Tag Archives: whole foods

Why the FDA’s new ban on trans fats may be most important change in our food supply ever – The Washington Post

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When all the talk tends to center around how the U.S. food system is failing people, it can be easy to forget its successes. But one of those instances has been brought to the forefront this morning.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will implement a new near-zero tolerance ban of partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of trans fats. Food companies will be given three years to phase the ingredient out of their offerings. The decision comes on the heels of a 2013 announcement that a ban was imminent.

And it is a very big deal.

“It’s probably the single m

via Why the FDA’s new ban on trans fats may be most important change in our food supply ever – The Washington Post.

Organic Farmers Object to Whole Foods Rating System – NYTimes.com

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Like a whale and the myriad barnacles clinging to its sides, Whole Foods Market and organic farmers have long had a symbiotic relationship.

The grocer has helped stoke the American appetite for organic products, building stores that are essentially showcases for organic fruits, vegetables and flowers tagged with the names of the farmers who grow them.

But that mutually beneficial relationship is now fraying, as Whole Foods faces increasing competition from mainstream grocery chains and as organic farmers find more and more outlets for their produce.

Now, some organic farmers contend that Whole Foods is quietly using its formidable marketing skills and its credibility with consumers to convey that conventionally grown produce is just as good — or even better — than their organically grown products. Shoppers can choose from fruits and vegetables carrying the designation of “good,” “better” or “best.”

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The longtime suppliers to Whole Foods are complaining that the program called Responsibly Grown can grant a farmer who does not meet the stringent requirements for federal organic certification the same rating as an organic farmer, or even a higher one. Conventional growers can receive higher rankings than organic farmers by doing things like establishing a garbage recycling program, relying more on alternative energy sources, eliminating some pesticides and setting aside a portion of fields as a conservation area.

via Organic Farmers Object to Whole Foods Rating System – NYTimes.com.