June 9th, 2010

Organic Food Companies

Organic Food Companies

Why Organic Food Is Better For Your Health

If you are like many other individuals, there is a good chance that you have heard that organic foods are healthier to eat.  This may have caught your attention.  If you are uncertain about making the switch to organic foods, you may be looking for reasons why you should.  One of the most common questions asked is why organic foods are better?  For a number of answers to that question, please continue reading on.

When it comes to organic foods, it is important to know that not just anyone can make organic foods.  There are strict standards.  Foods and organic food companies that are certified by the Quality Assurance International group (QAI) must undergo rigorous tests and meet very high standards.  When this is done, all foods should be stamped with a Certified Organic by QAI sticker or label.  This certification helps to give many comfort in knowing that the foods that they eat are truly healthy.

Another one of the many reasons why organic food is better for you is because it usually tastes better.  This means that you and other eaters are more likely to eat more organic foods, as well as stick with organic foods or start a fully organic diet.  These steps can help to improve your health.  This is mostly due in part because vegetables and fruits are grown without the assistance of pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals.  Clean soil, which is required when growing organic foods, is likely to produce better results, which should mean better tasting food.

It has also been said that organic foods can help to lower the risk of cancer.  Although some pesticides that farmers use are considered safe by many, there are still a number of risks, including a risk of cancer.  This is alarming, but it is also something that many individuals are not aware of.  Although the EPA does consider many chemicals, including weed killers and insect killers to be dangerous, they are still used on many of the foods, namely fruits and vegetables, that are sold today.  This is not something that you have to worry about when buying organic foods.  That is why many claim that organic foods can reduce your chances of cancer.

Although there are a number of benefits to eating organic foods, especially where health and wellness is concerned, many individuals are concerned with the cost.  Yes, organic food does cost more money, but many still consider it to be well worth the cost.  Some ask themselves if it is even possible to put a price tag on health.  Even with the high costs of organic food, it is still possible to save money.  You can do this by using organic food coupons, searching for organic food sales, and stocking up when you do find those sales.  Many stores outline their weekly sales in store sale fliers or online.  Organic food coupons can be found online or in weekend newspaper inserts.

Since there are a number of benefits to eating organically, you may be serious about doing so.  If you are, you will find that you have a number of different options, in terms of organic food purchase points.  Organic food, including fresh food, is sold online and locally.  Your local options tend to include the organic food section at your supermarket or a specialty organic food stores.

YummyEarth Organic Lollipops, Assorted Flavors, 30-Ounce Container
YummyEarth Organic Lollipops, Assorted Flavors, 30-Ounce Container
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Description

Includes: Pomegranate Pucker, Razzmatazz Berry, Cheeky Lemon, Orange Squeeze, Wet-Face Watermelon. USDA organic. YummyEarth was born out of our commitment to feed our babies, Jonah and Rose, a diet rich in delicious organic foods that are free of yucky chemicals, pesticides and dyes. YummyEarth tastes much better than mass produced chemical candy because we choose real fruit extracts and plant friendly organic ingredients to sweeten our lives and yours. Certified organic. No chemical dyes. 100% Natural colors. 100% Natural flavors. Real fruit extracts. 100% Vegan. Allergen-free. GMO-free. Soy-free. Nut-free. Gluten-free. Wheat-free. Dairy-free. Made in Mexico. Mix of Sour Apple Tart, Pomegranate Pucker, Mango Tango, TooBerry Blueberry, Googly Grape, Strawberry Smash, Very Very Cherry, Wet-Face Watermelon

Features

  • One 30 ounce plastic bin containing approximately 125 lollipops
  • Mix of Sour Apple Tart, Pomegranate Pucker, Mango Tango, TooBerry Blueberry, Googly Grape, Strawberry Smash, Very Very Cherry, Wet-Face Watermelon
  • Organic; allergen-free; gluten-free; GMO-free; egg-free; soy-free; nut-free; casein-free; dairy-free
  • All-natural: fruit extracts; red cabbage and purple carrots for color; no artificial dyes or flavors
  • Certified kosher by the Kof-K Kosher Certification; Made in Mexico
Ateco Food Coloring Kit, 6 colors
Ateco Food Coloring Kit, 6 colors
List Price: $13.00
Sale Price: $12.99
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This set is a great value from one of the greatest names in the baking business - six of Ateco's rich, lively food dye colors are included here, the kind that professionals use to color their own creations. Perfect for coloring icing - contains black, blue, yellow, green, pink & red certified gel food colors. Made in USA. Ateco products are the result of over ninety-eight years and four generations of development.

