I think we can all agree that the demand for organic fruits, veggies, and other food products has been through the roof the past couple of years and shows no signs of stopping. Some people are genuinely concerned about where their food is coming from while others have adverse side effects of pesticides and chemicals used on crops while in the fields, orchards, greenhouse, etc. So what is the hype all about? Let's tackle some of the more common questions regarding organic products in the U.S.

What...

·      Study: Global Food: Waste Not, Want Not http://bit.ly/VR1dWu

o   Rich Countries Trash Up To Half Of All Food: Report http://huff.to/13lrQY6

o   The Independent: Letters: End the scandal of edible food going to waste http://ind.pn/ZT48Uk

o   Dumpster Diver TV: Austrians Cook Up Food Waste Reality Show http://n.pr/ULzlVb

o   Fine dining’s trash-to-table movement http://wapo.st/13eWsM0

·      Food produced globally is enough to feed almost double the existing population http://bit.ly/XtkMp6

·...

·      India’s rice revolution http://bit.ly/Yo0Nbq

In a village in India’s poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice (22.4 tonnes per hectare)  – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages?

Using a system called System of Rice (or root) Intensification (SRI)

o   Miracle grow: Indian farmers smash crop yields records without GMOs http://bit.ly/15ApQgO

·      Baltimore Food Hub: $10M campus for food related businesses, job training...

Twitter: @chefjennyhuston

·      Cornstalks Everywhere But Nothing Else, Not Even A Bee http://goo.gl/zcE1S

·      Europe Milk Quota Protests: Police Sprayed with Thousands of Liters of Fresh Milk http://goo.gl/UDg9S

o   Milky Way: Infuriated farmers spray milk on riot police in Brussels http://goo.gl/h4Z31

Thousands of dairy farmers on Monday protested low prices for their

product, choking traffic in the Belgian capital with their tractors and spraying European Union headquarters and police with...

·      Declaration On Seed Freedom http://goo.gl/NG9dj

·      After Graduating From College, It’s Time to Plow, Plant and Harvest http://goo.gl/N5cvj

·      That Flawed Stanford Study http://goo.gl/fgMrX

·      Land reform protests heat up in Paraguay http://goo.gl/c6ttj

·      Man eaten by hogs at Oregon farm http://goo.gl/TKgdX

·      US farmers turn to gummy worms, fruit loops to feed cows after corn shortage http://goo.gl/jhTqz

·      For Local Fisheries, a Line of Hope http://goo.gl/lEJPi

·...

·      Guerrilla Grafters Secretly Graft Fruit-Bearing Branches onto San Francisco Trees http://goo.gl/JdiHn

This has been a movement in San Francisco for several years, I posted about it when they first started…

·      Australia Passes Super Trawler Ban http://goo.gl/AVXny

·      Reuters: Mystery of the disappearing bees: Solved! http://goo.gl/cASCP

·      The world’s largest vertical garden is as long as a city block (Italy) http://goo.gl/0GfX6

·      FAO: Global status of human-induced soil...

Whether you are gardening organic vegetables, or shopping for fresh produce from your local farmers market, there are numerous reasons you should be incorporating whole foods (not processed) into your diet.

For instance, take tomatoes, which are in-season right now and oh-so delicious in fresh salads, on sandwiches, in stews and pasta to name a few dishes.

Research studies have shown that tomatoes contain the antioxidant Lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant that is able to withstand the high...

If you don't have the means to grow your own organic vegetables and raise your own livestock, the most traditional way to obtain fresh produce and locally made goods has been to purchase them at the neighborhood farmers market.  In recent years, it's encouraging to see the newfound resurgence in the popularity of farmers markets. 

For the past several years, the prevalence and added convenience of shopping at grocery stores and supermarkets, has made it all too easy to forget about where and how...

5 Ways the Stanford Study Sells Organics Short... and many more headlines regarding our food industry.

·      ‘Food Hubs’ Connect School Districts With Farmers http://goo.gl/KwEuL

Online California food hub Ag Link http://goo.gl/RsgKY, ALBA in Salinas http://goo.gl/YRL79 and others in Vermont, Oregon and …

·      Media Coverage of Stanford’s Organic Foods Study is Half Baked http://goo.gl/EbF8K

o   Busted! Co-author of Stanford study that bashed organics found to have deep ties to Big Tobacco’s...

·      How did somebody steal half a million bees? http://goo.gl/Nb5xc

o   Massive Bee Infestation Transforms Roof Into Huge Hive http://huff.to/NQeeju

·      Devon Peña’s response http://goo.gl/Dls7L to Ag Professional’s Commentary: Urban Farming is an urban myth http://goo.gl/kKpdM

·      Food for thought: This summer, Oakland libraries are serving free lunches to children, five days a week http://goo.gl/VBq8H

·      Tuna Packers Settlement: Bumble Bee Foods LLC & Tri-Union Seafood (Chicken of the...