‘62% of Delhi-NCR households prefer organic food’

Around 62 per cent of high-income households prefer organic food due to rising awareness, higher disposable income and easy availability in the markets of big cities, a study by Assocham says.

There has been a growth in the demand for organic products in metropolitan cities, especially fruits and vegetables, an increase of 95 per cent in the last five years.

The survey titled "Rising demand of organic products in metropolitan cities" is based on 1,500 lead retailers selling non-organic and organic products. In the survey, around 1,000 retailers cited that concerns for health and environment are the main reasons for customers purchasing organic products. Spending on organic products rose threefold in the last five years, Assocham study says.

The sale of organic food products was highest in Mumbai, where 65 per cent of those surveyed bought them, followed by Delhi-NCR (61%), Bangalore (58%), Ahmedabad (55%), Hyderabad (52%), Chandigarh (51%) and Indore (50%).

Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said, "Organic farming is one of the fastest growing industries in the last year, thanks to higher disposable incomes, rising health concerns have increased the demand for organic food."

Among the various types of food categories offering organic options, vegetables (68%), fruits (52%), pulses (51%), food grains (50%), milk (45%) and fruit juices (51%) are the most regularly purchased items by Indian consumers, Assocham said.

Most organic farmers in India are still in the transition phase and hence the products are expensive, the report said. Production costs are expected to reduce, making India one of the most important producers of organic food, Rawat said.

Organic fruits and vegetables are the most popular organic products. The average weekly expenditure on organic food is estimated at 50% of the weekly food budget, points out the survey.

With all the bad publicity and alarm generated by poor diet, junk food and rising levels of obesity, the boom in the organic sector is a welcome relief for the food industry, Rawat said.

Sikkim gets prestigious ‘Agriculture Leadership Award 2013’

Minister for Food Security Agriculture and Horticulture Cash Crop Development Department Mr. D.N Thakarpa handed over the “Agriculture Leadership Award 2013” to the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling at his official residence Mintokgang on September 21.

The Agriculture Leadership Award 2013 was received by Mr. Arbind Kumar, Resident Commissioner Sikkim House, New Delhi cum Secretary Forest, Environment, Wild Life Management Department on behalf of the State Government of Sikkim on 19th September during the Agriculture Leadership Award Summit at Hotel Taj, New Delhi.

The Chief Minister while receiving the award congratulated the Department and the farmers of State for bagging such honour to the state of Sikkim. At the same time the Chief Minister said that giving continuity and sustains the image of such an honour is a big challenge for the state.

In this regard he suggested the department to opt for capacity building, mass awareness and workshops with the participation of the public.

Giving stress on State Organic Mission the Chief Minister also suggested the department to go for off seasonal agricultural products in the state and informed of the government plans to go for a mission mode on off seasonal agricultural products after completing the target of Organic Mission.

It may be informed that the Agriculture Leadership Award has been established in the year 2008 by Agriculture Today Group comprising of eminent agricultural scientists and agriculture professionals.

The award was presented by Shri Banwari Lal Joshi, Governor of Uttar Pradesh in the presence of Mr Tarik Anwar State Minister for Agriculture, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, an internationally acclaimed Indian geneticist, Mr. Oscar Fernandes former Minister and host of other agriculture scientists.

Is organic too expensive?

We're all feeling the pinch so can we be persuaded to fork out for organic food?

Organic can be a hard sell, especially if you shop principally with your eyes and wallet. Is handing over your hard-earned cash for knobbly produce and smaller cuts of meat enticing? No. But these imperfections represent the USP of the organic system, an up-yours to high-input agribusiness using lashings of pesticides that help to provide buff non-organic fruit and veg (subject to ridiculous cosmetic grading) and clown-sized chops. Organic is really defined by what it doesn't contain and what hasn't been routinely sprayed on it - it attracts a price premium through the absence of pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, et al.

In the UK 95% of a product's ingredients must come from organically produced plants and animals to be certified by a registered body. Organic hasn't been able to prove it is nutritionally superior (a 2009 Food Standards Agency report pooh-poohed this idea) and has even had its ecological worth questioned: researchers at Oxford university concluded that although organic crops are less polluting, leave better soil and support more wildlife (personally I would have thought you couldn't put a price on this) they are potentially more polluting per unit than non-organic.

