Sacramento, CA-based Blue Diamond Growers will move ahead with the purchase of 88 acres of farm land at North Washington and Fulkerth Road in Turlock, CA, after its board of directors approved the plan. The move comes as part of the company’s 15-year capacity expansion plan, which includes future upgrades at both its Sacramento and Salida manufacturing facilities.

Organic rice and rice product producer Lundberg Family Farms, Richvale, CA, is a 2011 recipient of the Responsible Packaging Award for its 100% recycled paperboard and 65% post-consumer recycled content packaging. Seattle, WA-based Choice Organic Teas also received the award for its compostable, staple-free tea bags and tags, and its 100% recycled paperboard/65% post-consumer content cardboard box.

As a resource for companies seeking to learn about global export requirements and organic regulations, the Organic Trade Association, Washington, D.C., has launched a new Web site called the Organic Trade Resource Guide, which can be accessed at www.globalorganictrade.org.

A half million dollar donation has been made to The Center for Food Safety by Nature’s Path, in support of the effort to legislate the mandatory labeling of GMOs in food products.

American consumers will now have access to Good African coffee. The brand will be distributed in the United States through a new partnership with KeHE Distributors, Romeoville, IL.

An in-depth report compiled by The Cornucopia Institute, entitled “Cereal Crimes,” investigates the distinctions between cereal and granola products marketed as “natural,” often misleadingly, and those that are certified organic. The report is available here: www.cornucopia.org/2011/10/natural-vs-organic-cereal.

Park City, UT-based Probar successfully completed the Non-GMO Project’s Product Verification Program in October.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, December 2011