FDA Announces Plans to Tighten Oversight of Dietary Supplements; Issues Warnings to 17 Companies
Photo: Pixabay
For Presence Marketing Newsletter, March 2019
By Steven Hoffman
In what Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called “one of the most significant modernizations of dietary supplement regulation and oversight in more than 25 years,” FDA on February 11 announces plans to strengthen its oversight of the dietary supplements market.
“In the 25 years since Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), the law that transformed the FDA’s authority to regulate dietary supplements, the dietary supplement market has grown significantly. What was once a $4 billion industry comprised of about 4,000 unique products, is now an industry worth more than $40 billion, with more than 50,000 – and possibly as many as 80,000 or even more – different products available to consumers,” Gottlieb said in a statement.
According to FDA, the use of dietary supplements, such as vitamins, minerals or herbs, “has become a routine part of the American lifestyle.” Three out of every four American consumers take a dietary supplement on a regular basis. For older Americans, the rate rises to four in five. And one in three children take supplements, either given to them by their parents or, commonly as teenagers, taking them on their own, the agency said.
Commissioner Gottlieb’s statement acknowledged the widespread use of supplements and also that “most players in this industry act responsibly” under the regulatory framework that exists under current law. He also said, however, that “bad actors” have been able to “exploit the halo” created by good companies, and so have been able to distribute and sell potentially dangerous products that put consumers at risk.
“As the popularity of supplements has grown, so have the number of entities marketing potentially dangerous products or making unproven or misleading claims about the health benefits they may deliver,” Gottlieb said.
Under the new policy, FDA is developing a “rapid-response tool” to alert the public to avoid buying products that may contain unlawful or potentially dangerous ingredients. The agency also is looking to update its compliance policies with new dietary ingredient notifications (NDIs), which requires manufacturers to alert the FDA of any ingredients that weren’t sold in the U.S. before 1994.
“An effective NDI notification process represents the FDA’s only opportunity to evaluate the safety of a new ingredient before it becomes available to consumers and helps promote transparency and risk-based allocation of resources,” Gottlieb said.
FDA also is creating the Botanical Safety Consortium, a partnership between the public and private sectors, to evaluate the safety of botanical ingredients and mixtures in supplements.
“As we celebrate in 2019 the 25th anniversary of the passage of DSHEA, AHPA shares Commissioner Gottlieb’s vision…of finding the right balance between preserving consumers’ access to lawful supplements, while also protecting the public from unsafe and unlawful products and holding accountable companies that are not in compliance with the law,” Michael McGuffin, President of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), said in a statement. “AHPA has previously communicated specific suggestions for regulatory improvements to FDA and we look forward to a robust and transparent discussion on how best to serve Americans who include supplement products in their families’ health care choices,” he said.
Regarding NDIs, McGuffin added, “AHPA has invested significant resources to assist industry in submitting NDI notifications that meet the statutory requirements to bring a new ingredient to market. We have also submitted thoughtful comments to FDA’s prior draft NDI guidance documents and will continue to provide input so that any eventual guidance is both useful to the trade and does not stray from FDA’s statutory authority.”
Under its tightened regulations, FDA also is hoping to make enforcement processes easier, which allows employees to issue warnings to companies and consumers. The agency on February 11 rolled out part of its plan when it sent warning letters to 17 companies for “illegally selling” products that it said claim to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
“I’ve personally benefited from the use of dietary supplements and, as a physician, recognize the benefits of certain supplements as a part of a comprehensive care plan,” Commissioner Gottlieb said. “It’s clear to me that dietary supplements play an important role in our lives as we strive to stay healthy. It’s also clear that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration plays an important role in helping consumers make use of safe, high-quality dietary supplements while also protecting Americans from the potential dangers of products that don’t meet the agency’s standards for marketing.”
Can The Natural Products Industry Help Reduce Medication Addiction?
Photo: Pexels
For Presence Marketing Newsletter, February 2019
By Steven Hoffman
Originally appeared in the Feb. 2019 edition of Presence Marketing News and New Hope's IdeaXchange
Benzodiazepines can be as dangerous as opioids. The natural products industry offers alternative, non-addictive pain treatments such as CBD and herbs.
A new study, Patterns in Outpatient Benzodiazepine Prescribing in the United States, published in JAMA Network Open revealed that prescriptions for benzodiazepines—an addictive class of pharmaceutical drugs to treat anxiety and insomnia—doubled from 2003 to 2015. About half of those prescriptions came from primary care physicians. The report also found the largest increase in drug prescriptions during this time period was for back pain and other types of chronic pain.
This troubling trend indicates that a growing number of Americans are seeking medication and relief from stress, insomnia and chronic pain—conditions that are common to many of us in everyday life. Unfortunately, too many people are turning to addictive prescription drugs to get them through the day…and night.
Crisis, what crisis?
While many physicians consider the drugs comprising the focus of the study—benzodiazepines, better known by the brand names Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin and others—are best recommended for short-term use, the same study found that long-term use of these pharmaceuticals also is on the rise: Continuing prescriptions for such medications increased by 50 percent from 2005 to 2015. Healthcare providers have expressed concern that long-term use of such drugs can cause physical dependence, addiction and death from overdose.
Similarly, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the opioid crisis in America is thought to have started in the late 1990s when pharmaceutical companies assured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates.
“I don't think people realize that benzodiazepines share many of the same characteristics of opioids,” said Dr. Sumit Agarwal, an internist, primary care physician and researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He was a lead author of Patterns, which was conducted with Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “They are addictive. They cause you to have slower breathing; they cause you to be altered in terms of mental status. And then, eventually, [they] can cause overdose and deaths,” he told NPR this month.
“Side effects…are effects”
The opioid epidemic is not new. But now, another class of addictive pharmaceuticals containing benzodiazepine is being increasingly used—and abused—by a growing number of Americans seeking relief from chronic pain, stress, insomnia and other conditions.
So, how can the natural products industry and integrative healthcare providers help consumers find alternatives to addictive pharmaceuticals such as opioids and benzodiazepines, which often come with potentially damaging side effects? As my friend and colleague, Chris Kilham, the “Medicine Hunter” who travels the world in search of botanical remedies, has said, “The side effects often listed with pharmaceutical drugs are not just side effects…they’re effects!”
Since the opioid epidemic has come to light in recent years, several healthcare and government officials have highlighted holistic and integrative medicine therapies such as chiropractic medicine, acupuncture and massage therapy as powerful and effective treatments for chronic pain, according to the National University of Health Sciences (NUHS).
“These modalities have been part of National University's focus on conservative, evidence-based care for many years,” NUHS President Joseph Stiefel, a former chiropractor who holds a doctor of education degree, said in February 2018. “As more Americans discover the risks involved with opioid medication, natural medicine is quickly becoming a first line of treatment.”
Other major organizations that have advocated for complementary and alternative medicine as a potential solution to the addictive pharmaceuticals crisis include the American College of Physicians; the Journal of the American Medical Association; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine; the National Institutes of Health; and others, reported NUHS.