Goodness. No wonder organic sales are on the slide here, and so is the amount of UK land being converted to organic (since 2008 it's fallen by 8.7%, to 656,000 hectares). But the Soil Association's 2013 organic market report shows that, since the start of the economic downturn, organic sales are up by 25% globally. So what does the rest of the world get that we don't? Or rather - what is it avoiding?
The answer, says the Organic Trade Board's upcoming report with the Pesticide Action Network, is "plate pesticides" - the traces of synthetic chemicals in a "balanced" diet, especially one rich in fruit and veg. Alarmingly, the report shows multiple pesticide residues have doubled, since 2003, to 46% of tested foods in 2011.

Among the substances discovered in bog-standard foodstuffs was the pesticide Chlorpyrifos, in some cases exceeding "safe" limits; DDT in 25% of fish and burger samples, and pesticides in 96% of flour tested, meaning there are residues in bread.

The results are shocking, but then non-organic producers are permitted to use 300 pesticides at any one time. But if, like me, you'd pay to avoid this and want actively to support the opposite system, then organic offers the simplest way, short of starting your own smallholding.

Pesticide-Free Organic Food Protects Vital Gut Bacteria

New research out of Australia highlights yet another reason why organic food is better for you than conventionally grown food. Although some scientists and food experts have long maintained that there is no nutritional difference between organic and non-organic foods, Dr. Mark Donohoe, a Sydney GP with a special interest in environmental medicine, claims they’re overlooking other important differences.

“Scientists have always said eating organic food is senseless and makes no difference as pesticides don’t harm humans,” Dr. Mark Donohoe told The Australian. “However, the pesticides kill certain species of gut bacteria, not us.”

That bit about pesticides not being harmful to humans is controversial at best, since exposure has been linked to a plethora of health issues. The current research, however, points out a very obvious effect of pesticide exposure.

Imbalances in beneficial gut bacteria have been shown to contribute to obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, and a host of other chronic health issues. If the bacteria isn’t happy, we’re not happy, and pesticides, which are slathered all over fruits, vegetables, grains, and more, make them very unhappy. ”A lot of what doctors see in their surgeries is just a consequence of altered bacteria playing up,” said Donohoe.

According to Donohoe’s research, a diet rich in pesticide-free organic foods is key to protecting gut bacteria and ensuring that it’s plentiful enough to do its job regulating our bowels.

Arsenic-Tainted Rice Safe to Eat, Says FDA

Arsenic levels found in rice products are safe to consume, says the FDA after conducting tests on 1,300 samples.

The FDA reviewed the rice samples after Consumer Reports found arsenic levels in many common food products including Rice Krispies and Gerber infant cereal and some less processed products too, reports Reuters. “The consumer watchdog group said some varieties of brown rice—including brands sold by Whole Foods Markets Inc and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.—contained particularly significant levels of inorganic arsenic.” Consumer Reports urged the agency to conduct further testing after making the discovery in 2012.

Samples were tested from a variety of rice sources including whole brown rice and white rice, infant cereals, energy bars, cookies, pasta, pastries and even alcoholic beverages made with rice, but the FDA did not specify which brands were tested. On average, the inorganic arsenic, which is more dangerous than organic arsenic, ranged from 2.6 to 7.2 micrograms per serving of rice grains, according to Reuters. “Instant rice was at the low end of the range and brown rice came in at the high end.”

The low levels of arsenic don’t appear to pose any immediate health risks to consumers, the FDA concluded, but the agency is going to look at the effects of long-term exposure to arsenic

Organic veggies produced in Bihar on their way to Europe kitchens

Farmers of a village in Bihar’s Nalanda district are planning to go global. Potatoes, pumpkins, garlics, chillis and ladyfingers, among other vegetables, produced in Sohdih village are all set to make their way to kitchens in Europe.
The farmers are eyeing to export organic vegetables to Britain, France, Germany and other European Union countries after their village was awarded the prestigious C3 certificate by the Ecocert, France-based inspection and certification body.
The organic vegetable growers in this village are overjoyed as theirs is the first village in Bihar to obtain the fully organic status.