July 2018 -

I found myself on a plane this week to mingle and speak at the Independent Natural Food Retailers Association (INFFRA) conference in Minnesota. As the great desert gave way to the patchwork of midwestern fields, I was awed by the amount of food being produced beneath me.

The vast quantity of land and resources we have concentrated in this central breadbasket provides an abundance of inexpensive food.

In some ways, our food has never been so cheap, and in other ways, it has never been so expensive. Continue reading “Can We Really Afford to Pay For Cheap Food Any Longer?” →

Organic Policy and Regulations, What is Organic

Organic Trade is Changing in the EU…Are You Ready?

July 13, 2018 Melody Meyer

On May 22^ndthe European Council adopted new rules for organic production and labeling of organic products. One of the changes requires that existing trade arrangements be exchanged with trade agreements for all countries doing business with the EU. The new regulation will go into effect January 1^st, 2021.

If you are currently exporting to or importing from the EU, it’s important to get engaged in the process now before the rules affect your business. Continue reading “Organic Trade is Changing in the EU…Are You Ready?” →

Environment, What is Organic

The Lost Turkish Art of Handwoven Towels

July 5, 2018July 9, 2018 Melody Meyer

Let’s face it, we take towels for granted. We can buy them cheaply in all manner of color and thickness, in person or online. We drape them casually after they drink up wet beads from our skin, never thinking about their origin or maker.

Towels are part of our everyday existence, mostly unremarkable in their function and form.

This wasn’t always so. Towels were once precious textilian pieces of art produced by artisanal looms and nimble hands. Today, handwoven towels are on the brink of material extinction. Continue reading “The Lost Turkish Art of Handwoven Towels” →