From Easter eggs to colorful cookies, Spectrum's gel food colorings provide a wide range of decorative touches, with gorgeous colors and an enormous range of depth. Each color--black, blue, yellow, green, pink, and red--comes in a soft-sided plastic squeeze bottle that allows you to add a drop of color at a time to frostings and fillings. Paste colors are much more intense than more common liquid colors, and these will last through hundreds of fanciful cookies, providing stunning, professional-looking results. --Jill Lightner

Features

  • Six certified gel colors included - black, blue, yellow, green, pink and red
  • From Ateco
  • Squeeze bottle allows precise color control
  • 12-color range
  • Made in the U.S.
Scotch #35 Electrical Tape 10851-BA-10, 3/4-Inch x 66-Foot x 0.007-Inch, Green
Scotch #35 Electrical Tape 10851-BA-10, 3/4-Inch x 66-Foot x 0.007-Inch, Green
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This 7 mil premium grade electrical vinyl tape stretches to conform to virtually any shape that requires color-coded insulation. Individually wrapped, 10 per box, with 100 rolls in a case. Use for phase identification, marking of motor leads, piping systems, and for outlining safety areas Abrasion- and weather-resistant, with excellent mechanical and electrical insulation properties Excellent all-weather performance in cold to 0F (-18C) or hot to 220F (105C) UL Listed and CSA Certified, and is flame-retardant Sold by the roll

Features

  • Premium grade, 7 mil electrical tape
  • Stretches to conform to virtually any shape requiring color-coded insulation
  • Abrasion and weather resistant
  • UL LISTED
100% Organic Cotton Stuffed Multi Fruit Tote
100% Organic Cotton Stuffed Multi Fruit Tote
List Price: $30.00
Sale Price: $22.26
You save: $7.74 (26%)
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Description

Your child will fall in love with our new fruit tote play set with braided handles! Encouraging children to develop a positive attitude towards vegetables.

Features

  • Embroidered message Fresh organic fruit basket.
  • Includes Chiquita banana, pear, grape and watermelon.
  • Made and stuffed with the finest 100% organic Egyptian cotton.
Pure Synergy Green Food (Organic) 270 Caps
Pure Synergy Green Food (Organic) 270 Caps
Sale Price: $44.95
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Description

Supported by 25 years of research and use, Pure Synergy® remains the standard by which all other green superfood formulas are measured. Based on the original Kirlian research of Dr. Mitchell May and his colleagues at UCLA Medical Center, Pure Synergy's unique and comprehensive formula captures a multitude of valuable phytonutrients, including lutein, enzymes, chlorophyll, carotenes, beta glucans, iodine, alginates, ellagic acid, anthocyanins, proanthocyanins, quercetin, RNA/DNA, sulforaphane, phycocyanins, GLA, SOD, sitosterols, and zeaxanthin, from some of nature's most vitalizing and nutrient-rich herbs, algae, grass juices and other foods. These special raw foods provide you with powerful support at the most fundamental levels, and the results can be remarkable! When you receive the deep nourishment necessary to function optimally, your body is able to naturally detoxify, regenerate and sustain abundant physical and mental energy throughout your busy days.

Features

  • Ample 1 month supply
100% Pure Certified Organic Jojoba Oil, 2oz (Glass Jar)
100% Pure Certified Organic Jojoba Oil, 2oz (Glass Jar)
Sale Price: $17.95
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Description

