organic

Two meta-analyses of research on organic milk and meat say the products contain 50 percent more omega-3 fatty acids than conventionally produced meat and milk, reports the New York Times. "However, the question of whether these differences are likely to translate to better health in people who eat organic meat and drink organic milk is sharply disputed."

Elanor Starmer, a senior adviser to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, was named acting administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service following the departure of agency chief Anne Alonzo, said a USDA spokesman.

The Organic Trade Association, the main trade group for the organic food industry, said it was filing paperwork early next year for a “transitional” organic designation at the USDA that would benefit farmers going through the three-year transition to organic farming. The aim of the program would be to provide economic incentives for farmers to go organic at a time when demand is growing strongly but supplies still fall short.

Rather than argue about organic vs conventional farming or big vs small in local food production, the sector should "focus on what works best to achieve these concrete goals: Reliable and consistent production of safe, nutritious and affordable food; healthy working lands and ecosystems; and prosperous farms and communities," says the AGree farm-policy project.

World Food Prize laureate Pedro Sanchez, a soils scientist, says Cuba "could be a very good market" for U.S. food companies, but adds that "it's not a one-way situation." In an interview with UC Food Observer, Sanchez said, "America has so much to learn from Cuba. Some of the agricultural techniques used in Cuba may benefit our food system."

The New York Times reports on a potential solution for a highly adaptive pest that targets kale, broccoli and other cabbage-family vegetables. Damage from the diamondback moth costs farmers $5 billion worldwide.

Organic food accounts for 7 percent of all food units recalled this year, compared to 2 percent in 2014, according to Stericycle, a company that handles recalls, reports the New York Times.

As sales of non-GMO foods zoom, competitors are watching, says the NPR blog The Salt. "The demand for these foods falls under what the industry calls the 'health halo,' the perception that a food is healthy," even if they might not be.

Adolfo Murillo jokes about his two vocations as optometrist and tequila producer: "I help people see twice as well during the week and then I help them see double on the weekends," writes Ted Genoways. Murillo was a pioneer in choosing to cultivate organic agave in the high desert near his home town of Agua Negra.

"Moms rule," says Eater in a survey of the mom blogosphere in which highly connected mothers offer personal advice on parenting, including recommendations on food.

Kathleen Merrigan, who helped craft the organic food law in 1990 as a Senate staffer and implement it a decade later at USDA, "is an agricultural policy workhorse who calls the public policy arena her 'playground,'" says a profile story at Greenwire.

Grocers, restaurants and other companies that use organic foods "have turned to creative strategies for wooing prospective farmers and ranchers," says the Des Moines Register.

Switzerland and the United States formed a partnership for trade in organic food and other organic products, the fifth such organic "equivalency" agreement that the U.S. has sealed with a trading partner.

South Korea and the United States agreed to a streamlined system of trade for processed organic products, including condiments, cereal, baby food, frozen meals, milk and alcoholic beverages, effective on Tuesday. The agreement says each country accepts that organic products from the other country meet the importing country's standards.

Agriculture Undersecretary Jenny Moffitt announced a $15 million program to expand sales of organic dairy products to schools and youth programs on Monday. “Expanding access to a variety of organic dairy products in schools and community programs promotes healthy consumption habits and strengthens local dairy markets,” said Moffitt during a trip to southeastern Vermont.