Making a Difference

It’s good to see that the idea of “Think Globally, and Act Locally” is alive and well . . . at least in Watervliet, NY. Their new organic waste program launches today and is expected to make a significant difference to the town – both to the environment and the economy.

With a unique organic waste program currently in a trial stage, the city of Watervliet is expecting to decrease the amount of actual garbage sent to the local landfill, which will help save the environment and save the city money. Read the rest of this entry »

Too Many Choices

Recently I was shopping for a new pair of jeans, the staple of my wardrobe. The selection was amazing. There were 6 different brands. Some were stone washed. Some were slim fit. Some were boot cut . . . and it goes on and on. The jean section alone took up the space that is typically allotted for an entire men’s clothing section. For some, this may be paradise, but for me . . . well, all I really wanted was another pair of jeans – the same brand and cut I was already wearing. And even though the selection seemed to cover every “jean-want” you could ever imagine, I felt more challenged to actually find what I was looking for.

I often have the same experience when I shop for food. I don’t necessarily need to choose between 20 different kinds of butter. Just an organic butter works fine for me. All of this explains why I found this video below by Sheena Lyengar entitled, How to Make Choosing Easier, a very interesting view. Read the rest of this entry »

Cold and Damaging Weather

Both California and Florida (key growing areas during the winter months) have been hit hard by cold and freezing temperatures in recent days. This has had a huge effect on supplies of many key items including kale, cucumbers, zucchini, strawberries and several other items.

As always, we will do our best to provide you with the finest quality fresh organic produce available, but it’s important to understand that because of the severity of this freeze and the breadth of products that are affected, we expect to see limited availability and higher pricing on some key items.

It’s important that we also help the consumer understand this issue as they shop in your store. To this end, we have created a sign explaining this current state of weather and its impact on our food supply. The sign is in PDF format so you can easily download, print out, laminate, and post in your department. Click Here or on the image of the sign to see the PDF and begin your download

We will do our best to keep you informed of the enduring affect of this freeze, and as always, we appreciate your support and will continue to serve you with the best organic produce available.

Who Owns Our Food?

The companies who make the genetically modified seeds also own the rights to the technology and they require farmers to sign agreements when they buy their seeds that prohibit them from saving and replanting the seeds. Farmers are forced to buy new seeds each year from the biotech companies. Leading the charge in this strategy is St. Louis, MO – based Monsanto, who between 1997 and April 2010, has filed 144 lawsuits against farmers in at least 27 different states for alleged infringement of its transgenic seed patents and/or breach of its license to those patents. Read the rest of this entry »

Grow Your Own

It’s Friday, which means it’s video time. I think I found a fun one for you this week – featuring Roger Doiron, who spends his time helping individuals grow their own food. He is the founder of Kitchen Gardeners International — a network of 20,000 individuals in 100 countries. In 2008, he started the “Eat the View” campaign, a successful bid to get the White House to plant a kitchen garden–which was planted (by none other the First Lady) in March, 2009. Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »

Come On… Just Label It Already!

There is an excellent website called Just Label It that I spent some time browsing through this morning and would encourage anyone who wants more information about the GMO labeling issue to visit. As much as I’ve been reading lately (as well as writing) about GMO’s, it was nice to come upon something that was new information – new at least to me, and I wanted to share with readers of this blog:

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires the FDA to prevent consumer deception by clarifying that a food label is misleading if it omits significant, “material” information. In 1992 however, the FDA issued a policy statement that defined “material” by the ability to be sensed by taste, smell, or other senses. The FDA determined that GE Foods were “substantially equivalent” to conventionally produced foods, so there was no material difference – and no labeling was required. After almost 20 years, this policy is still in effect today. Read the rest of this entry »

Nature by Numbers

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy the video – it’s truly a beautiful journey of music, nature, numbers, and geometry. A delightful audio/visual experience indeed!

 

 

 

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More GMO Madness

The Cornucopia Institute has issued a press release with some pretty disturbing news about GMO’s.

Dow Chemical is seeking USDA approval for a genetically engineered (GE) version of corn that is resistant to 2,4-D, a herbicide that was used in the formulation of the highly toxic defoliant Agent Orange. Agent Orange (half 2,4-D by composition) was extensively used in Vietnam by the military to destroy forests and crops. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking Ahead

As we enter a new year, I thought it might be helpful to look at some expected retail trends for 2012. I don’t have a crystal ball to help with this assessment, but I do have a new survey from Mambo Sprouts Marketing, which examines what consumers will be focusing on as we enter 2012. Mambo Sprouts is a very well respected group and their surveys are typically very well done. Keep in mind, of course, that in the end, it is a survey, meaning we’re extrapolating information from a small segment of people and assuming that works for the larger population. With that said, I do think some of the results here can be helpful.

Label and ingredient focus was a highlight of the study. Mambo Sprouts surveyed the buying habits of 1,000 health and natural product consumers to get an outlook on market trends for the coming year. Read the rest of this entry »

Season’s Greetings

As 2011 winds down, and we approach the New Year, I write on behalf of everyone at Albert’s Organics wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year. From grower/producer to shipper and wholesaler, many hands are involved in getting organic and natural foods into communities across the country; but as retailers, restaurant’s and food service groups, your direct connection to the people in the communities is of such importance and so key in the food distribution link. At Albert’s, we truly value the work you do everyday and the role you fulfill as ambassadors of the organic industry.

We look forward to 2012 and continuing to support you as you continue to support the people in your communities, bringing them the finest quality foods and enhancing both the health of their being as well as the health of our planet. Be well and be safe. Cheers.

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