This is the Purest Jojoba Oil that you will ever come across. Straight from the La Ronna Jojoba Company, this Jojoba oil is Certified Organic by CCOF.This particular Jojoba oil is cared for from the field to the bottle. They go to GREAT lengths to assure a pure quality product. It is bottled in glass because jojoba penetrates plastic, absorbing it in the process degrading its quality. The farm is located near the Southeast boundary of Joshua Tree National Park.Jojoba oil is very similar to Sperm Whale oil with numerous applications from industrial, to pharmaceutical, to cosmetic uses. Jojoba has Vitamin E naturally and penetrates all layers of the skin. Used consistently, calluses will slough off, dry areas become soft and supple. It has eased, and in some cases cleared acne, eczema, and psoriasis conditions.Add a little to your shampoo. Jojoba works ag the hair roots, enhancing a healthy scalp. Use the oil for make-up removal, shaving, sunburn/windburn relief, cuticle care, massage and bath oil. Use sparingly as a little spreads a long way. Jojoba has an SPF of 3 to 5. Apply 10 minutes before going out into the sun.

Features

  • Certified organic Jojoba oil
  • Delicate oil comes in glass
  • Plastic bottles degrade the Jojoba oil
Nylon Novelty Flag (Glo-Dolphin) By Annin Company
Nylon Novelty Flag (Glo-Dolphin) By Annin Company
Sale Price: $11.99
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Description

All Flags Measure 12\ X 18\". Nyl-Glo. Glo-Dolphin Glo-Dolphin Part Number(s): ANN 281128WE ANN-281128WE ANN_281128WE ANN281128WE 31-281128WE "

Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly
Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly
List Price: $9.99
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Description

We suffer today from food anxiety, bombarded as we are with confusing messages about how to eat an ethical diet. Should we eat locally? Is organic really better for the environment? Can genetically modified foods be good for you? JUST FOOD does for fresh food what Fast Food Nation (Houghton Mifflin, 2001) did for fast food, challenging conventional views, and cutting through layers of myth and misinformation. For instance, an imported tomato is more energy-efficient than a local greenhouse-grown tomato. And farm-raised freshwater fish may soon be the most sustainable source of protein. Informative and surprising, JUST FOOD tells us how to decide what to eat, and how our choices can help save the planet and feed the world.