CBD for consumers, athletes, veterans and opioid addicts
With the legalization of industrial hemp in the U.S. and the emergence of full-spectrum hemp extract and cannabidiol products, the market is estimated to grow to $22 billion in sales by 2022, according to a cannabis-industry consultancy, Brightfield Group. Combined with turmeric (curcumin) and other herbal and natural remedies, dietary supplements and functional foods, the natural products industry has a unique opportunity to provide consumers with much-needed, non-addictive alternatives for helping with anxiety and stress, sleeplessness, inflammation and pain.
In addition, researchers at the University of Missouri and the Washington University School of Medicine concluded in a September study that cannabis, including cannabidiol or CBD, may play a role in ameliorating the impact of opioid use disorder. “Because CBD is neither intoxicating nor rewarding and has an extremely large therapeutic window and impressive safety profile, the use of CBD to inhibit opioid craving has great therapeutic potential,” the researchers said.
For amateur and professional athletes, CBD may provide a healthier alternative to the opioids often prescribed for pain management. “As a former college basketball player, I know well that many college athletes and former pro athletes rely on heavy, often daily dosing of anti-inflammatories and even opioids,” Nick Kovacevich wrote in Forbes in August. “CBD appears to provide natural pain relief and possibly even some anti-inflammatory benefits without getting anyone ‘high,’ he added.
Sports leagues, including the National Football League and National Basketball Association, frown upon the use of CBD. However, the BIG3—a professional 3-on-3 basketball league founded by rapper, writer and actor Ice Cube that features former NBA players—announced in June that it had become the first U.S. pro sports league to permit the use of CBD for pain management and recovery. “More than a dozen countries, including Canada and Israel, have approved CBD-based medications for both professional athletes and consumers,’’ the BIG3 said in a statement. “In the U.S., the shift is beginning to happen as the medication is not only used for pain management but preferred over the powerfully addictive opioids and pain-relief drugs that are often the only other option.’’
For veterans “tired of the standard VA cocktail of opiates and psychotropic medications,” a group advocating for natural treatments for PTSD and led by the founders of Colorado-based retailer Warfighter Hemp, is seeking to introduce a new bill “calling on the [Veterans Administration] to conduct scientific and medical research into the safety and efficacy of CBD derived from industrial hemp on veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and other illnesses and injuries.
“The VA Medicinal Hemp Research Act of 2019 is a pragmatic and bipartisan piece of legislation that would improve and, in many cases, save the lives of veterans across the country,” wrote Steve Danyluk and Boone Cutler, both veterans and founders of Warfighter Hemp, in The Hill earlier this month.
Addiction issues in older adults
While anti-anxiety medications can be prescribed as a temporary means of easing depression, improving sleep and reducing anxiety, research published in November in the JAMA Network found that prescribing benzodiazepines may lead to long-term use in older adults. At greatest risk of long-term use were white patients and those who received prescriptions for larger amounts of the medication, the study, Factors Associated With Long-term Benzodiazepine Use Among Older Adults, showed.
“Use of benzodiazepines by older adults [has] been associated with a host of potential risks including falls, fractures, motor vehicle accidents, and potentially, an increased risk of dementia. Additionally, when these types of medications are combined with other prescribed medications, such as opioids, they can increase the risk of unintentional overdoses and death,” Dr. Lauren Gerlach, lead author of Factors, told Healthline. Gerlach is an osteopathic doctor and geriatric psychiatrist at the University of Michigan.
Grace Cheng, who has a doctor of pharmacy and is a practicing pharmacist at the University of California Los Angeles, told Healthline in the same article, “Benzodiazepines can be a rapid solution for debilitating symptoms, such as the inability to fall asleep and resolution of an acute panic attack, which leads to patients’ satisfaction and perceived benefits of therapy. This may result in dependence and longer duration of use. However, they do not address the chronic management of insomnia, anxiety, and depression,” Cheng was not associated with Gerlach’s research.
There’s seemingly no end to the sources of stress and anxiety in today’s fast-paced society, but by no means are they strictly a modern-day problem. Independent natural products retailers can continue to serve health-conscious consumers and capitalize on long-term health issues such as aging, inflammation, stress, insomnia and pain with such products as turmeric, capsaicin, valerian, kava, passionflower and more…and now CBD to help provide natural alternatives to potentially addictive pharmaceuticals for anxiety and pain.
Healing through Hemp…and Honey
With a mission to support veterans and educate consumers about natural health, Colorado Hemp Honey hits the road to introduce Double-Strength Raw Relief Honey with 30 milligrams of whole plant hemp extract per serving.
Parker, CO (January 30, 2019) – Colorado Hemp Honey, the original hemp honey company, will hit the road this spring at leading healthy lifestyles expositions in the U.S. to introduce its new Double-Strength Raw Relief artisan honey with 30 milligrams of full-spectrum, naturally occurring hemp extract per serving. The company’s goal is to educate people about sustainable and organic agriculture and the importance of preserving bee health, along with showcasing its line of hemp-infused honeys at Natural Products Expo West, the world’s largest natural products trade show in Anaheim, CA. Colorado Hemp Honey also will feature its products at the 6th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo, the nation’s largest gathering of hemp industry professionals, in Denver, March 29-30.
Further, the company is dedicated to supporting the veteran and service-animal communities through its various philanthropic partnerships.
“We can’t wait to get out there and talk with healthy lifestyles influencers, advocates, business leaders and enthusiasts about the tremendous benefits of CBD and full spectrum, whole-plant hemp extract,” said beekeeper and farmer Nick French, co-founder with his wife Ali French of Frangiosa Farms, which produces Colorado Hemp Honey. “The naturally occurring CBD in our products calms the mind and soothes the body, supporting its inflammatory response and toning the endocannabinoid system.”
Frangiosa Farms, founded in 2008 in Parker, CO, to create local artisan neighborhood honey using organic practices, is dedicated to responsible beekeeping in the face of the bee population decline through community education, backyard beekeeping workshops, and support of locally sourced raw honey. In 2015, Nick and Ali created Colorado Hemp Honey using raw honey from the farm, full-spectrum, plant-based, non-isolate hemp extract, and organic essential oils.
Frangiosa Farms donates 10 cents from every jar of honey sold to Veterans to Farmers, with a mission to “train veterans in agricultural systems, technologies and business operations for a fulfilling and sustainable lifestyle.” Similarly, the company donates a portion of each jar of Colorado Hemp Honey Pet Tincture sold to support Freedom Service Dogs of America, which helps train and transform the lives of shelter dogs to serve as companion animals for veterans and others suffering from serious injury.
Combining the Raw Power of Hemp and Honey
Colorado Hemp Honey combines the healing powers of raw honey, organic essential oils, and cannabinoid-rich whole hemp extracts in a product formulated to help provide relief. Double-Strength Raw Relief contains twice as much full-spectrum hemp extract as the company’s popular Relief honey without sacrificing any of the delicious sweetness and complexity.
Colorado Hemp Honey is made from 100 percent pure, raw Rocky Mountain honey directly from the farm’s hives and industrial hemp from its fields and those of other Colorado farmers. Colorado Hemp Honey uses a proprietary blend of Colorado-grown, non-GMO, pesticide-free hemp and handles it gently to preserve terpenes and phytonutrients such as amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins (including B1, B2, B6, D, and E), fatty acids (including omega 3 and 6), and trace minerals (including iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, and potassium).
In addition to hemp honey in jars and sticks, Colorado Hemp Honey produces a line of diverse products, including pet tinctures with propolis, hemp-infused coffee and hemp honey chocolates. All products are triple tested for purity and potency.
