. . . big business invades the health food market Certain packaged foods that were once organic are now conventional, but they're still being marketed as organic! The Cornucopia Institute, a nonprofit committed to protecting small farmers and the health-minded public, discovered that although Whitewave/Silk Soymilk, now owned by dairy giant Dean Foods, was no longer organic, its barcode had never been changed by the manufacturer, so it was being placed on shelves along with organic products. A similar problem was discovered with products from Golden Temple, a division of Hearthside Food Solutions; cereals and granola packaged under their Peace Cereal brand haven't been organic for 3 years, but the barcode was never changed to reflect that, so retailers (rightly) assumed they were organic and featured them as such. One of the problems is that the organics industry is booming. While total food sales grew by less than 1% in 2010, the Organic Trade Association annual survey found that the…

Conventional thinking is that organic foods cost more, but are no better for you than conventional foods. Numerous studies have proven that organic foods are better, and now a new study in the journal Public Library of Science adds to these prior findings. Researcher John Reganold, professor of soil science at Washington State University, conducted a comprehensive analysis of strawberries, both commercial and organic. Here is what Reganold and his team found: Organic strawberries contain far more antioxidants, vitamin C and beneficial polyphenolic compounds than conventional strawberries; and they have a longer shelf life. In addition, organic strawberries taste better overall, in terms of sweetness and general strawberry flavor. The soils were also measured. The organic soils tested extremely rich in key nutrients, enzymes and biological and chemical elements that were lacking in conventional fields. The study also revealed that organic produce can be raised with the same, or ev…