John Mackey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Whole Foods Market Inc., has a good idea as to what the future of global organic and alternative food production should look like.

From the War on Poverty to new farmers' markets, a food expert tackles America's dangerous dietary split.

One of the few purely ‘whole food’ companies in the market today has been granted Organic Certification on three of their popular foods. The company is unique since it offers only whole food based foods and their mission is to help others return to better health, lose weight, change their diet or just feel better. The...

From the War on Poverty to new farmers' markets, a food expert tackles America's dangerous dietary split.

Starting February 2008, UK brand, Organic Apoteke will be available in two specialty stores in the US, namely, Henri Bendei in New York City and Studio@Fred Segal in Los Angeles. The brand is currently only available at Whole Foods Market in the US and its UK distribution point based in London.

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)