Colorado Hemp Honey products are available in leading retail stores and natural food and pet retailers nationwide and online at www.coloradohemphoney.com. For wholesale inquiries, contact Dave Podesta, dave@frangiosafarms.com, 415.310.1659.
About Frangiosa Farms and Colorado Hemp Honey
Frangiosa Farms was founded in 2008 with the goal of creating local artisan neighborhood honey using organic practices. In 2015, Nick and Ali French created Colorado Hemp Honey using raw honey from the farm; full-spectrum, plant-based, non-isolate hemp extract; and organic essential oils. Frangiosa Farms helps save bees and veterans with its community outreach efforts, supports local farmers, and recently began growing industrial hemp. Colorado Hemp Honey has been featured in Food & Wine, Westword, and CNN, among others. Colorado Hemp Honey products are available in natural food and pet retailers nationwide. Visit www.coloradohemphoney.com.
Visit Colorado Hemp Honey Booth N2236 in the North Hall New Products Pavilion at Natural Products Expo West, March 6-8, 2019 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA, and at the 6th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo at the Crowne Plaza DIA Convention Center in Denver, March 29-30, 2019.
Media inquiries: Steve Hoffman, steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com, 303.807.1042
Wholesale inquiries: Dave Podesta, dave@frangiosafarms.com, 415.310.1659
# # #
Farm Bill Legalizes Hemp Production in U.S.; Plus, Wins and Losses for Organic Farming, Nutritional Supplements and Animal Welfare
Photo: Agriculture.house.gov
For Presence Marketing Newsletter, January 2019
By Steven Hoffman
Originally appeared in the Jan. 2019 edition of Presence Marketing News and New Hope's IdeaXchange.
President Donald Trump on December 20 signed the 2018 “Agriculture Improvement Act,” known to most Americans as the Farm Bill. There was strong bipartisan support for the $867-billion Farm Bill, the twice-a-decade omnibus legislation that funds projects under the purview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from nutrition and food stamps to soil conservation and agricultural trade. Trump’s signing of the bill into law just before Christmas was spurred in part by pressure from farmers battered by an ongoing trade war with China that has disproportionately affected U.S. producers of soy and other agricultural goods.
The Farm Bill scored some wins and losses for organic food and farming, nutritional supplements and animal welfare, while also for the first time in more than 80 years legalizing the commercial cultivation and sale of industrial hemp in the U.S., as summarized below.
Photo: Whitehouse.gov
Hemp, Hemp, Hooray!
For hemp producers across the U.S., the Farm Bill is nothing but historic. “The Farm Bill…both legalizes hemp as an agricultural commodity and removes it from the controlled substances list. It gives states the opportunity to be the primary overseers of hemp production. It also allows hemp researchers to apply for competitive federal grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and makes hemp eligible for federal crop insurance. Together these features will encourage new opportunities for struggling farmers and their families, new products for use in construction, health care, and manufacturing, and new jobs in a broad range of fields," said Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), sponsor of the hemp provision.
In an interview with Fox Business News, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue welcomed the new hemp legalization. “This is an industrial-use product, medicinally as well as other products, and we look forward to developing markets for it if it’s a profitable crop. Agriculture needs new products,” he said.
While the previous Farm Bill, passed in 2014, eased some federal regulations on CBD production, the new bill goes much further, reported Chris Chafin in Rolling Stone. “Most importantly, it removes hemp and any hemp derivative from the Controlled Substances Act, legally separating it from marijuana and putting its supervision under the Department of Agriculture. In the most basic sense, these plants serve three primary uses: fiber (paper and cloth), seeds (for hemp oil and food), and cannabinoid oils. It’s this last category that’s the most profitable and has the biggest potential for growth. The bill defines hemp as any part or derivative of cannabis with a THC level below 0.3 percent on a dry-weight basis,” Chafin reported.
U.S. hemp-based product sales grew 16% to reach $820 million in 2017 and is expected to surpass $1 billion in sales in 2018, led primarily by hemp-derived CBD, food, personal care and industrial products, according to the publication Hemp Business Journal. While "it’s still unclear how different federal agencies will interpret the new rules...it doesn’t matter — people in the CBD industry are calling the new [Farm Bill] legislation a game changer," Chafin added.
More Research Funding for Organic
While more money was dedicated to organic farming research – from $20 million annually to $50 million annually by 2023 – changes to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) may make it harder for small organic farmers to be fairly represented and to remove synthetic ingredients in organic production, says one organic industry observer.
Other organic industry wins in the Farm Bill included preserving the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program to help organic farmers pay for the costs of organic certification. According to Max Goldberg, editor and publisher of Organic Insider, between funds that were not used in the last Farm Bill and new funds in this Farm Bill, $40.5 million is available to help offset the costs of organic farmers obtaining organic certification. In addition, $5 million was earmarked for technology upgrades and data tracking for fraudulent organic imports, along with increased enforcement authority to crack down on fraudulent organic products from abroad. Also, $5 million was allocated for the Organic Production and Market Data Initiative, an important program for policymakers, researchers and industry participants to understand organic production and market data, track trends and create risk management tools, reported Goldberg.
According to Organic Insider, as a result of the Farm Bill executives of farm companies are now allowed to sit in farmer-designated seats on the 15-member NOSB. “This has the potential to dilute the voice of independent organic farmers while favoring the interests of large organic production companies. For example, an executive at a large farm company with zero first-hand knowledge of farming could now be holding a farmer-designated seat on the board,” cautioned Goldberg.
Also included in the Farm Bill is a new provision about NOSB voting procedures that govern decisions about which synthetic materials are allowed in organic production and processing, which could “make it easier for synthetic materials to stay on the National List for decades,” Goldberg observed.
SNAP Excludes Multivitamins
While some food assistance measures sought by retailers under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were secured in the 2018 Farm Bill, the SNAP Vitamin and Mineral Improvement Act was dropped from the bill. “An important step toward improving the nutrition status of low-income Americans, this provision would have allowed SNAP recipients to purchase a multivitamin-mineral dietary supplement with their program benefits, said Steve Mister, President and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition. “We are saddened that low-income Americans will not be given access to this option to help improve nutrient gaps in their diet. CRN remains committed to expanding consumer access to multivitamins and will continue to support policies that ensure all Americans, regardless of socioeconomic status, have equal opportunity for good nutrition,” he added.
Also, while President Trump signed the Farm Bill without any proposed changes to SNAP work requirements, on the same day USDA announced in a proposal that it seeks to have all Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) ages 18-49 on SNAP placed into work programs. Currently, ABAWDs must work or participate in an employment program for 20 hours a week to continue benefits for more than three months. State waivers, currently available in seven states, and partial waivers, currently available in 29 states, can allow them to receive benefits without working in times of bad economic conditions. The USDA proposal would limit the duration of such waivers. With unemployment currently at 3.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there’s no reason able people shouldn’t be working or seeking work, USDA argues. In 2017, SNAP was used by 42 million Americans, or about 1 in 8, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
"This blanket solution might work — if institutionalized racism did not exist in the U.S.,” writes Beth Kaiserman in Forbes. “In 2017, 21.2% of Black Americans and 18.3% of Hispanics fell below the poverty line, compared with 8.7% of whites, according to Talk Poverty. In 14 states and Washington, D.C., black unemployment is twice as high as white unemployment, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Black and Hispanic workers also earn less than their white and Asian counterparts, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Trump Administration ignores the true struggles of people of color in this country. These systematic changes create further inadequacies, making it harder for people in poverty to build better lives,” Kaiserman said.
