If You Think ‘Organic’ Food is ‘Organic’, Think Again
The last decade has witnessed an increased interest in things “organic” as more and more consumers seek out products that are healthy, ethical, and environmentally friendly. Nowhere is this more evident that in the food industry.
In fact, the organic food industry has gone from a cottage industry start up to a multi-billion dollar business in less than a decade. Global sales of organic food were estimated to be billion in 2006 with the world organic market growing rapidly by about 20% annually. In the US, organic food products are the fastest growing sector of the food marketplace.
Because of the rapid growth of the organic food industry, it is no surprise that big food companies and retailers have joined the act. Because of these alliances, unlikely organic products are sprouting up everywhere including organic cheetos and organic McDonalds coffee. The new movie FOOD INC eloquently speaks to this issue. Hershey Foods owns Dagoba, Kraft owns Boca Foods and Back to Nature, and Heinz is a big investor in Hain Celestial which is connected to many small organic companies including Earth’s Best, Spectrum Organics, and Frutti di Bosco.
Tags: food marketplace, frutti di bosco, hershey foods, mcdonalds coffee, national organic program, organic food industry, organic food production, organic food products, spectrum organics, usda regulationsRelated posts
Discover the Secrets of Traditional Venetian Cookies with Organic Food Baking Recipes
From the enchanting Venetian lagoon on the Adriatic sea in Italy, when Venice was the center of commerce with Asia from the 13th to the 19th centuries, organic baking traditions were born that are still practiced today by housewives and pastry chefs. Explorers and sailors carried foodstuffs on board the merchant and war galleons that would survive the long voyages in the perilous seas. Among these were sweet treats, simple to make, that in name and taste, reflected their Venetian origins. Not to mention that in those days, the only existing agriculture created organic food; no pesticides or additives were used in foods, except those from mother nature herself.
The Queen of these, and the most famous, is the organic cookie named Biscotti Baicoli. Created in the 1700′s, the word baicoli is Venetian dialect for sea bass. In fact, their long, oval, thin shape is very similar to the small sea bass which inhabit the lagoon. At that time, bakers supplied them to coffee shops, or they were served to house guests along with zabaglione cream, hot chocolate or tea. Still others served them with a sweet Doge’s desert wine, the Venetian Moscato dei Doge.
Tags: adriatic sea, baking recipes, desert wine, feast days, holy wine, pastry chefs, perilous seas, thin shape, venetian dialect, venetian lagoon