Organic foods are produced according to certain production standards. For crops, it means they were grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. For animals, it means they were reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.Organic food production is legally regulated. Currently, the United States, the European Union, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain organic certification in order to market food as organic.Historically, organic farms have been relatively small family-run farms — which is why organic food was once only available in small stores or farmers' markets. Meanwhile, it is becoming much more widely available, with market growth rates of around 20% a year since the early 1990s, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations. As of today organic food accounts for 1-2% of food sales worldwide. In the future, growth is expected to range from 10-50% annually depending on the country. (see facts and statistics below)

When the Organic Retails Whole Foods discovered a Computer glitch instead of worrying the Manager made the immediate brave and wonderous decision to alleviate shoppers of the requirement to pay ! A nice Holiday gesture which will undoubtedly pay-off in tems of word-of-mouth goodwill.

Apple & Eve has just launched Sesame Street Organics 100% Fruit Juice Boxes.They are available in supermarkets, club stores, health food stores and retail outlets across the country, including Whole Foods, Toys R Us and Costco. Please visit www.appleandeve.com or email rebeccas@businessdevelopmentgroup.com.

Getting organic wine delivered to your door with the rest of your organic food is a dream or reality.Getting organic wine is hard, because many local bottle shops do not carry any range of organic wines let alone organic food retailers.

Two small format, no-frills, discount price-oriented natural foods retailers are expanding the number of stores they currently have significantly. Their target, Whole Foods Market, Inc., and supermarket shoppers who want to pay much less for natural and organic foods and groceries.

Walk into any retail store today, and you’re bound to see something labeled “organic,” from clothing and food to potting soil – even insecticides. But what does that word really mean?