Animal Welfare – Dogs and Cats in Food Finally Illegal
While none of the animal welfare provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill address the large-scale problems caused by factory farming and Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the U.S., a small handful of items in this year’s bill modestly address the inhumane treatment of animals. One such provision prohibits the import, export, and slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption. Eating dogs and cats is uncommon in the U.S., but until now, it had been legal in 44 states.
In addition, included in the Farm Bill is the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act, which strives to address a problem for both humans and companion animals: Victims of domestic violence are often afraid to leave because of concern their abusive partner may abuse or kill their pets in retribution. The PAWS Act commits more resources to housing domestic violence survivors with pets and changes law enforcement policy so these situations are more addressable in our current legal framework, which imposes only mild penalties for killing someone’s pet, reports Kelsey Piper in Vox.
Finally, the Farm Bill closes a loophole on animal fighting, such as cockfighting or dogfighting, currently illegal in all 50 states. The bill extends that prohibition to all U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico and Guam, as well.
Of note is that an amendment sought by U.S. Representative Steve King (R-IA) to prohibit states from setting their own animal welfare standards was removed by Congress from the final Farm Bill. After important animal welfare measures for humane treatment of farm animals and race dogs passed in California and Florida, respectively, King’s amendment was designed to nullify states’ rights regarding animal welfare. The amendment could have interfered with “state restrictions on gestation crates for pigs, tail-docking of cattle, and horse slaughter, along with state bans on the sale of foie gras, eggs from hens kept in extremely small battery cages, and pets from puppy mills,” according to an analysis conducted by the Animal Welfare Institute.
ShiftCon: How Do You Influence the Influencers?
Reach Top "Eco & Wellness" Bloggers, Social Media Influencers, and Other Change Agents with Your Brand at the 5th Annual ShiftCon Eco-Wellness Influencer Conference October 3-5, 2019, Atlanta, Georgia
ShiftCon is a unique media conference and expo bringing together leading natural, organic and eco-friendly brands and the online eco-wellness blogging and social media universe into one powerful, collaborative - and influential - community.
And your brand is invited to be there.
Featuring workshops on social media best practices, food safety, nutrition & wellness, GMOs, organic and sustainability – and through networking events, hospitality suites and a Product Expo – ShiftCon offers attendees opportunities to learn about brands and meet with companies and nonprofits creating a healthier, more sustainable world.
Our previous conferences featured natural, organic and LOHAS industry leaders including:
Gary Hirshberg, Chair of Stonyfield Farm and co-founder of Just Label It
Anna Lappe, nationally known author of Diet for a Hot Planet
Robyn O'Brien, author of The Unhealthy Truth, Executive Director, Allergy Kids
Gunnar Lovelace, co-founder and CEO of Thrive Market
Lisa Leake, author of 100 Days of Real Food
Jenny McGruther, author of Nourished Kitchen
Tell your brand's story to the community that applauds, celebrates and promotes your health and eco-friendly values. Create a custom sponsorship package to best fit your marketing goals.
For information about sponsorship and exhibiting or media kit requests, contact
Marinda Thomas, marinda@gmail.com, tel 650.248.5445
https://shiftconmedia.com/about/
Blockchain for Romaine?
Originally Appeared in New Hope Network’s Idea Xchange, December 2018
How an Emerging Technology Can Be Used in Food Safety, Supply Chain Transparency and More in the Natural, Organic and Nutritional Products Industry
By Steven Hoffman and Sam Kressler
If you were following the news over Thanksgiving, you’d have heard about romaine lettuce being pulled from grocery shelves nationwide due to an E. coli contamination warning issued on Nov. 21 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control. For those paying closer attention, you also would have heard about how the use of blockchain technology could be a food safety solution for the leafy greens and fresh food industry. Blockchain also has the potential to provide traceability and transparency and prevent fraud in the supply chain for food, beverage and nutritional products makers – and ensure consumers that a product is exactly what it claims to be. Originally invented for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, blockchain is still an emerging technology. This primer takes a brief look at blockchain – what it is, and what it offers as a tool for the natural products industry.
What Is Blockchain Technology?
In order to explain blockchain’s potential applications, it is helpful to understand how the technology works. Despite foundations built on some pretty complex math, the concept of blockchain is surprisingly straightforward. Every blockchain implementation is at its core a giant, decentralized database that acts much like an accounting ledger. Transactions are debited or credited among users on the platform but unlike traditional ledgers, the transaction record doesn’t reside in a single location. Rather, as a “shared ledger,” there are copies of the ledger -- and each transaction -- simultaneously residing on potentially millions of computers, or “nodes,” around the network that are continuously updated in real time. Since the blockchain is a database, entries can never be erased, only updated, which means that even if someone attempted to falsify information, the previous records would always be available, residing on every machine across the network and therefore publicly accessible to everyone on the platform. As a result, data is immutable and inherently trustworthy, unable to be falsified or manipulated once it is in the system.
Photo: Pexels
Food Safety
Because of the inherent immutability of any blockchain platform, the implications for improving response time to and transparency during recalls is substantial. Currently, Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) teams within the food industry work off of a “one-step up, one-step back” model; in every step of the supply chain, each link is responsible for knowing where they procured an item (one-step back) and where it goes after it leaves their hands (one-step up). Currently, while digital records often (but not always) exist, they are isolated from each other at each link in the chain, slowing down response time and obfuscating transparency.
In a recent experiment, Walmart collapsed the time it took to determine the identity of the farm and farmer of a fresh, sliced mango sold in its stores from nearly seven days with existing technology down to 2.2 seconds using a blockchain implementation built by the IBM Food Trust. In light of the recent recall of romaine lettuce, let’s think about the implications; the tainted lettuce could be identified, recalled, and traced to its source almost instantaneously instead of what will most likely be a multi-day or multi-week search for the source of contamination. Instead of a national warning against eating any and all romaine, the affected pockets could be isolated and controlled discreetly, minimizing public health implications, as well as avoiding consumer fear, confusion, and lost revenue for growers, distributors, and retailers.
The fact that Walmart and IBM are working together is quite significant. In order for a FSQA blockchain implementation to be effective, every link in the supply chain needs to be involved. A system-wide rollout "will be led by the big guys because the infrastructure is so complicated," according to Bryan Armentrout, CEO of The Food Leadership Group, an FSQA consultancy based in Loveland, CO. The smaller players that dominate the natural products industry would be hard-pressed to gain the necessary traction with their production and distribution partners, or to corral the necessary level of funds required for implementation, for that matter. To that point, the IBM Food Trust has brought on the likes of Walmart, Kroger Co., Driscoll’s, Dole, Golden State Foods, McCormick and Co., Nestlé, Tyson Foods, Unilever, Carrefour, and Wakefern Food Corp. as partners. Beyond the sheer authority of their collective market-share, these producers and retailers control some of the planet’s most complex – and least transparent -- supply chains.
