Talk about some awesome awareness… today’s Washington Post included a special circular dedicated to The Organic Movement. The center spread of the circular features the above outstanding article by the Non-GMO Project’s Executive Director Megan Westgate (click on the image to view it, click it a second time to make it larger for reading).
Key excerpts from the circular include:
“According to the year end overview from SPINS (the leading information and service provider for the natural and specialty products industry), organic product sales grew by another 12% in 2012, and natural and organic products are outpacing overall store growth across all channels.”
“A 2012 report on rural communities and businesses from the Council of Economic Advisors, the White House Rural Council, and the USDA highlighted the value of the organic sector as part of our nation’s divers agricultural economy, providing jobs, supporting rural livelihoods, and advancing an entrepreneurial spirit.”
“Organic dairy and produce were singled out for their critical roles in creating opportunities for farmers and ranchers, and for their influence in helping rural businesses become more competitive.”
“Organic delivers a trifecta of health benefits: nutritional superiority, preserving efficacy of life-saving antibiotics, and stopping the IQ brain drain.”
“With organic/fair-trade apparel we can employ people and give them better lives, while creating affordable, trendy clothing for the fashion-forward, socially responsible consumer.”
“Organic food and farming is poised in the years ahead to deliver tangible benefits for public health, animal welfare, and the environment.”
The original printed circular also included the above graphic illustrating the vast difference between the term “organic” and “natural,” helping consumers recognize how meaningless the labeling term “natural” really is (the revised copy of the circular no longer has this graphic).
Click here to view (and download/print if you wish) the entire PDF publication): http://doc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/7322.pdf
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GMO Awareness 
Thank you for sharing this pertinent information!
Shared this excellent chart on Pinterest!
The Right To Know = Right To Know The Food Chain Is Permanently Damaged
your website indicates that usda certified organic is the same as non – gmo. according to various studies, this is not correct. what are you doing to properly inform the public that organic is moreso pertaining to the pesticides/chemicals used to treat the plants and has nothing to do with genetically modified ingredients? •
Mary, with apologies, we’re quite confused by your comment. Are you saying that USDA Organic contains GMOs but does not contain pesticides? If so, you are both correct and incorrect. Please read our other blog post on this exact topic… it contains links that substantiate the USDA Organic claim *and* explains the loopholes in the system. We like to say that USDA Organic is “usually” non-GMO and thus is one of the best ways to avoid eating GMOs. You are correct in that nothing is failsafe… (we’d like to see the studies you cite if you can locate them easily) but for our money, we’ll continue to buy USDA Organic to increase the odds of non-GMO.