OOC Awards for Excellence Winners
OREGON ORGANIC COALITION BESTOWS AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE ON SIX OREGON INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES


PORTLAND, Ore. - September 15, 2015
 
The recipients of the 2015 Oregon Organic Coalition (OOC) Awards for Excellence were announced today at a celebratory luncheon at the Ecotrust Building in Portland, Oregon. More than 70 representatives from Oregon's farming, retail, academic, political and food production communities gathered together to honor these organic innovators.

The event featured a keynote address by Gwendolyn Wyard, of the Organic Trade Association (OTA). Throughout her 20 year career in the organic industry, Gwendolyn Wyard has been serving Oregon and the larger organic trade by expanding and innovating the regulations and standards of organic certification with integrity and passion. Wyard emphasized the positive economic and environmental impacts of organic agriculture, and the organic trade, in Oregon. "Organic supports the environment and the economy," stated Wyard. "Organic agriculture improves the health of soil, maintains and increases biodiversity, supports pollinator health, safeguards natural resources, and reduces causes of climate change. Organic can alleviate rural poverty and hunger by creating more jobs through its profitability, and by improving rural livelihoods."
 
OOC Awards for Excellence were given to individuals and organizations that demonstrated innovation in organic practices, service to the industry, expansion of organic business opportunities and overall achievement in the state's organic industry.

The following individuals and organizations were honored:
  • Advocate-Individual: Barry Haynes, Ashland Food Co-op, Ashland, Oregon 
  • Policy Analyst: Gwendolyn Wyard, Organic Trade Association 
  • Processor: Pacific Botanicals, Grants Pass, Oregon
  • Farm (Crops): Denison Farms, Corvallis, Oregon
  • Farm (Livestock): Horsepower Organics, Halfway, Oregon
  • Retailer: Astoria Co-op Grocery, Astoria, Oregon
Organically Grown in Oregon Week is presented by the Oregon Organic Coalition, with generous support from Organically Grown Company, Oregon Tilth, Ecotrust, and Organic Valley. To see a full list of member organizations and OGOW sponsors, please visit www.oregonorganiccoalition.org.  

Find the full press release with bios on all the winners here.


Produce Report


 Mid-September can often be a time of plenty in the world of fresh produce as two seasons meet; the potential overlap, depending on perspective, creates a merchandising quandary or, conversely, an opportunity. While much of our NW stone fruit supply continues to ember out slowly, there's still quite the steady supply of melons, particularly cantaloupe. There's also a fair amount of traditionally summer veg still out there in NW fields, including an abundance of green beans. On the flip side, there are plenty of opportunities to promote a dazzling array of apples and pears this week and for the next several months; there are also almost a dozen varieties of winter squash at our disposal. Given the cool week we've had, the chatter has been around a renewed interest in cooking, which would mean a shift toward fall sets. The middle way would be to allow for a combination of supply, quality and weather to dictate what gets featured and ideally there's room somewhere in the hearts of the eaters for all of this abundance. For growers, a strong finish to a crop can be vital to a successful season, and in mid-September, one never can tell if summer-like weather will make another cameo.

Find the rest of the produce report here. 
OGC's David Lively has been selected to serve a three-year term on the OTA Board!

Melissa Hughes of Organic Valley leads OTA's Board of Directors for Second Year

New Directors and OTA Member of the Year Announced at OTA Annual Meeting

Organic Trade Association l by Maggie McNeil l September 16, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 16, 2015)-Melissa Hughes of Organic Valley was chosen Wednesday for the second year in a row to lead as president of the Organic Trade Association's Board of Directors by fellow Board members. Elected by the OTA membership as an OTA Director in 2013, she is General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs for Organic Valley, the nation's oldest and largest organic dairy cooperative.

"It's an incredible honor for me to be chosen by my peers to help lead this wonderful organization and work to advance organic," said Hughes. "This is an exciting and challenging time for the organic community, and I'll continue to do my best to help OTA represent organic stakeholders and to advocate for policies in their best interests."

Hughes has been with Organic Valley in her current position since 2003, managing all of the co-ops' legal affairs and overseeing relationships with various government groups, including legislators, agencies and other regulatory entities. Organic Valley, America's leading cooperative of organic farmers, is one of the nation's foremost organic brands.

"We congratulate Missy and all the other officers and Board members," said Laura Batcha, CEO and Executive Director of OTA. "This is truly a visionary leadership team, and I look forward to working with them in the coming year to achieve our goals and move organic to a new level."