On Sept. 24, 2018, Walmart released a letter to its leafy green suppliers mandating adoption of its new blockchain platform. This is all ultimately a boon to the natural products industry. With the potential for overlap at the procurement, co-packing, manufacturing and distribution levels, as well as a robust platform that already exists with the IBM system, future hurdles to adoption for smaller businesses will be lowered significantly.
Challenges remain, however. For example, how does the platform ensure that producers at the beginning of the supply chain (think: mango farmers in Ecuador or cacao growers in Madagascar) have access to the technology required to upload necessary data to the blockchain? Likewise, just because certificates and other FSQA data can’t be modified once inputted to the blockchain doesn’t mean that falsified information can’t be uploaded by unscrupulous actors from the get-go. “You can keep a trail of where goods are created," said Carlo Las Marias, COO of CoinAlpha, a blockchain-based financial products company, "[but] the downside is that you have to trust how the data gets onto the blockchain in the first place." Fortunately, the pilot programs being rolled out by the likes of Walmart and Unilever are small enough that these and other potential issues will intentionally be identified and addressed before any global roll-outs are enacted.
Traceability: Organics and Dietary Supplements
Organic is the most transparent, the most consumer driven and the most heavily regulated food system in the world, according to Gwendolyn Wyard, VP of Regulatory and Technical Affairs for the Organic Trade Association (OTA). Because of that, blockchain as a traceability tool in organic production and trade makes sense, she said at a seminar at Natural Products Expo West in March 2018. “OTA has a task force dedicated to preventing fraud in organic and is putting together a best practices guide for industry to adopt to ensure authenticity. Currently, we are working on a project looking at supply chain from farm to shelf and part of that is putting together a mitigation plan and strategy that would incorporate the implementation and use of blockchain,” she said.
Logan Peterman, Agricultural Research and Analytics Manager for Organic Valley, agreed that the organic industry is in the early stages with blockchain. “We are aware of some organic certifiers considering blockchain technology for international imports, particularly in terms of grain and other commodity markets where we have substantial issues with co-mingled products. They are looking at biological markers that they might be able to use to ensure integrity, but again, it’s all very early stage,” he said.
For dietary supplements, blockchain could present some unique advantages, said Trinanjan Gupta, CEO of the technology solutions company Dreamweaver, in a panel at Natural Products Expo West. “Ensuring transparency in the supplements industry requires capturing data with each supply chain partner and sharing it with your suppliers on one side and your customers on the other,” he said. “The supplements industry is interesting because it’s global in nature. With each transfer of ownership, we need to be sure that the ingredient and quality information is shared. From there, the certificate of analysis or any other ID document needs to be attached to each transfer of ownership as you share information in the supply chain,” Gupta added.
Challenges to transparency, according to Gupta, include “change management,” where companies need to insist on supply chain transparency, often with reluctant partners; attaching ingredient information to each transaction (“Easier said than done,” he said); data standards are not defined yet in dietary supplements; and “The first mile is always very complex,” Gupta said. “It’s happening at the farm somewhere in the world and it’s always difficult to get that first mile information. However, with smart phone technology, farmers in India and Africa are able to share data, he said.
“Now, in real time, we can send information to a cloud-based infrastructure – a farmer in the field in Africa can enter data into his mobile phone, and information can be captured instantaneously across the world. Ten years ago, a farmer could store the data but how could he share it? The cloud changes that. Blockchain now ties it all together and makes sure that this data is captured and shared between the farmer, processor, importer, manufacturer, distributor and ultimately the consumer. The end goal is to enable the consumer when they buy a product to be able to scan a bar code and at the click of a button instantly get all the information related to the product. That can only happen if you are able to link all these hubs in the supply chain,” Gupta said.
From a blockchain point of view, all this data now being captured at each transaction level is being saved and shared in what is called a distributed ledger. “This is a fantastic platform for supplements: the data is stored, immutable…and it is something which adds multiple levels of security. Additionally, blockchain makes fraudulent behavior very difficult to do,” claimed Gupta. “If there is data that has been stored as part of the blockchain platform, you cannot go back and change it; if someone changes it, it creates a new record and tells you that someone made a change there. So, there is an audit trail you cannot escape,” he said.
The opportunity for blockchain, he concluded, is that accurate information can be shared all the way back to the origination and that “each element in the chain can contribute to this full volume of information that can be transparent and contribute to your brand.”
Of course, even without blockchain, which can be a large investment for small businesses, supplement manufacturers can ensure full traceability using best practices and tools at hand, said Elena Lécué, EVP of Sales and Marketing for Gaia Herbs in Brevard, NC. Speaking of the company’s Meet Your Herbs™ consumer traceability program, “Our innovation is a unique code associated with every product batch, allowing us to have full traceability including certificates of quality without the need for blockchain,” she said. “Because we are committed to radical transparency, Gaia Herbs is certainly watching developments in blockchain technology, yet, we are a GMP certified business and fully FDA compliant. That requires lots of certification and we make test results for purity and potency of our products publicly available. You can make proof of quality and information about the provenance of the product available using current practices without relying on blockchain, if you are testing every batch.”
Blockchain, Fair Trade and Sustainability
Other players, including World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Oxfam International, are exploring blockchain technology to ensure the protection of endangered seafood, and to ensure farmers in developing nations receive fair prices for their agricultural products.
Recently, WWF teamed up with blockchain technology and sustainable fisheries partners in the fresh and frozen tuna sectors of the Western and Central Pacific region to strengthen supply chain management and help stamp out illegal fishing and human rights abuses. In a report published in August 2018, WWF said, “More and more, experts view full supply chain traceability and transparency as the only way to ensure against the continued entry of illegally or unethically produced seafood products into the seafood supply chain. Blockchain can be a significant part of the solution. By providing this transparency and traceability, it can enable the market to both reward producers who engage in best practices, and exclude illegal and unethical producers.”
Oxfam, for its part, is working with small-scale organic rice farmers in Cambodia, and in November 2018 launched BlocRice, a project that “aims to test blockchain technology and its smart contracts, a digital three-way contract farming arrangement between primary producer, Cambodian rice exporter and retailer in Europe, to improve farmers’ livelihood and their supply conditions,” Oxfam said in a statement. The project will focus on introducing blockchain technology to the organic rice value chain by registering all chain actors with unique identification codes on blockchain; introduce smart (fair trade) contracts between farmers, agricultural cooperatives and exporters to ensure fair income and proper payments for farmers (women farmers, in particular); introduce cashless payment to farmers; and design a consumer communication component from Cambodian producers to consumers.
Learn More
What Can Block Chain Really Do for the Food Industry, Forbes, Sept. 30, 2018
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennysplitter/2018/09/30/what-can-blockchain-really-do-for-the-food-industry/#1d6565ce488e
IBM Food Trust
https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/solutions/food-trust
Video: Blockchain and Food Safety with IBM and Walmart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMOF0G_2H0A
Provenance: Social Mission through Blockchain Technology
https://www.provenance.org
Note: This article was co-authored by Steven Hoffman and Sam Kressler, founder of Stir Consulting, an innovation strategy and product development firm serving the natural foods, culinary and food service industries. Visit www.stir-consulting.com.