Food, Inc.
Food, Inc.
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Food, Inc. lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing how our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, thelivelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. Food, Inc. reveals surprising and often shocking truths about what we eat, how it's produced and who we have become as a nation. Q&A with Producer/Director Robert Kenner, Co-Producer/Food Expert Eric Schlosser, Food Expert Michael Pollan and Producer Elise Pearlstein How did this film initially come about?Kenner: Eric Schlosser and I had been wanting to do a documentary version of his book, Fast Food Nation.  And, for one reason or another, it didn't happen. By the time Food, Inc. started to come together, we began talking and realized that all food has become like fast food, and all food is being created in the same manner as fast food. How has fast food changed the food we buy at the supermarket?Schlosser: The enormous buying power of the fast food industry helped to transform the entire food production system of the United States.  So even when you purchase food at the supermarket, you’re likely to be getting products that came from factories, feedlots and suppliers that emerged to serve the fast food chains. How many years did it take to do this film and what were the challenges?Kenner: From when Eric and I began talking, about 6 or 7 years.  The film itself about 2 ½ years.  It has taken a lot longer than we expected because we were denied access to so many places. Pearlstein: When Robby brought me into the project, he was adamant about wanting to hear all sides of the story, but it was nearly impossible to gain access onto industrial farms and into large food corporations.  They just would not let us in.  It felt like it would have been easier to penetrate the Pentagon than to get into a company that makes breakfast cereal.  The legal challenges on this film were also unique.  We found it necessary to consult with a first amendment lawyer throughout the entire filming process. Who or what influenced your film?Kenner: This film was really influenced by Eric Schlosser and Fast Food Nation, but then as we were progressing and had actually gotten funding, it became very influenced as well by Michael Pollan and his book Omnivore’s Dilemma.  And then, as we went out into the world, we became really incredibly influenced by a lot of the farmers we met. What was the most surprising thing you learned?Kenner: As we set out to find out how our food was made, I think the thing that really became most shocking is when we were talking to a woman, Barbara Kowalcyk, who had lost her son to eating a hamburger with E. coli, and she’s now dedicated her life to trying to make the food system safer. It’s the only way she can recover from the loss of her child. But when I asked her what she eats, she told me she couldn't tell me because she would be sued if she answered. Or we see Carol possibly losing her chicken farm … or we see Moe, a seed cleaner who’s just being sued for amounts that there’s no way he can pay, even though he’s not guilty of anything.  Then we realized there’s something going on out there that supersedes foods. Our rights are being denied in ways that I had never imagined. And it was scary and shocking. And that was my biggest surprise. So, what does our current industrialized food system say about our values as a nation?Pollan: It says we value cheap, fast and easy when it comes to food like so many other things, and we have lost any connection to where our food comes from. Kenner: I met a cattle rancher and he said, you know, we used to be scared of the Soviet Union or we used to think we were so much better than the Soviet Union because we had many places to buy things.  And we had many choices.  We thought if we were ever taken over, we’d be dominated where we’d have to buy one thing from one company, and how that’s not the American way.  And he said you look around now, and there’s like one or two companies dominating everything in the food world. We’ve become what we were always terrified of. And that just always haunted me – how could this happen in America?  It seems very un-American that we would be so dominated, and then so intimidated by the companies that are dominating this marketplace. How has the revolving door relationship between giant food companies and Washington affected the food industry?Pearlstein: We discovered that the food industry has managed to shape a lot of laws in their favor.  For example, massive factory farms are not considered real factories, so they are exempt from emissions standards that other factories face.  A surprising degree of regulation is voluntary, not mandatory, which ends up favoring the industry.  What have been the consequences for the American consumer?Kenner: Most American consumers think that we are being protected.  But that is not the case.  Right now the USDA does not have the authority to shut down a plant that is producing contaminated meat.  The FDA and the USDA have had their inspectors cut back.  And it’s for these companies now to self-police, and what we’ve found is, when there’s a financial interest involved, these companies would rather make the money and be sued than correct it.  Self-policing has really just been a miserable failure.  And I think that's been really quite harmful to the American consumer and to the American worker.  Pearlstein: The food industry has succeeded in keeping some very important information about their products hidden from consumers.  It’s outrageous that genetically modified foods don’t need to be labeled.  Today more than 70% of processed foods in the supermarket are genetically modified and we have absolutely no way of knowing.  Whatever your position, you should have the right to make informed choices, and we don’t.  Now the FDA is contemplating whether or not to label meat and milk from cloned cows.  It seems very basic that consumers should have the right to know if they’re eating a cloned steak. Is it possible to feed a nation of millions without this kind of industrialized processing?Pollan: Yes.  There are alternative ways of producing food that could improve Americans’ health.  Quality matters as much as quantity and yield is not the measure of a healthy food system.  Quantity improves a population’s health up to a point; after that, quality and diversity matters more.  And it’s wrong to assume that the industrialized food system is feeding everyone well or keeping the population healthy.  It’s failing on both counts. There is a section of the film that reveals how illegal immigrants are the faceless workers that help to bring food to our tables.  Can you give us a profile of the average worker?Schlosser: The typical farm worker is a young, Latino male who does not speak English and earns about $10,000 a year.  The typical meatpacking worker has a similar background but earns about twice that amount.  