Horizon Organic products are back on the shelves at Colorado’s Boulder Co-op Market. Nearly a year ago the store, along with other co-ops and consumer groups boycotted Horizon over debates about pasture access for cows. Boulder says the boycott may have helped effect some of the changes Horizon suppliers have made.
Arizona’s Shamrock Farms, is providing the milk for a nationwide milk launch with the Subway restaurant chain. In March Subway began selling 1% white and 2% chocolate single-serve milk from Shamrock as a healthy option to other beverages. Shamrock also recently repositioned its flavored milk line with a new package and a new name Shamrockers.
Organic Valley farmers are joining the Center for Food Safety in a fight against the sale of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) alfalfa seed. Products certified under the USDA Organic seal cannot be genetically modified, and GM alfalfa drift threatens the integrity of certified-organic alfalfa crops, says the organic farmer-owned cooperative.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed suit last month to stop construction of two dairies that would bring more than 12,000 cattle within about a mile of Allensworth State Park, a historic black settlement. The complaint says the park would be compromised by the odors, and other environmental issues if the large farms were established in the area.
Nestle has sold three milk plants in Thailand and a yogurt plant in Vietnam saying that it is moving away from the commodity product market in Asia to focus on value added products. The yogurt plant will continue to co-pack for the Swiss food giant.
France’s Bel Group has purchased a large Ukrainian cheese producer, OJSCShostka municipal dairy. The company says it is part of a strategy to gain more presence in Eastern Europe.
UK retailer Tesco is facing legal challenges to its plans to expand into the U.S.
The most recent comes from California, where U.S. rivals are trying to block construction of its 1.5 million sq ft distribution and food processing center in Los Angeles.
Whole Foods Markets is launching a buying program where third party certifiers will work with the company to offer a Whole Trade Guarantee. The program is based on a set of criteria for products from developing countries to ensure good quality, more money for producers on the ground, better wages and working conditions for workers and more.