Wild Wings, World’s First Certified Organic Backyard Bird Food, on a Mission to Protect Declining Wild Bird Populations
Declines in wild bird populations worldwide are being linked to overuse of herbicides such as glyphosate. Now, more backyard bird lovers are saying no to bird-killing pesticides with Wild Wings Organic Wild Bird Foods, the first premium certified organic outdoor bird food.
Brentwood, TN (November 13, 2018) – National Geographic dubbed 2018 the Year of the Bird, and the news about our feathered friends in the wild isn’t good. Bird populations in agricultural regions in France have dropped by 33 percent, the magazine reported recently, and many believe widespread use of herbicides such as glyphosate may be a contributing factor. In the United States, the U.S. Migratory Bird Council estimates that 10 percent of the 672 million birds exposed to pesticides on U.S. agricultural lands—the canaries in the chemical coal mine, so to speak—die.
Unwittingly, bird lovers may be contributing to the problem by feeding backyard birds seeds soaked with glyphosate and other pesticides.
“Ironically, it is often the same sunflower and/or other grains intended to feed backyard birds that may have been sprayed with lethal pesticides to keep pests (often including birds) at bay,” said Greg Harrison, DVM, a renowned avian health expert and founder of Wild Wings Organic Wild Bird Foods. “Just like human health, birds and animals are affected by widespread usage of glyphosate and other toxic, synthetic pesticides. We created Wild Wings to give bird lovers an alternative to feeding the finches glyphosate.”
Harrison founded Wild Wings Organic Wild Bird Foods and its parent company, Harrison’s Bird Foods, which also makes a veterinary line of organic bird foods for pets. His goals are: 1) to promote the highest standard of care for companion and wild birds through education; 2) to make available quality, certified organic bird foods and other products worldwide; and 3) to protect the environment and create a market for organic grain farmers in the U.S. A disruptor in the $6.3 billion wild bird food and feeder category, Wild Wings makes its wild bird seeds and blends with certified organic grains through a close partnership with Grain Place Foods, a pioneering, 350-acre certified organic farm in eastern Nebraska, and other producers.
“Wild Wings seeds are better for birds, and they know it,” Harrison said. “Studies have shown birds choose organic over non-organic and Wild Wings Organic Wild Bird Foods contain many of the same high quality certified organic items used in our veterinary pet bird formulas, which have been keeping pet birds extremely healthy and happy for many years.”
Just Say No in Your Backyard Birdfeeder
Sales of organic and natural pet foods are booming in the United States, reaching $8.2 billion (making up 25 percent of the pet food market) in 2016 and expected to reach $14 billion by 2021 as people discover the difference chemical-free, non-GMO food can make for their pets. “Like pet bird owners, wild bird lovers also need to have the option of feeding birds organic seeds,” Harrison said. “And more and more people are understanding what a difference it makes for the birds they love and the environment that sustains them.”
In 2014, Dutch researchers warned of an alarming trend between declines in bird populations in the Netherlands and higher concentration of imidaclopris, a common neonicotinoid pesticide, according to Smithsonian magazine.(Neonicotinoids are powerful insect neurotoxins and one of the world’s most commonly used pesticides.) Organochlorine pesticides such as the miticide dicofol cause eggshell thinning and can be extremely toxic to birds, according to a McGill University report.
“Fish, birds, and wildlife that live in direct contact with environments subject to pesticide exposure are sentinel species that may be predictive of our own fate,” the Pesticide Action Network states in a report. “With pesticides now found routinely in drinking water, on food, and in the air, we are all taking part in an experiment in pesticide exposure on a global scale.”
In your backyard bird feeders, at least, you can just say no to continuing the chemical cycle.
Wild Wings premium certified organic wild bird seeds and blends are Non-GMO Project Verified and are available at Wild Wings’ online store and on Amazon.com. For wholesale inquiries, please contact Jean Coffinberry, tel 615.221.9919, jean@harrisonsbirdfoods.com.
About Wild Wings Organic Wild Bird Foods
Brentwood, TN-based Wild Wings Organic Wild Bird Foods was founded by Greg Harrison, DVM, a recognized leader in avian health who created The Bird Hospital, the first all-bird veterinary practice in Lake Worth, FL, in the 1970s and Harrison’s Bird Foods, the first commercially available certified organic pet food, in the 1980s. HBD International, Inc. (Harrison’s Bird Foods) promotes the highest standard of care for companion and wild birds through education and the availability of quality, certified organic bird foods and other products worldwide. Visit www.HarrisonsBirdFoods.comand follow Harrison’s Bird Foods and Wild Wings Organic Wild Bird Foods on Facebook and Twitter.
Contact
Jean Coffinberry, Harrison’s Bird Foods, 615.221.9919, jean@harrisonsbirdfoods.com
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, 303.807.1042, steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com
Photo: Wild Wings
Midterm Election Update: What’s Impacting the Natural Products Industry?
Photo: Pexels
For Presence Marketing Newsletter, November 2018
By Steven Hoffman
Originally appeared in the Nov. 2018 edition of Presence Marketing News and New Hope's IdeaXchange
As we approach the 2018 midterm elections, we asked a number of industry leaders, whose job it is in part to track and influence political, legislative and regulatory affairs that affect the natural, nutritional and organic products industry, to give us their views on the upcoming federal and state elections, as well as the issues we face in this election cycle. We were pleased to receive the comments and perspectives below from the following individuals:
Loren Israelsen, President, United Natural Products Alliance
Laura Batcha, CEO, Organic Trade Association
Corinne Shindelar, CEO, Independent Natural Products Association
Michael McGuffin, President, American Herbal Products Association
Todd Runestad, Senior Editor, Informa/New Hope Network
Michele Simon, Executive Director, Plant Based Foods Association
Morris Beegle, Producer, Let’s Talk Hemp
Bob Hoban, Hoban Law Group, a leading hemp-centric legal firm
Loren Israelsen, President, United Natural Products Alliance
Tariffs and Nutritional Products
Due to the trade imbalance with China, the current administration has decided to use tariffs as a primary tool in an attempt to balance the scales. The nutrition industry has largely escaped the first two rounds of tariffs imposed this year on Chinese goods entering the U.S. The next scheduled tariff round is Jan. 1, 2019, and as we are all hearing, they would essentially cover the rest of all Chinese goods coming into the U.S., suggesting that this time around we’ll be hit directly.
Virtually all dietary ingredients, as we would call them – they would also include food ingredients, food additives, cosmetic ingredients, pet food ingredients, etc. – this class of goods would likely be subject to 25% tariffs. That’s a big deal. We know that many nutrition and dietary supplements companies are trying to forecast if they should buy now to get ahead of the tariffs. However, forward buying skews the market. Also, if there is pushback of those January deadlines, then businesses could be holding on to a whole lot of inventory that won’t be moving as forecasted, so a lot of cash could get tied up in inventory.
Here are my concerns: If tariffs are imposed on dietary ingredients, it will be a price shock to the market, which potentially could lead to cheating and mislabeled, misbranded and possibly adulterated ingredients. Vigilance will be required at a whole new level. The brands that go into the health food retail market are already feeling stressed by Amazon and others; would they suffer more due to pricing pressures due to a possible tariff hike? They don’t have much room to spread the cost.
