News archive: May 2007

The shortlists for The Observer Ethical Awards 2007 have been announced, the Oscars of British ethical products and lifestyle. The award category that we're most excited about this year here at OrganicFoodee.com is Fashion Product of the Year. Our long time friend and very own fashion consultant Sarah Ratty's eco-chic womenswear label Ciel has been shortlisted for this prestigious award. America's future president and climate change campaigner Al Gore rubs shoulders with British journalist, blogger and political activist George Monbiot in the Campaigner of the Year shortlist. Best Online Retailer sees organic food delivery service Abel & Cole shortlisted alongside eco-fashion retailer Howies and eco-lifestyle products store The Natural Collection. And in the Best Local Retailer shortlist, we're delighted to see Brighton's wonderful community store Infinity Foods. The Observer newspaper will be announcing the winners on June 8th, so check back to see the final results.

Retail food prices are heading for their biggest annual increase in as much as 30 years, raising fears that the world faces an unprecedented period of food price inflation. Prices have soared as the expanding biofuels industry, climate change and the growing prosperity of nations such as India and China push up the costs of farm commodities including wheat, corn, milk and oils. Food companies have started passing on these increases to consumers, but the prospect of sustained commodity price rises means the industry's profits could be hit as it is forced to absorb the higher costs itself. Hershey, the US chocolate maker, this month became the first big food company to cut its 2007 profits forecast because of the rising cost of milk, and Switzerland's Nestlé warned investors last month it would not be able to cope with higher milk costs by simply raising prices. John Parker, food analyst at Deutsche Bank, said: "There is growing concern within the food industry that the present upswing in soft commodity prices is structural rather than cyclical." Few countries have not felt the impact of food price rises. In the US, prices have risen by 6.7 per cent, seasonally adjusted, since the beginning of this year, compared to 2.1 per cent for all of 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If prices keep rising at these levels for the rest of the year, it would be the biggest annual increase since 1980. The UK's consumer price index showed annual food price inflation of 6 per cent in April - its highest level in almost six years, and well ahead of overall inflation of 2.8 per cent. Food price inflation is lower in the eurozone at 2.5 per cent but still rising more quickly than overall prices. In China, food costs are increasing more than twice as quickly as other kinds of prices, up 7.1 per cent last month compared to a year earlier. And in India, annual food price inflation has reached its highest levels since the late 1990s, climbing above 10 per cent year-on-year. US research firm Bernstein estimates that its Food Commodities index, which tracks a dozen agricultural raw materials including wheat, barley, cocoa and edible oils, will show cost inflation of 21 per cent this year - the biggest rise since the index started almost a decade ago. By Jenny Wiggins, Consumer Industries Correspondent, Financial Times May 24, 2007

Between 1940 and 1991, the typical British potato "lost" 47% of its copper and 45% of its iron. Carrots lost 75% of their magnesium, and broccoli 75% of its calcium. This is according to the British government's own scientifically researched data. The pattern was repeated for vitamins. A study in Canada showed that between 1951 and 1999, potatoes lost all of their vitamin A and 57% of their vitamin C. Today's consumers also have to eat as many as eight oranges to obtain the same amount of vitamin A their grandparents did from a single fruit. This has to be one of the most troubling consequences of the agrochemical revolution. This is the proven nutritive difference between the intensively grown fruit and vegetables of today and their organically grown equivalents 60 years ago.

Roundup is the most commonly used herbicide in the world. It is widely used on genetically modified plants grown for food, clothing and animal feed. Most genetically modified crops are genetically modified specifically so that they can be sprayed and grown with Roundup. Roundup is a weedkiller, so crops grown where Roundup are sprayed are usually genetically modified so they can survive being sprayed with this poison at the same time as the weeds it is intended to kill. Roundup is found throughout the food chain in most countries, including America, India and France. It has contaminated rivers and waterways in all countries where it is sprayed onto crops, and so it can find its way into food even if the farmer has not sprayed his own fields. A group of scientists in the University of Caen, France, has published a study on the previously unknown toxic effects of Roundup on human embryonic cells. The study is titled 'Time and Dose-Dependent Effects of Roundup on Human Embryonic and Placental Cells' and was authored by Nora Benachour, Herbert Sipahutar, Safa Moslemi, Céline Gasnier, Carine Travert, Gilles-Eric Séralini. It has scientifically proven that Roundup adversely affects human embryonic cells if used at doses that are currently legally recommended. It also finds that the human endocrine system is disrupted by this widely used herbicide. This means if you eat food that has been sprayed with Roundup, it can unbalance your hormones and adversely effect your fertility. Read th