Organic Food Sales
There has been a dramatic increase in land, water and energy costs to produce organic food so it is important to consider this while shopping. Fruits and vegetables like squash, cucumbers and tomatoes are grown on large farms with multiple acres. That means an investment of thousands of dollars for each acre. Livestock and forest products, like dairy and eggs, are grown more sparsely. Produce grown on this scale can also require more energy and fewer resources to produce than other produce. The USDA’s Organic Act defines organic foods as those made without the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides or fertilizers. Many organic farms will not use the term “organic” and will say things like, “this is field grown.” . . .
Farmers and farmers’ markets are growing because of a growing number of consumers who realize their food is better for the planet. That’s because organic standards are based on providing the right balance between production and consumption and because producing better food will help prevent greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful pollution. Conversely, the resulting addition of these extra nutrients in plants will help to expand the food supply, protect soil health and prevent erosion. . . .In the last 30 days, Illinois’s Organic Farming Practices Act was strengthened to increase guidance and focus. Volunteers are being hired and funding is being made available to more organic farmers and processors. Removing regulations that make it difficult for families to have access to healthy food doesn’t mean they can resort to buying foods with less attention to the environment. There is plenty of market variety where those regulators were concerned. Whole Foods produces organic 365 Days a Year. Simply upscale, this chain of organic groceries offers a vast array of organically grown food. And in a recent season, Whole Foods also began selling organic sponge cake. Yogurt company Chobani is a household name both among millennials and conscientious consumers.
It serves 30 million customers a month across its five countries and generates $355.5 million in total sales, including organic sales. Unlike some of the food that is imported, Chobani makes products which are both fresher and more nutritious than conventional or chemical alternatives. Researchers from the University of Texas carried out a rigorous 6-week study on the nutritional quality of Chobani foods vs conventional apples — results are published in the journal Nutrition in September. This retail powerhouse is a stark contrast from the high-end markets many consumers are accustomed to in several major urban centers. Chicago’s Stonyfield is an irresistible organic supermarket sheltering difference when compared to typical grocery stores. Its organic fare is even more spectacular: “Our mission is to provide healthier foods for consumers with a focus on food satisfaction,” Stonyfield spokeswoman James Lawrence tells me. “We support our farmers and research institutions through ongoing support, research partnerships and events.” When I call Lawrence to ask about the launch of Chobani’s organic line, she replies with a smile, “Trust me.” . . .Over the last 30 years, Americans’ dietary choices have shifted dramatically toward green. Americans’ intake of an omnivorous diet — which encompasses dairy, fish, plant-based foods, eggs, cereals and soy products — has risen from 4.3 percent of national calories in 1980 to 19.1 percent in 2013, a compound 37 percent increase. In the last five years alone, Americans have accepted more dairy protein (dairy reduced 3 percent,) and more corn (3.3 percent,) than in the previous decade. Ditto for salmon, chicken, spinach, kale and beans — all percent increases in the past five years. So why the sudden surge in interest in organic produce?
Why are specialty stores stocking boxes of kale, sunflower seeds and hummus? Why are the Pulse supermarkets partnered with Esso taris and the Whole Foods environmental team lighting up Facebook and Twitter with talk of the need to reach more customers with their products? The gap between organic food and the “normal” it counters has become so wide our TVs are telling us this. In fact, organic food sales have been comfortably outpacing conventional food sales for more than two decades. But the growing numbers of pregnant and postpartum women are making purely organic foods a great place to start. The organic food industry and its advocates are working hard to make homogenization a thing of the past. “I find we’re talking more about a deeper relationship on the basis of respect and all those important values that follow, not just buying a bunch of food,” says Dave Fleischer from Natural Way Foods, which offers 100 percent organically produced foods. “I see that as an opportunity to continue to make it, grow it, nurture it and offer it to a broader audience.” Still, Fleischer is aware that many consumers are wary. “It’s changed, and organic has changed, forever and ever.
Water Conservation
I believe what we’ve got to do is work together to market our water truthers and create opportunities for them to become part of the local agriculture community.”
WaterBoard Cooperatives
“WaterBoard Cooperatives” will be one of the most innovative ways to distribute and promote water conservation and reuse in Detroit.