Yet, ultimately, we believe it is important to engage with China and we will keep the industry updated about our efforts. UNPA has been working with the China Chamber of Commerce for import/export of health products and the China Nutrition Health Food Association (CNHFA), plus the China International Import Expo, scheduled for November in Shanghai is a response to the feeling around the world that China is a closed market. This enormous, first-time international expo is a response to that criticism.
Hemp and CBD
The thing to consider is how important hemp/CBD has become to the independent health food retail channel, as the larger big box natural retailers have decided to stand off and not offer hemp and CBD products. They’re understandably concerned about risk and liability, but for smaller stores, this category has been a lifeline for them as they battle to maintain foot traffic in the stores as online sales continue to grow.
We’ve also been in active discussions with Greenwich Biosciences, the drug holder for Epidiolex, the approved CBD drug. The question is, because CBD hemp extracts currently are technically not lawfully sold ingredients – and that, of course, is subject to further discussion and debate – what position will Epidiolex take with regard to pushing or trying to force CBD hemp extract products off the market - or not?
We believe that Greenwich Biosciences doesn’t want to be the bad guy in all of this. There are an untold number of consumers who are currently using this class of product and many are satisfied with great benefits. This would certainly be an issue they would talk to Congress about, and Greenwich is not looking for a fight. The question is can they find a middle ground, and the same is true for FDA. The outcome of the farm bill will affect DEA’s position on hemp and CBD, but that does not resolve the FDA issue regarding CBD.
By the way, the approval of Epidiolex is significant in that it has full recognition as a drug by FDA – that’s a first. As far as DEA is concerned, CBD is Epidiolex and is now a schedule 5 drug. At the moment, that is how we should be thinking about it. Whether other products would be recognized as Schedule 5? I urge caution.
Depending on how the midterm elections go, the Farm Bill, which has provisions for legalizing hemp, could be passed as soon as December. However, depending on the election outcome, passage of the Farm Bill could be delayed and pushed into 2019, which affects the hemp market’s sense of risk.
Importance of the Independent Retailer
The midterm elections may lead to a change in control in government, and the tensions of this split in government could be more acute. How will that affect sales natural products, such as for sleep, anxiety and depression? Will people need community? We could see the health food retailer be a place of refuge, information exchange and gathering. Passage of the Farm Bill could open up the sales of hemp and CBD products, which are one of the fastest growing categories for independent natural food retailers. Another key Farm Bill provision important to independent health food retailers is the SNAP program, previously known as food stamps, which would allow recipients to purchase multivitamins. The program, added as an amendment to the House version of the Farm Bill, would make multivitamins available to millions of lower income Americans dependent on the SNAP program. Whether the multivitamin amendment will end up in a final bill passed by Congress remains to be seen, and UNPA will be tracking this important issue for its constituents.
Laura Batcha, CEO, Organic Trade Association
The midterm elections are hugely important. At OTA, we have a policy to provide time off for staff to vote. The House is likely to shift. When you look at divided government, some things it can do; some things it can’t. Overall, a lot of things won’t change quickly. What would change is the oversight mechanism. Divided government provides an opportunity for oversight. No matter what happens in terms of organic products trade, we see 2019 as the year of congressional oversight.
We are going to need a bipartisan coalition of champions to direct the USDA to follow the lead of the organic industry. The truth is that USDA’s view of its role in organic is very narrow right now. It is doing a decent job on oversight, but it is refusing to advance the standards for the organic industry, and that’s where we need the support of Congress in terms of oversight. The organic seal can’t be set in stone, which is what USDA feels. It needs to keep up with the consumer. USDA has been unwilling to hear from the industry on that, so we will be looking to Congress to support the organic industry.
Issues of concern to the organic industry include the Origin of Livestock rule in the National Organic Program, which allows conventional animals to be transitioned to organic, but is being taken advantage of. While the rule may have helped support transition in the early days, its time has passed.
Also, despite USDA’s objections, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently announced that it will hear OTA’s case against USDA’s failure to put into effect new organic animal welfare standards. We are also encouraged that the court will hear our challenge to the entire, year-long pattern of unlawful conduct by USDA. The Organic Trade Association believes that beginning with the first delay that was undertaken without an opportunity for public notice and comment shortly after the current administration took office, until the final withdrawal of the Organic Livestock and Poultry Production rule in March 2018, that USDA has engaged in a pattern of misconduct that can only be corrected by a federal court.
The organic industry also wants USDA to put out better guidance on continuous improvement in soil health. Also, we want more clear requirements on testing for residues of pesticides, GMOs and heavy metals. Methods need to be improved and laboratories need better direction on how and when to prevent fraud. We need Congress to remind USDA of the continuous improvement language in the original law governing organic production standards and that the agency should be responsive to the industry wanting to move forward with these things.
Regarding the Farm Bill, the Senate bill and the House bill are friendly to organic. However, can committee leaders reach an agreement to sign into law before year end or will it defer to the next Congress, which means the process would start all over again? Getting the Farm Bill done allows funding to support organic. As long as the Farm Bill is delayed, there is no funding for organic research, data collection, certification cost-share support for small farmers to help defray the cost of organic certification, and other key programs.
Lastly, OTA has a small Political Action Committee (PAC), and it is fully supporting Montana Senator Jon Tester in his hotly contested reelection bid. We are very proud to have an organic farmer in the U.S. Senate and we don’t want that to change.
OTA has worked hard to build bipartisan relations in Congress. We have emerging champions and we will continue to engage with both parties. We see younger members of Congress understand the value of organic. We will carry on regardless of the outcome of the midterms to make the case that organic is worth supporting for any member of Congress.
Corinne Shindelar, CEO, Independent Natural Products Association
Farm Bill
The Mid Term elections have an impact on all of us, including the business landscape. The Farm bill is significant, as access to product is becoming a real issue for independent natural food retailers. What is allocated for subsidies and support of organic farming and faster conversion to sustainable agriculture practices will impact the natural products industry. Demand is outpacing supply, and the Farm Bill sets the future of the country’s position in supporting what consumers are really saying they want.
Climate Change
Climate change aligns with the Farm Bill. The recognition of our leaders to understand that agricultural practices are one of the biggest contributors to climate change is huge. How one votes in November will give a voice to our elected leaders that we are retailers willing to work with our consumers to understand their everyday life choices and how this impacts climate. Yet, if we are not holding our large agricultural production practices accountable for their actions, individual consumers may feel pretty hopeless in “voting with their dollar,” which ultimately impacts independent retailers.
Economic Inequality
Economic inequality is also a concern. We need legislation support that aligns with our values of a rightful living for all. Independently owned businesses tend to be closer to the people that work for them and value being able to pay a livable wage. Yet the playing field needs to be equal as higher wages (livable) drive up cost at shelf, and yet if all are not held accountable to provide this to those who stock our shelves then the competitive advantage can be lost.
Net Neutrality
Net Neutrality is also something that we don’t talk about much and yet, as we enter into a more competitive digital environment, the loss of net neutrality can affect the ability of independent retailers to have a strong enough presence on the internet to compete in that space, as well as in their brick and mortar locations. So, does the midterm election impact our business reality? You bet it does!
Michael McGuffin, President, American Herbal Products Association
As we approach the midterm elections, the tariffs are already affecting trade – large companies and small that buy herbs and other ingredients from China have informed me of the financial burdens on their companies. But I can’t see the election having any influence on this as the president has stated he’s acting on his own discretion under the law.
