The Easy Way to Eat Organic

Groceries high, organic even higher

(NEWSER) - With a gallon of organic milk costing a whopping $7 and a conventional gallon going for $2.99, cash-strapped shoppers are skipping organic groceries. That means the $19 billion industry, which has ballooned 150% since 2001, may now be shrinking, Newsweek reports. “I miss it terribly,” said one former Whole Foods regular. “But I just can’t afford it anymore. Food everywhere is so expensive.” More»

Upscale chain will open in struggling city

(NEWSER) - Whole Foods is planning a location in Detroit—and the move is raising eyebrows given the chain's arugula-eating clientele and the city's economic struggles. Detroit has lost more than half its population since the 1950s and continues to struggle financially, prompting the Wall Street Journal to wonder if this is "a business plan gone off the rails." But the company's Midwest chief tells the newspaper it isn't: "We think it's a great site." There are a number of reasons for that. More»

Petaluma Egg Farm is a top producer for Organic Valley label

(NEWSER) - Organic eggs: The phrase brings to mind chickens roaming in a pasture, foraging for food, and scratching the ground. But at California's Petaluma Egg Farm, which provides eggs under the Organic Valley label, hens are confined to screened porches with a roof and a floor. Technically, the eggs meet the organic standards' requirement of allowing hens outdoor access, but a watchdog group says the farm is misleading consumers. More»

Try it before worrying that you'll die of a cheese craving

(NEWSER) - Instead of a trendy juice cleanse to start the New Year, Heather Wood Rudúlph went with a different detox diet: going vegan for a month. She shares seven lessons she learned from the experience in Sirens Magazine :

• She can cook: And so can you. Forced to stop making your staple chicken casserole over and over, you discover the joys of “culinary creativity.”
• Skip the colonic and eat veggies instead: “Eating massive portions of leafy vegetables and whole grains” led to “that ‘clean’ feeling" within just a couple of days.
• You never know what you’re going to miss: In Rudúlph’s case, she craved fish and yogurt but never meat, other dairy, or eggs.

USDA's label increasingly meaningless as agri-business pushes in

(NEWSER) - Demand for organic food has boomed into a $23 billion-a-year industry, but consumers who often pay twice as much for food with the coveted label aren't always getting what they expect. The criteria for obtaining a "USDA Organic" certification have been relaxed in recent years, with ostensibly organic products from cheese to beer containing synthetic elements, non-organic ingredients, and even pesticides, reports the Washington Post. More»