Other officers announced at OTA's Annual Meeting today include Kim Dietz of Smucker Natural Foods as Vice President-USA, Dag Falck of Nature's Path Food as Vice President-Canada, Sarah Bird of Three Twins Organic Ice Cream as Secretary, and Tony Bedard of Frontier Co-op as Treasurer.

Samantha Cabaluna of Earthbound Farm, Perry Clutts of Pleasantview Farm who holds the Farmer seat, and Kelly Shea of WhiteWave Food were re-elected to each serve three-year terms on the Board. In addition, upon recommendations from OTA's Governance Committee, the Board selected David Lively of Organically Grown Company to fill a three-year appointed term, and Rick Collins of Clif Bar and Company to fill a one-year appointed term.

Completing the Board are Jesse Laflamme of Pete and Gerry's Organics, Melody Meyer of UNFI, Marci Zaroff of Under the Canopy/Portico Brands and MetaWear, and Leslie Zuck of Pennsylvania Certified Organic. In addition, Ryan Benn of Alive Publishing Group Inc. has been appointed for another year by COTA to represent Canadian interests on the OTA Board for a one-year term.

Retiring from the Board are Nicole Dawes of Late July Snacks, who has served since 2009, and Chris Ely of Applegate Farms, who has served since 2010.

Find the rest of the press release here.
Throughout the month of September, the Organic Trade Association is focusing on organic myth busting, with their second annual social media campaign #OrganicFestival. OGC is engaging in this annual informative social media festival and, each week, we will be sharing OTA's educational organic truths in our Market Report, Facebook and Twitter. Share as you can, so we can take this campaign even further. Let's bust some organic myths! 

Organic Myth-Busting Month:
Week 3 on Organic Value

Organic Trade Association  
 
This September, OTA is hosting a 30-day social media #OrganicFestival aimed at bringing the entire organic industry together behind a common theme and mission to correct long-held myths and misconceptions about organic.   

Myth-Busting Week # 3 
This second week focused on Organic Value, revealing the costs behind organic, demonstrating organic is affordable for all - including budget-conscious consumers - and proving organic truly is worth it.

Myth: Organic is not worth the price.    
Myth: The organic label is just an excuse to charge more.   
Myth: Organic is only for the rich and elite.  
Myth: Only a small percentage of families purchase organic.   
Myth: You can't eat organic on a budget. 
Myth: Organic is just another foodie fad that will end soon.  
Myth: Big companies are taking over the organic movement. 
 
 
Find the Organic Myth-Busting Month Communications Kit here.  
 
California EPA To Label Roundup Herbicide As 'Carcinogenic'

Redorbit l by Susanna Pilny l September 8, 2015

The California Environmental Agency has announced its intentions to have the active ingredient of Roundup-glyphosate-labelled as an agent "known to the state to cause cancer." In the upcoming months, it will be added to a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm under the action of Proposition 65. Once this happens, businesses will have to provide "clear and reasonable" warnings before exposing people to Roundup (and other glyphosate products).

 
Glyphosate goes far beyond Roundup, of course-it's used in more than 750 different agriculture, forestry, urban, and home products. Further, it's being used increasingly on genetically modified crops. Ninety-percent of corn and soybean crops were engineered to be resistant to glyphosate, meaning more of the chemical can be used on fields without harming crop yields.

This is potentially problematic, because its widespread use has led to it being detected in air during spraying, in water, in food, and in the blood and urine of agricultural workers-which indicates glyphosate is absorbed and possibly metabolized by humans.

Find the rest of the article here. 
 

Trivia!
Keep playing for a chance to win! 

From Last Week:
It's believed that Egyptian pharaohs gave their pyramid builders (laborers and slaves) a diet of bread and water along with this vegetable to increase their stamina, strength and to protect them from disease. An ancient Egyptian medical document, the Ebers Papyrus, counts a stunning 22 different medicinal uses for this vegetable. What is it?   

Answer: 
Garlic

How does trivia work? 
Each week we tuck a juicy bit of organic knowledge into our produce report. Everyone who answers will be entered into our monthly drawing. Then, the first week of every month we'll pick a winner and contact them to choose between an OGC t-shirt, apron or hat. Reply with your answer by Wednesday after receiving your Market Report to be entered in the drawing.

Send your answers to: trivia@organicgrown.com

We encourage everyone to join in the fun--the more the merrier!