up the Quarter Pounder, and adding all-day breakfast just to name a few. The company’s latest ploy: an organic hamburger. But there’s a catch — it’s only available in Germany. [More]
Company Behind Wonder Bread Shells Out $120M For Alpine Valley Bread Co & Its Organic Offerings
By 9.9.15
As consumers’ tastes shift toward healthier foods, the appeal of organic products has had companies scrambling to either trot out their own organic offerings or just buy out other businesses that are already in the game. Flowers Foods is taking the latter route, snapping up organic food purveyor Alpine Valley Bread Co. for $120 million, its second acquisition of an organic baking company in a month. [More]
Whole Foods Planning Lower-Cost Chain Aimed At — You Guessed It — Millennials
By 5.7.15
The magic “M” word is making changes in the consumer world yet again: This time that all-consuming desire to reach millennials that we’ve seen everywhere from fast food to department stores has struck Whole Foods, prompting the company to announce a lower-cost chain designed especially to lure in the younger set. [More]
Wendy’s Jumping On Organic Bandwagon With Addition Of Honest Tea At Restaurants Nationwide
By 4.30.15
Though not many of its fast food rivals have taken the plunge into organic waters, Wendy’s is just going with the trend embraced increasingly by consumers, announcing that it’ll be serving Honest Tea nationwide at its restaurants, brewed fresh by workers and sweetened with fair-trade sugars and natural flavors approved in USDA certified organic foods. [More]
Survey Says: Shoppers Prefer Cosmetics With Cruelty-Free, All Natural Labels
By 3.27.15
When it comes to what we slap on our faces, a new survey says we’ve got more than just beauty on our minds when choosing which cosmetics to buy: Turns out a love for plants, animals and all things natural is the guiding force when shoppers are making decisions in the beauty aisle. [More]
What Does “Organic” Mean For Non-Edible Items? Not Much, Necessarily
By 10.21.14
Way back in 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began certifying food and drinks that meet the federal standards to be called “organic.” Depending on the type of food, organic certification has different requirements. While a wide variety of products are marketed as “organic,” this label doesn’t necessarily mean anything when applied to a product that you can’t eat. [More]
Customers Petition General Mills To Keep Annie’s Products Organic
By 9.26.14
Earlier this month, cereal giant General Mills announced that it would purchase Annie’s Homegrown, an organic foods company best known for its boxed macaroni and cheese and bunny-shaped crackers and cookies. The Annie’s board approved the sale, but many organic food fans feel betrayed. Almost 13,000 people have signed a petition urging General Mills to keep Annie’s exactly as it is. [More]
“Organic” Chicken Is Different Than “Antibiotic-Free” And “Natural” Means Nothing
By 12.19.13 — Updated: 12.19.16
Once upon a time, not very long ago, you went to the grocery store — not a big box store, or a warehouse club or online — and bought “chicken.” Now the poultry section can be a confusing mish-mash of labels that may not mean what consumers think they mean, or may not mean anything at all. [More]
Is That "Organic" Egg A Good Egg?
By 5.19.11
Not all organic eggs are created equal. While different cartons of eggs might all have the same “Organic! Yay!” label slapped on them, standards for what that means can vary from farm to farm. One might meet minimum USDA or Federal standards while another has no real outdoor access for the chickens to speak of. To help you navigate the bedeviling array of options, The Cornucopia Institute has created an Organic Egg Scorecard to rate farms on a 5-egg system. Small farms with lots of pasture for the chickens to frolic in rate highly, while eggs put out by Trader Joe’s, Kirkland, and Price Chopper only get a one egg rating. [More]
