Wicked Cool World of Organics - Edition 37 | Use Celsias.com

This week's dose of organic headlines, updates, resources, goodies, and recipes courtesy of DSnodgrass...

Results of new research bolster claims that organic farming combats climate change.

The conversion of all UK farmland to organic farming would achieve the equivalent carbon savings to taking nearly one million cars off the road, the Soil Association said on Thursday.

Britain's largest organic certification body, issuing results of a research project, said on average organic farming produces 28 percent higher levels of soil carbon compared with non-organic farming in northern Europe.

"The widespread adoption of organic farming practices in the UK would offset 23 percent of UK agricultural emissions through soil carbon sequestration alone, more than doubling the UK government's pathetically low target of a 6-11 percent reduction by 2020," the Soil Association said.

"A worldwide switch to organic farming could offset 11 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions," the organic group added.

The NY Times has a great profile; 'Evangelist' for Organics Going Against the Grain in Iowa. A must-read.

In the midst of sprawling corn and soybean fields, industrial animal-processing plants and ethanol refineries, (Iowa's) Woodbury County is charting an unusual course. It's trying to go whole-hog into organic agriculture.

"This is a totally new direction for us," said Debi Durham, president and CEO of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. "We are an agribusiness economy, but there is room for an alternative lifestyle."

Durham added, "Within the next 10 years, we will be known as the organic capital -- of the world."

Such a prediction is almost mind-boggling, considering that the county had not one registered acre of organic farmland in the 2007 U.S. Department of Agriculture census -- and this in a county with a total 450,000 acres of farmland.

The area has moved slightly toward organics since then. It now has some 400 acres certified organic and six organic farmers. The force behind the effort is Rob Marqusee, a 58-year-old California transplant who serves as the county's rural economic development director.

By packaging tax incentives for organic farmers with aggressive promotion of locally grown food, Marqusee is trying to use family farming as an economic engine for shuttered stores on Main Street and shriveled rural school districts. "If you cannot make an economy based on the richest land in the world," he said, "then you're never going to make it."

I love Pizza Fusion and count myself among the fortunate for living one of the cities where they operate. Now they're expanding beyond the U.S. borders.

U.S.’ eco-friendly chain Pizza Fusion announced the opening of its first international franchise in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia through an agreement with Samir Food Co. Ltd.

Founded in the U.S. claiming environmental concern, this expansion proves the growing concern also among middle-eastern consumers for a sustainable approach in diet and food industries.

Through its numerous franchises, Pizza Fusion offers a full organic menu, untainted by artificial additives, such as pesticides, preservatives, antibiotics and hormones. It includes more than 75% organic selection of pizza, sandwiches, salads, and desserts. It also provides a number of menu items for selective eaters, including vegan, vegetarian, lactose-free, and gluten-free pizza and other options.

[...]

The new Pizza Fusion Jeddah is approximately 3,000 square feet and features many of the eco-friendly building elements that Pizza Fusion includes in its restaurants' build-outs in the United States, such as Energy Star certified equipment, non-VOC paints, FSC certified wood cabinetry, smart lighting systems, low flow faucets, and more.

Another sign of the times, producers of organic feed are feeling it.

Forage producers are finding the dairy feed market is difficult this year whether it's a conventional or organic dairy.

Nancy Taylor is part of a family operation that grows primarily organic hay near Snowville, Utah. Dairies usually start calling looking for hay before first cutting. Not this year. "As far as the markets go, this has been the toughest year," she said.

Mother Nature isn't helping much. While they didn't cut the hay before the June rains came, waiting for sunny weather meant the crop had bloomed before it got cut and that hurt quality. Rather than a relative feed value of 170 to 220, first crop tested at 128 to 142 dropping it below dairy quality hay.

What little first crop hay they have sold went for $90 a ton, almost lower than their conventional hay brought. Most of their sales this year have been in the $110 to $130 per ton range. Last year they sold some first crop at $260 a ton, but that was considerably higher than the $165 they got in 2007.

"This year people are picking and choosing what to buy," Taylor said. "We're not sure what we will do with our first crop."