Harvey Rule and OTA decision that upset OCA

Date:   6/14/2011 2:50:56 PM ( 13 y ago)

THIS NEEDS FURTHER STUDY


What Is Organic? Powerful Players Want a Say
Date of publication: November 1, 2005

Source: New York Times

By Melanie Warn

Customers at McDonald's restaurants in New England are about to get something a little different when they order coffee. Through a deal with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Newman's Own, McDonald's will soon be serving a coffee that comes from organic beans and is certified Fair Trade because it meets higher standards in the treatment of coffee workers.

The move, while still a test in a limited region, reflects a much broader trend: The growing interest among large food companies in offering organic foods along with their standard products.

General Mills markets the Cascadian Farms and Muir Glen brands; Kraft owns Back to Nature and Boca Foods, which makes soy burgers. Within the last few years, Dean Foods, the dairy giant, has acquired Horizon Organic and White Wave, maker of Silk organic soymilk. Groupe Danone, the French dairy company, owns Stonyfield Farm.

Wal-Mart wants in, too. "We are particularly excited about organic food, the fastest-growing category in all of food," Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's chief executive, said at a recent shareholder meeting. "It's a great example of how Wal-Mart can appeal to a wider range of customers."


http://www.laborrights.org/creating-a-sweatfree-world/wal-mart-campaign/news/...

Ms. DiMatteo contends that the Organic Trade Association is not trying to loosen organic standards or take authority away from the standards board.



12:50 pm
June 14, 2011

With sales of roughly $12 billion, organic food remains a niche market within the $500 billion food industry. But the sector's growing appeal to consumers has fueled a 20 percent annual growth rate in recent years, making it highly attractive to food giants looking for gains in a slow-moving business.

At General Mills, the Cascadian Farms and Muir Glen brands increased sales by 21 percent in the last year, according to the research firm Information Resources Inc., while the company's overall business was up just 1.6 percent.

Consumer groups and some organic pioneers say they are concerned that the movement - a response to the practices of corporate food production that promotes a natural chemical-free approach to farming - will become watered down unless firm standards are maintained.

The debate has been under way for several years. But last week, Senate and House Republicans on the Agriculture appropriations subcommittee inserted a last-minute provision into the department's fiscal 2006 budget specifying that certain artificial ingredients could be used in organic food.

The Organic Trade Association, an industry lobbying group that proposed the amendment and spent several months pushing for its adoption, says that the measure will encourage the continued growth of organic food.

 

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