The CDC recently published their Modified Retail Food Environment Index, which measures access to healthy foods. 32 states scored at or below the national average, which means that kids in these states do not have good access to fruits and vegetables. Rhode Island and the District of Columbia scored the lowest, while Montana and Maine scored the highest. For a breakdown by state, see WebMD.
If you are one of those manic crazy people that plans their garden in the dead of winter (and I know, there are a lot of you), you’ll be inspired by the new organic seed varieties at Seeds of Change, a retailer of organic produce seeds. Among the edible n00b seeds:
Visit Seeds of Change online marketplace to find squash, lettuce, pepper, and other awesome organic produce seeds that you can store up for when the weather gets all spring-like and planty. Download their catalog here.
You hear it on the news every day, not just on greenie blogs like this one. Families buy more organic food every year by large percentage points as organic food becomes more available to them. Farmers have gotten savvy to this trend and are committing more of their planting area to organic products.
Rainier Fruit Company is one such grower. More than half of their output was organic in 2010, and they hope to make a stronger showing in 2011. Other growers in Washington state have stated that they can get 10%-20% more for their organic output than they can for their conventional produce, a number hard to replicate on the conventional side of the business.
On a practical note, produce growers may be transitioning to organics due to the higher costs of pesticides, which may not be used at all in an organic product. The key to pest control on an organic plot is better crop management, which is cheaper to implement than overpriced pesticide.
According to a new study released by the Organic Trade Association, American families are purchasing 41% more organic food than they did just a year ago.
“Consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from and how it is produced. With organic, they have that transparency,” said Christine Bushway, OTA’s Executive Director and CEO. She added, “It is exciting to see parents recognize the importance of organic products to their families.”
According to OTA, the reasons most cited for switching to organic are that organic products are healthier due to a lack of pesticides and other chemicals that may be harmful to themselves and their children and that they provide a means to avoid artificial preservatives and other detrimental chemicals that are used in mainstream food products.
Stats lovers, organic food bloggers, and organic food lovers everywhere rejoice – the USDA will be making import and export statistics on organic food live on its website on January 1st. Can’t wait to see what kind of berry is exported from the US more than another? More importantly, which organic crops are more profitable than others due to a high exportability factor? Stay tuned for the stats, which will be located on this page come January 1st, 2011.
The Organic Trade Association was understandably ecstatic about the move. “We have long sought this,” said Barbara Haumann, spokeswoman for the Association. “This is going to be very valuable. All the time people (are) asking, how much, what value of organic is imported but there was no way to track it,” she said.
We look forward to it too!