Just Label It, News Roundup 3-30

This week in the news, we saw that confinement in gestation crates is still an issue. Hundreds of food retailers and the giant pork producer Smithfield have pledged to eliminate gestation crates for pregnant sows, but confinement is still the norm. Some good news in the organic food world is the amount of revenue created by organic food products continues to increase in many countries. If big food companies are going to meet growing demand for organics, they’ll need to take an interest in farming. In light of this need, General Mills is transitioning 53 square miles of South Dakota farmland to become certified organic. Sales of organic products in the U.S. are now almost $50 billion annually, and continued growth is expected, as more consumers choose organic. On Thursday, the Organic Center and The Organic Trade Association applauded Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, for introducing The Organic Agriculture Research Act of 2018, which would increase federal investment in organic agriculture research in the next farm bill to meet the needs of the growing organic sector. Meanwhile, in India, the governor of Himachal Pradesh launched the Zero Budget Natural Farming project to promote organic farming.

After a Decade of Promises, Has the Food Industry Made Progress on Gestation Crates?

Hundreds of food retailers and giant pork producer Smithfield have pledged to eliminate gestation crates for pregnant sows, but confinement is still the norm.

Amount of Organic Farmland Continues to Increase 

More land is going to organic farming, according to the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and IFOAM. The amount of revenue created by organic food products continues to increase in many countries.

General Mills is transitioning 53 square miles of South Dakota farmland to certified organic

If big food companies are going to meet growing demand for organics, they’ll need to take an interest in farming.

The Organic Center and The Organic Trade Association applaud bipartisan Senate bill to invest in organic agriculture research

The Organic Center and The Organic Trade Association on Thursday applauded Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) for introducing The Organic Agriculture Research Act of 2018, which increases federal investment for organic agriculture research in the next farm bill to meet the needs of the growing organic sector. Sales of organic products in the U.S. are now almost $50 billion annually, and expectations are for continued growth as more consumers choose organic.

HP Governor launches Zero Budget Natural Farming to promote organic farming

The Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Acharya Devvrat, launched the Zero Budget Natural Farming project on Monday with the motive that farmers of the state would adopt organic farming. The launch took place in the presence of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.