Better Living With Whole Foods

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The above headline was on the front page of the Los Angeles Times.

It seems that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is considering for approval a list of 38 nonorganic ingredients that will be permitted in organic foods. The approval of these ingredients would affect every type of manufactured organic food.

The proposed ingredients include food colorings, flavorings, bulking agents, and fish oil. Needless to say that the approval of this list would be a huge blow to the organic food movement.

In case you are wondering, food coloring, flavoring, and bulking agents are not desirable additions to your diet.

Why is this happening?
Well, it’s all about the m-o-n-e-y!
That’s right. Big corporations have entered what used to be a small “grass roots” movement. Big business will do whatever it can to make as much money as it can with blatant disregard to the consumer (us).

According to the L.A. times: Sales of organic food in the U.S. has grown from $4 billion in 1997 to $16.9 billion in 2006. This is a more than 400% increase. Big business definitely wants a huge piece of this rapidly growing pie.

The USDA is expected to make a ruling on this issue any day.

What does this mean to you?
It doesn’t look like this dilemna will affect organic produce. The proposed additives would be added to organic packaged foods.

Those of you that know me, know that I promote the consumption of fresh whole foods as opposed to packaged foods, whether they are organic or not. However, I hope and pray that the USDA does not approve the list of 38 nonorganic ingredients.

Local is the new Organic
Remember to support local farmers by purchasing your produce at Farmer’s Markets and CSA’s - Community Supported Agriculture. By doing so, you are voting with your dollars… ensuring that small independent farmers can keep on doing what they are doing. If you don’t, our freedom of choice will slowly dwindle away. Together we can make a difference.

Feel free to leave me any questions or comments you may have regarding this situation.

Yours in health,

Alexander Morentin, C.E.S.

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