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Western organic growers to get a boost

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Western organic growers to get a boost

General Mills among others will contribute $50,000 to help expand the number of organic farmers in Western Canada.

The region has received a total of $1.2 million from the federal Western Diversification Program. The money is going toward a four-year program called Prairie Organic Grain Initiative, which is being rolled out this spring by western Canadian Organic Growers association with a cost of $2.2 million.

 

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This initiative is supposed to help enhance the capacity of organic growers in the west so they can better compete with the global organic food market in terms of quantity and quality. In addition the money will also be used to up production, quality and profitability.

The reason General Mills is investing in POGI is to pursue and further enhance the quality and availability of organic grains by 2018. It represents a unified effort to increase access to organic grains especially for General Mills.

This is following the company’s announcement earlier this year claiming it will almost double its natural and organic sales by the year 2020.

Whole Foods faces criticism after launching new ‘Responsibly Grown’ system

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Whole Foods unveils new distribution center

It seems Whole Foods‘ efforts to get ratings on the eco-friendliness of products it carries will end up hurting farmers.

Last year, the company rolled out its new system that measures soil health, waste reduction, farmworker welfare and other factors, to attain a rating from “Good,” “Better,” “Best.” However, as Mark Kastel, a policy analyst with The Cornucopia Institute in the U.S. pointed out to Huffington Post reporter, this process isn’t free.

 

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Kastel said that for farmers to become a part of the system at Whole Foods, they need to fill out a long-winded form and pay a whopping fee. Farmers who have been polled for the estimates costs of participating in the program report annual costs of $5,000 to $20,000, according to Kastel.

In response to this analysis, The Cornucopia Institute has written a letter expressing its deep disappointment and displeasure at the results of the ‘Responsibly Grown’ system. The letter outlines that the process is onerous and expensive and items that are certified organic by the USDA shouldn’t need to be evaluated further.

As an example, the letter included photos of conventionally grown asparagus from Mexico labelled as “Best” and costing $4.99, whereas an organically produced asparagus was rated only as “Good” and cost $7.99.

The Institute, in its letter, points out that consumers go by whatever ranking their trusted store, Whole Foods, provides them with and that is unfair to the farmers who actually grow their products responsibly.

Bug in a Rug brings Earth Mama Angel Baby to Canada

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Bug in a Rug brings Earth Mama Angel Baby to Canada

Jan Wood of Bug in a Rug is now introducing Earth Mama Angel Baby’s 100 per cent organic and natural herbal products for pregnancy, breastfeeding and baby care.

[blockquote style=”center” color=”#050505″ bg_color=”#f5f0f0″ border_color=”#db2929″] “Earth Mama and Bug in a Rug are a natural combination,” says Earth Mama founder/CEO Melinda Olson. “We are delighted to partner with Bug in a Rug to service the baby/maternity and specialty market in Canada. Their tag line says it all: Simply the best brands for babies… because little people matter most! We couldn’t agree more.”[/blockquote]

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All products are hospital recommended, organic and made with natural herbal ingredients. Earth Mama also has certified organic castile-based soaps, and USDA certified 100 per cent organic teas for women who are expecting or breastfeeding their child.

Bug in a Rug was founded in 2005 by Wood, who is the appointed Canadian distributor of a variety of designer brands from all over the world.

Canadian Student Scientist Wins Prestigious Award at International Competition

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ThinkstockPhotos-497470993Austin Wang, a grade 11 student at Vancouver’s David Thompson Secondary School, has won a prestigious international science award for his research project at the International BioGENEius Challenge, beating 28 finalists from across the US, Canada and Germany. International BioGENEius Challenge is the premier international competition for high school students that recognizes outstanding innovation in biotechnology.

 

Austin’s project, Identifying Genes with Roles in Power Output of Exoelectrogenic Bacteria in Microbial Fuel Cells, seeks to identify genes that help bacteria improve their ability to generate electricity in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs). Its results may eventually contribute to the commercialization of MFC technology.

 

Austin was awarded the Global Environment Challenge (industrial & environmental biotech) prize at the annual International BioGENEius Challenge final in Philadelphia on June 16, 2015. The award comes with a cash prize of $7,500 USD.

New rules will enhance oversight of marijuana for medical purposes authorizations

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On June 10, 2015, the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, announced the coming into force of amendments to the Narcotic Control Regulations and the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations.

 

“The new regulations will further strengthen public health and safety and address the concerns of healthcare licensing bodies for more oversight in this area,” Ambrose says. “We will continue to work with the licensing bodies to ensure the integrity of the marijuana for medical purposes program.”