A very large proportion of the nation’s farm workers and meatpackers are illegal immigrants. Why are there so many Spanish-speaking workers?Kenner: The same thing that created obesity in this country, which is large productions of cheap corn, has put farmers out of work in foreign countries, whether it’s Mexico, Latin America or around the world.  And those farmers can no longer grow food and compete with the U.S.’ subsidized food.  So a lot of these farmers needed jobs and ended up coming into this country to work in our food production. And they have been here for a number of years.  But what’s happened is that we’ve decided that it’s no longer in the best interests of this country to have them here.  But yet, these companies still need these people and they’re desperate, so they work out deals where they can have a few people arrested at a certain time so it doesn’t affect production. But it affects people’s lives.  And these people are being deported, put in jail and sent away, but yet, the companies can go on and it really doesn’t affect their assembly line.  And what happens is that they are replaced by other, desperate immigrant groups. Could the American food industry exist without illegal immigrants?Schlosser: The food industry would not only survive, but it would have a much more stable workforce.  We would have much less rural poverty.  And the annual food bill of the typical American family would barely increase.  Doubling the hourly wage of every farm worker in this country might add $50 at most to a family’s annual food bill. What are scientists doing to our food and is it about helping food companies’ bottom line or about feeding a growing population?Schlosser: Some scientists are trying to produce foods that are healthier, easier to grow, and better for the environment.  But most of the food scientists are trying to create things that will taste good and can be made cheaply without any regard to their social or environmental consequences. I am not opposed to food science.  What matters is how that science is used … and for whose benefit. Can a person eat a healthy diet from things they buy in the supermarket if they are not buying organic? If so, how?Pollan: Yes, the supermarkets still carry real food.  The key is to shop the perimeter of the store and stay out of the middle where most of the processed food lurks. How are low-income families impacted at the supermarket?Kenner: Things are really stacked against low-income families in this country.  There is a definite desire of the food companies to sell more product to these people because they have less time, they’re working really hard and they have fewer hours in their day to cook.  And the fast food is very reasonably priced.  Coke is selling for less than water.  So when these things are happening, it’s easier for low-income families sometimes to just go in and have a quick meal if they don’t get home until 10 o’clock at night.  At the moment, our food is unfairly priced towards bad food. And, in the same way that tobacco companies went after low-income people because they were heavy users, food companies are going after low-income people because they can market to them, they can make it look very appealing. What can low-income families do to eat healthier?Schlosser: As much as possible, they can avoid cheap, processed foods and fast foods.  It’s possible to eat well and inexpensively.  But it takes more time and effort to do so, and that’s not easy when you’re working two jobs and trying to just to keep your head above water.  The sad thing is that these cheap foods are ultimately much more expensive when you factor in the costs of all the health problems that come later. Pollan: It’s possible to eat healthy food on a budget but it takes a greater investment of time.  If you are willing to cook and plan ahead, you can eat local, sustainable food on a budget. If someone wanted to get involved and help change the system, what would you suggest they do? Pearlstein: I hope people will want to be more engaged in the process of eating and shopping for food.  We have learned that there are a lot of different fronts to fight on this one, and people can see what most resonates with them.  Maybe it’s really just “voting with their forks” – eating less meat, buying different food, buying from companies they feel good about, going to farmers markets. People can try to find a CSA – community supported agriculture – where you buy a share in a farm and get local food all year.  That really helps support farmers and you get fresh, seasonal food.  On the local political level, people can work on food access issues, like getting more markets into low income communities, getting better lunch programs in schools, trying to get sodas out of schools.  And on a national level, we’ve learned that reforming the Farm Bill would have a huge influence on our food system. It requires some education, but it is something we should care about. What do you hope people take away from this film?Schlosser: I hope it opens their eyes. Kenner: That things can change in this country. It changed against the big tobacco companies.  We have to influence the government and readjust these scales back into the interests of the consumer.  We did it before, and we can do it again. Pollan: A deeper knowledge of where their food comes from and a sense of outrage over how their food is being produced and a sense of hope and possibility of the alternatives springing up around the country.  Food, Inc. is the most important and powerful film about our food system in a generation.

For most Americans, the ideal meal is fast, cheap, and tasty. Food, Inc. examines the costs of putting value and convenience over nutrition and environmental impact. Director Robert Kenner explores the subject from all angles, talking to authors, advocates, farmers, and CEOs, like co-producer Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma), Gary Hirschberg (Stonyfield Farms), and Barbara Kowalcyk, who's been lobbying for more rigorous standards since E. coli claimed the life of her two-year-old son. The filmmaker takes his camera into slaughterhouses and factory farms where chickens grow too fast to walk properly, cows eat feed pumped with toxic chemicals, and illegal immigrants risk life and limb to bring these products to market at an affordable cost. If eco-docs tends to preach to the converted, Kenner presents his findings in such an engaging fashion that Food, Inc. may well reach the very viewers who could benefit from it the most: harried workers who don't have the time or income to read every book and eat non-genetically modified produce every day. Though he covers some of the same ground as Super-Size Me and King Corn, Food Inc. presents a broader picture of the problem, and if Kenner takes an understandably tough stance on particular politicians and corporations, he's just as quick to praise those who are trying to be responsible--even Wal-Mart, which now carries organic products. That development may have more to do with economics than empathy, but the consumer still benefits, and every little bit counts. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Features

  • In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farm
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