More organic coffee at colleges in the USA
An increasing number of colleges offer organic coffee for students and administrators while minimizing environmental impact. Thanks to the efforts of food service providers and students who support organic farming, this fall's scholars nationwide will find colleges and universities are increasingly offering organic coffee products to keep them perking along, according to the Organic Coffee Collaboration, a project of the Organic Trade Association (OTA). The North American organic coffee market reached one billion dollars in 2007, according to consultant Mr. Daniele Giovannucci. [+] 

 USA: Simplifying organic certification 
An agenda item of the mid-November meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) deals with certifying operations concerning multiple sites or units. It may result in a rule that allows inspectors to visit a sampling of a group's sites. It is based on an effort to make it easier for small producers to be certified in less developed areas around the world, according to a recommendation to pass the rule issued by the Compliance, Accreditation and Certification Committee. If passed, inspectors will be allowed to inspect only a subset of facilities or sites, provided there are strong internal control systems and a single organic system plan for all the units, reports Sustainable Industries.com.
The same committee is making recommendations regarding the labeling of a product as "100 percent organic", and the use of certain processing aids, sanitizers and packaging materials. [+]

 US government stops pesticide testing program
The Bush administration has abruptly halted a government program that tests the levels of pesticides in fruit, vegetables and field crops, arguing that the $8 million-a-year program is too expensive – a decision critics say could make it harder to protect consumers from toxins in their food.
Data from the 18-year-old Agricultural Chemical Usage Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture were collected until this year, and the Environmental Protection Agency used the data to set safe levels of pesticides in food.
The information was also widely used by university and food industry researchers, including a University of Illinois program to help farmers reduce the amount of pesticides they use.

 Judgement in favour of organic farm in California
A Santa Cruz County jury has awarded 1 million US dollars to an organic farm in Santa Cruz whose edible herbs were contaminated by pesticides applied to vegetables on nearby farms, reports Mercury News. Lawyers for Jacobs Farm / Del Cabo said that organophosphate pesticides evaporating after application and then blowing onto the organic herbs made it impossible for Jacobs Farm to sell significant portions of its 2006 and 2007 harvests of sage, rosemary and dill.
The ruling is the result of a case filed in May 2007 by Jacobs Farm / Del Cabo against pesticide application company Western Farm Service. Jacobs Farm also sought compensation for losses that resulted from pesticide contamination. The jury found that Jacobs Farm was damaged in the sum of 1 million US dollars and Judge Robert Atack ordered judgment in that amount against Western Farm Service.

 More fairtraded raw materials in natural cosmetics
Preliminary research from Organic Monitor shows that the European Market for natural & organic cosmetics is expected to break the 2 billion US dollar barrier for the first time this year.
Fairtrade products are gaining popularity in the cosmetics industry as companies increasingly look at ethical sourcing and social responsibility. New research by Organic Monitor finds the early adopters are natural & organic cosmetic companies. A large number are implementing fairtrade sourcing policies, with some launching certified fairtrade products. Most product launches have been in the French market, which now has the largest number of cosmetic products with the internationally-recognised Fair Trade mark.
Although the Body Shop has been the pioneer in ethical sourcing with its Community Trade programme, the company is losing out to newcomers. A number of natural & organic cosmetic companies are setting up fairtrade grower projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Some are growing endangered plant species and investing in social community projects.
The Organic + Fair pavilion at BioFach 2009 provides a concentrated show of the fairtrade products available.[+]

 Fish: EU bycatch regulation is counterproductive
When the fishing quota of a species of fish is exhausted, fish of this species must be thrown back into the sea in the EU. What the Fair-fish Group has criticized for a long time is now also confirmed by Juan Rodriguez of the environmental organization Oceana.org: The fish caught in the large nets are already dead when the nets are hauled in, so throwing them back into the sea does nothing to preserve their species. Nevertheless, EU fishing boats often throw a large part of the catch overboard – an unbelievable waste of fish and mineral oil resources. Unfortunately, the latest reform attempts by EU Commissioner Joe Borg will also probably do little to change the EU fisheries policy disaster, according to Fair-fish.[+]

 Only real organic food may be promoted as "organic"
To meet the growing awareness of consumers for environment-friendly products, the EU Commission is planning a European environmental label for all kinds of products, including processed food. This label is to be used to mark both conventional and organic food.
The Association of Organic Food Producers (AoeL) emphatically rejects this draft regulation. "This is not compatible with the EU Organic Regulation," says Dr. Alexander Beck, Executive Director of AoeL. Only real organic food should carry labels that show the consumer which food is produced using "organic" methods. [+]

 Environmental protection and organic sector safeguard jobs
A study on behalf of the German Environment Ministry puts the number of jobs created by environmental protection in Germany at 1.8 million. Estimates by PresseForum BioBranche for the end of 2007 show that 170,000 of these people worked in the organic sector as producer, manufacturer, trader or service provider or in the associations.
According to data collected by the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE), there are 26,820 certified organic food firms (producers, manufacturers and processors) in Germany alone. Added to these are firms and employees in the wholesale and retail trade, the catering and eating out trade, the associations and service providers. Information from ZMP shows that organic food achieved sales of 5.45 billion EUR in Germany in 2007, which equates to a market share of approx. 3 %.
Natural personal care with a sales volume of over 600 million EUR meanwhile has a share of almost 5 % of the total market for cosmetics and body care. [+]

 BioFach América Latina and ExpoSustentat 2008: Organic with added benefit 
São Paulo, Brazil's number one business location, is again the meeting-place for the Latin American and international organic industry from 23-25 October 2008. ExpoSustentat presents its sustainability products and projects for the fourth time parallel to BioFach América Latina. The organizers of both exhibitions, Nürnberg Global Fairs (international subsidiary of NürnbergMesse), Organic Services, Munich, and the Brazilian partner Planeta Orgânico, expect some 300 exhibitors again (2007: 276) and the lively interest of international trade visitors. 6,449 visitors from 28 countries were delighted with the range of products in 2007.[+]

 Peru debates production of organic products or transgenic crops

The possibility of using genetically modified seeds in Peru continues to be a controversial issue between the Andean country's Environment Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture. Ismael Benavides, head of the Ministry of Agriculture affirmed that allowing transgenic seeds into Peru was an intelligent decision that would benefit the country's nutritional needs in the future.
On the other hand, Environment Minister Antonio Brack announced that the Peruvian government would evaluate in January if Peru was going to be a country that does not produce transgenic crops. Brack stressed the importance of a GMO ban, stating it was vital in fostering the production of organic products.[+]

 Organic supermarket chain expands in London

Planet Organic supermarket, the largest independent retailer of natural organic food, produce and lifestyle products in the United Kingdom, has opened two more locations. The company now has five branches in London including the new ones in Islington and Muswell Hill. Planet Organic has gained recognition as a pioneering force in the United Kingdom retail field not only for popularising natural and organic food, but also for being the first high-street retailer to offer an entirely bio-degradable, carbon-neutral alternative to the plastic carrier bag. The Muswell Hill Road store with 400 m² was opened in August, Islington with 460 m² in September.[+]

  News Ticker                                                   

> Leading food retail chains like Kaiser's Tengelmann, Famila, Norma and Lidl met representatives of 28 organic firms from Denmark in the Danish Embassy in Berlin at the end of September. The aim was to sound out possible market relations.

> Indonesia: Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap wants 10 % of the country's 1.87 million hectares of rice farms nationwide to go organic as one of the government's roadmaps to address poverty and hunger, according to the Asian Journal.

> The Real chain is to change the complete range of its own "Grünes Land" label to real,- Bio this autumn, reports LPV net.