 

The regulations require licensed producers of marijuana for medical purposes to provide quarterly reports to healthcare licensing bodies, such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, on how healthcare practitioners are authorizing the use of marijuana. The reports will be provided at the request of the provincial and territorial medical and nurse licensing bodies.

 

These amendments will help healthcare licensing bodies monitor for high dosages, multiple medical authorities and multiple registrations with licensed producers. These amended regulations are in line with provincial and territorial monitoring programs for other narcotics.

Experts to discuss the science behind stimulating the vagus nerve

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On Thursday, June 18, at the American Headache Society (AHS) annual meeting in Washington, DC, a panel of experts will explore groundbreaking research regarding the role of non-invasive stimulation of the vagus nerve (nVNS) in pain pathways.

 

The vagus nerve is a main conduit between the brain and the body’s major organs and the latest ground breaking research shows that non-invasive stimulation causes a broad range of physiologic effects that could be effective in treating a range of chronic disorders.

 

The panel, chaired by Dr Stephen Silberstein of Thomas Jefferson University, includes Dr Michael Oshinsky of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Dr Cenk Ayata of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Dr Adam Farmer of Barts and the Royal London School of Medicine.

 

The topics covered will be the role of nVNS in headache physiology and beyond, the biological rationale and possible effect of VNS on neurotransmitter expression, the inhibitory effects of VNS on cortical spreading depression, and the potential role of VNS in reducing inflammation.

A&P banner confirms actively seeking buyers

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Toronto Public Health brings fresh

Two local unions joined hands and released a statement confirming the rumours about A&P‘s interest in selling its stores.

The spokesperson for UFCW Locals 100R, 352,338, 342, 371, 464A, 1245, 1262 and 1500, as well as RWDSU Locals 338 and 1034, Monday, confirmed that the company is seeking out buyers for part or all of the company.

 

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Several companies have already expressed interest in purchasing the stores operated by A&P. These include, Pathmark, Waldbaums, Super Fresh, Food Basics and Food Emporium, and there are more than 30,000 workers represented by United Food and Commercial Workers union.

The spokesperson also said that A&P has yet to meet with any of the potential buyers to further the discussion. The statement issued by the spokesperson also clarified that the potential sale will not affect the interests of the members of the Local Unions.

 

Ascenta Health sold to Nature’s Way Products, USA

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European lab and testing giant makes headway in North America

The Dartmouth-based manufacturer of nutritional supplements was taken over by German pharma company Dr. Willmar Schwabe Pharmaceuticals‘ American subsidiary by the name of Nature’s Way Products Inc.

The company that has been producing the NutraSea brand of omega-3 based fatty acid products had been operating for 12 years.

 

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According to Marc St-Onge, CEO and founder of Ascenta, talks of a distribution partnership in the United States evolved into a sales agreement that was announced on Tuesday, May 19.

Ascenta Health will now be part of Nature’s Way, which is based in Lehi, Utah. The German affiliate of Dr. Willmar Schwabe Pharmaceuticals is looking to benefit from the omega-3 production capabilities of Ascenta to permeate into the U.S. fish-oil market.

With two warehouse facilities already functioning in Canada, Nature’s Way hopes to make its impact with the help of the position Ascenta already holds in the supplements market in Canada.

 

Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods sold to U.S. company for $132.5 million

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Manitoba Harvest welcomes five new team members

The Connecticut-based Compass Diversified Holdings has entered into an agreement to buy an 87 per cent interest in Manitoba Harvest at the price of $132.5 million.

Mike Fata, CEO and founder of Manitoba Harvest, will continue to own the remaining 13 per cent of his company along with shareholders Clif White Road Investments LLC and other members of the management team at Manitoba Harvest.

 

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Fata, who released a written statement saying this is an exciting merger for his company, will also continue at the company as CEO.

He hopes that with CODI’s proven ability to support and flourish niche market leaders, hemp-based products will receive an innovative boost.

CVS takes over Target pharmacies in the U.S.

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Target's U.S. stores achieve better-than-expected profits

Target pharmacies in the U.S. are set to be taken over by CVS Health corporation after a definitive agreement for approximately $1.9 billion was signed between them.

According to the agreement, CVS Health will now acquire Target‘s stores across 47 states and the 1,600 stores will then be operated through a store-within-store format with the CVS/pharmacy brand.

 

 

CVS Health President and CEO Larry Merlo says this merger is highly complementary as the two companies have similar customers and brand culture.

Moreover, any new Target stores that open from now on will also house a CVS pharmacy. Clinic locations in close to 80 Target stores will be rebranded as MinuteClinic and CVS will also open 20 new clinics in Target stores in the three years following the finalization of this transaction.

The new merger also anticipates the opening of 10 small, flexible-format stores that will be branded as TargetExpress. All of these stores will also carry a CVS pharmacy.

 

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