“We aim to ensure that there is affordable, equitable, and sustainable water usage by partnering with Detroit residents, farmers, and urban, suburban and rural organizations to participate in water network. We also press for the first time to achieve a targeted target for community small-scale water and storm water capture projects and planning,” said Michael Lawson, WaterBoard Cooperatives co-founder. “This is a very empowering opportunity that allows us to continue to grow utilizing Detroit’s remaining vacant lots and to stop the diversion of Detroit’s water.
Ackerberg Insights
Localizing & Distributing Lead-Free Water – This map of Project DNA Water District shows that it’s difficult to get water new to a community without a distribution route. Most systems will have a range of distribution options, from a public resource to a private water network. Outfitting a community with water are a good long-term investment, and a necessary hurdle to accomplish.
This map of Project DNA Water District shows that it’s difficult to get water new to a community without a distribution route. Most systems will have a range of distribution options, from a public resource to a private water network. Outfitting a community with water are a good long-term investment, and a necessary hurdle to accomplish. How to prevent lead from leaching into the water from older system: If there’s lead plumbing in the household, the city of Detroit claims communities can fix the problem by repainting the interior of the pipes and taking away old paint.
If there’s lead plumbing in the household, the city of Detroit claims communities can fix the problem by repainting the interior of the pipes, taking away old paint and doing floor removal. As Detroit faces the biggest water crisis in metro Detroit in more than 70 years, can water districts move in to solve it? Can water districts give the city its water back? ‘Yeah, absolutely,’ says [Charles] Pugh. Pittsburgh’s former water regulator [William H. Leitzinger Jr.] looks at the example of Flint, Michigan and hopes that the water system in Detroit’s backyard can pick up the reins and fix the problem.
“The old Keystone gas station [at] Union and Washington [Aves.] lies in ruins, one of many larger abandoned structures that have been stripped of their aqueduct water by the city of Framingham. Through a coordination between the Energy Policy Institute of Massachusetts, Dana Alexander and Fauquier County Public Works, that old gas station—and the 26 available remnants of the original Water Ward network in Framingham—are being transformed into “long-term” means for replacing water infrastructure across the city.”
Flushing your Ammonia facility in the target bay.
Ammonia disinfection flushes away biological bacteria that form when water is held too long at 4 °C (37 °F).
Ammonia is soft and compressible, and is important in reducing flocculation (also called “alkalization”).
In flushing, the water is drained from a holding tank to a tank without a holding tank, where ammonia-containing enzymes are released generation** enzymes from bacteria and enzymes from visible scales (which are parasites).
The swimming inhibiting resins on the algae in sample sediments are yellowish in color, indicative of potential for immersion in water containing extremely low levels of dissolved oxygen in the waste water pool.
Salts are accumulating in the aqueous portion of the sludge, indicating a mechanical flushing.
National Intelligence Plans
Nationally, U.S. farmers raised an estimated 322,000 acres (100,000 hectares) of organic crops in 2016, a 693 percent increase since 1987.Supporting paragraph started–brief reference to paragraph 7–end of paragraph. †For historical economic data related to this amendment, see subsequent page of the Office of Management and Budget , Document 1032–1140.EXAMPLE 24—H.R. 3520 (2000)This example could illustrate the applicability of the preceding paragraph to a consolidated report updating the statutory text and standards on congressional and agency use of front-of-package labeling.EXAMPLE 25—S. 1123 (2013)This example could illustrate the applicability of the preceding paragraph to a consolidated report updating the statutory text and standards on congressional and agency use of front-of-package labeling.EXAMPLE 26—H.R. 4737 (2015)This example could illustrate the applicability of the preceding paragraph to a consolidated report updating the statutory text and standards on congressional and agency use of front-of-package labeling.EXAMPLE 27—S. 1140 (2016)This example could illustrate the applicability of the preceding paragraph to a consolidated report updating the statutory text and standards on congressional and agency use of front-of-package labeling.EXAMPLE 28—S. 1175 (2016)This example could illustrate the applicability of the preceding paragraph to a consolidated report updating the statutory text and standards on congressional and agency use of front-of-package labeling.
