Category Archives: certifiction

Corporate Dilution of the Meaning of “Organic”

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Chris MacDonald

A few days ago there was an exceptionally interesting article in the NY Times on the corporatization of organic foods. See Has ‘Organic’ Been Oversized?, by Stephanie Strom. The story outlines the controversy over the composition of the US board … Continue reading →

Posted in Additives, agriculture, certifiction, organic, regulation | Comments Off on Corporate Dilution of the Meaning of “Organic”

Store Does End-Run Around Egg Safety

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Chris MacDonald

Here’s a chuckle, and a caution: Store sells cartons, gives away eggs A health food store in eastern P.E.I. is looking for a way around health regulations after provincial officials told them to stop selling eggs they buy from local … Continue reading →

Posted in certifiction, ethics, health, law, marketing, safety | 3 Comments

Seafood Certification for Iceland

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Chris MacDonald

Fisheries are undeniably an important part of the global food supply. Whether they are, 20 years from now, a smaller or larger part of that supply depends chiefly on whether they are managed in a sustainable way. Doing so isn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in certifiction, fisheries, international | Comments Off on Seafood Certification for Iceland

Fairtrade Coffee Battle

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

The British papers are having it out over fairtrade coffee this week: Here’s the first volley, from Sean Poulter, writing for the Daily Mail: Unfair trade: Ethical food ‘is not lifting Third World farmers out of poverty’ Sales of its … Continue reading →

Posted in certifiction, ethics, fairtrade, labeling | 1 Comment

Food Eco Labels vs Legislation

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

When is choice good? Do labels do enough to help us make good choices? When is legislation required? Should legislation facilitate good decisions, or force them? See this story, by Harry Wallop, for the Daily Telegraph: Food eco labels not … Continue reading →

Posted in certifiction, choice, environment, ethics, labeling, regulation, values | Comments Off on Food Eco Labels vs Legislation

GM Foods and PLU Codes

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

Can PLU (Price Look-Up) codes help concerned consumers avoid genetically-modified foods? No. The idea that a 5-digit PLU beginning with “8” is a reliable guide to the genetic characteristics of a piece of produce has spread around the internet like … Continue reading →

Posted in biotechnology, certifiction, ethics, genetic modification, GMO, labeling, organic | 19 Comments

Are Labels the Answer (to Everything)?

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

An increasing number of issues are generating calls for labelling of food and beverages. In addition to the labelling required by most governments (size, ingredients, nutritional characteristics) there are now calls for labelling nation of origin, carbon footprint, water footprint, … Continue reading →

Posted in certifiction, consumerism, labeling | 2 Comments

The Challenges of Organic Certification

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

Once upon a time, the only question we had about our food was “is it edible?” If so, we ate it. Today, an increasing number of consumers have a lot more questions. Is it free-range? Is it low-fat? Is it … Continue reading →

Posted in certifiction, organic | Tagged | 1 Comment