And I think the impact of the issue of “health care” as the term is used in the political arena – it mostly means “health insurance” and barely strays into health care choices – is more on companies as employers than as marketers. In other words, when federal law supports more affordable programmatic health insurance options (and of course there are heated arguments about which model is, when all the costs are considered, more affordable) it’s probably more likely that companies that pay all or a portion of their employees’ insurance costs will continue to do so. This is not, however, an issue that affects the natural products industry in any special way and is true for all American employers. But I’m not aware of any product launches or marketing campaigns in our industry that have keyed on this political discussion.
Regarding the Farm Bill, we all want this to pass and it must pass, and the Congress knows that it must pass. Of particular relevance of course are the supports for organic agriculture (already in and non-controversial as far as I know); the potential for allowing purchase of multivitamins with SNAP benefits (in the House bill but not in the Senate version, and complicated by the fact that the SNAP provisions are, by several reports, the most charged detail before the Conference Committee); and the inclusion of the Hemp Farming Act (in the Senate but not the House version; we think this is largely non-controversial and strongly supported by the leadership). Will the election have any effect on this, though? I don’t see how it can, unless it becomes clear that one side just gained the advantage to break the SNAP work requirement logjam – but I don’t see the conference revisiting any of “our” issues whether or not this occurs.
The most significant modifications to my attention (and I think to the other trade associations and the industry) will come about if the Democrats gain control of the House. The historical fact is that industry – not just our industry but many regulated industries – often face a greater challenge when the Democrats are in charge that legislation will be offered, and possibly passed, to create new regulations. For the first time since DSHEA amended the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (FDCA), our champions (Senators Hatch and Harkin) are gone, and our critics – notably CSPI – have already announced their intention to work to further amend the law to place greater restrictions on dietary supplements. So, we will need to be attentive and vigilant, and try to lead that conversation, or at least make sure we are part of it. We were able to do that in 2006 when AHPA initiated the discussion, and then gathered broad industry buy-in, to support a reasonable amendment to the FDCA to require submission to FDA of all serious adverse event reports associated with supplements. If anything, the industry is more united now than a decade ago, so I’m optimistic that we’ll work cooperatively for the good of the industry, which is ultimately to the good of consumers.
Todd Runestad, Senior Editor, Ingredients & Supplements, New Hope Network/Informa
Democrats seem to be pitching the most part of their political advertising on healthcare issues, specifically the Medicare-for-all concept. That does not seem to really have anything to do with the supplements market or better nutrition.
Part of the Farm Bill has the proviso to include specific multivitamin formulations as eligible for food stamps under the SNAP program. Another part of the Farm Bill will legislate the Hemp Farming Act. I don’t see how the election will change those two either way, frankly. Multis: no. Hemp: yes. Signed, the House Cynic.
For more on the subject:
https://www.newhope.com/news/multivitamins-cbd-chart-same-course-through-congress
Michele Simon, Executive Director, Plant Based Foods Association
Going into the midterm elections, the Plant Based Foods Association is concerned with FDA’s potential regulation of the term “milk” with regard to plant-based alternatives.
While grocery sales are generally flat, sales of plant-based foods have grown at double digits over the past year. American consumers are sophisticated and well informed. Consumers who purchase plant-based foods are keenly aware of why they are making these choices and do so for many reasons, including sustainability, health, allergies, variety and taste.
There is much discussion about the use of the word “milk” to identify plant-based alternatives. For our members, and as the data shows, for many consumers, the word describes the functionality of the product. Our research shows that 78% of cow’s-milk drinkers agree that the word “milk” is the most appropriate term for products such as soymilk and almondmilk.
Our use of the term is not meant to diminish the value of cow’s milk produced by dairy farmers, but rather to use terms that have been understood and accepted in the marketplace as the common and usual name for more than 30 years.
To help ensure a consistent approach among our members, last year, PBFA convened a Standards Committee to establish voluntary standards for the labeling of plant-based milks. We recently shared that finished document, along with the results of a consumer survey, with the FDA. The voluntary standard recommends that labels clearly identify the main ingredient as part of the word “milk” or be labeled as a “plant-based milk,” along with clear disclosure of the main ingredient. We also recommend that the principal display panel contain the words “dairy-free” or “non-dairy.”
Ultimately, the question is whether current regulatory definitions can keep up with innovation. We are living in a time of rapid innovation in food and America is leading the way. Consumers are entitled to the benefits of this innovative American spirit and the delicious new plant-based offerings in the marketplace, from both startups and established brands. We urge the FDA to adopt policies that encourage this innovation, not stifle it, and that will allow consumers to make informed choices. Plant-based food producers offer options that consumers want and recognize. If those foods are forced to be identified by obscure, contrived names that consumers are unfamiliar with, innovation will be stifled, and consumers will be deprived of the choices they deserve. The FDA has the unique opportunity to support this growing industry and the millions of American consumers who are voting with their dollars.
(Adapted from Oral Remarks by PBFA at an FDA hearing in July 2018)
Morris Beegle, Producer and Host, Let’s Talk Hemp
On the Colorado ballot in the midterm elections is Amendment X, meant to align Colorado’s definition of hemp to federal government definitions as the feds relax their own rules for growing hemp. The ballot question reads: “Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning changing the industrial hemp definition from a constitutional definition to a statutory definition?”
Regardless of whether Amendment X passes, in the end, this particular bill isn’t going to mean anything to where hemp stands federally or across the board in all states. It gives the state legislature the ability to update and modify the definition of industrial hemp to match the federal definition in terms of allowed percentages of THC. Currently, in Colorado, hemp is a cannabis plant with a THC level of no more than 0.3 percent. However, the U.S. Congress could take hemp off the Controlled Substances Act in this year’s pending Farm Bill and change its federal definition. If they do that and raise the allowed THC level higher than Colorado’s, it could put other states at a better advantage if Colorado’s definition remains the same because they could grow more without worrying about trying to keep the THC level as low.
Hence, the ballot measure asks voters to kick the current definition out of the state Constitution and give it to state lawmakers who could more quickly adjust it to react to federal changes. In Colorado, the only way to change the state Constitution is by asking voters to do so at the ballot box every four years. Amendment X gives us a tool to keep up with the federal definition, immediately allowing us to change our state definition to align with the feds. Otherwise, being stuck in the state constitution like it is, we couldn’t do anything until 2020.
A number of hemp industry leaders are saying they are voting yes on Amendment X. The upside is it would give us a tool to help strengthen the definition of hemp and not weaken it. However, there are others making valid arguments that it could risk constitutional protections for hemp. I see both sides, but in the end, it’s not going to matter because hemp products and hemp derived cannabinoid supplements are going to line the shelves of natural product stores across the country.
Bob Hoban, CEO, Hoban Law Group, a Hemp-centric Legal Firm
The intention when we wrote the language for Amendment X for Colorado state Senator Vicky Marble was if we want to change the level of THC allowed in industrial hemp, for example, from the currently allowed 0.3 percent to 1 percent, we would now be able to do it in the statute and not in the constitution. If the federal government and/or Kentucky changes the allowed level of THC to 1%, Colorado farmers would be hamstrung.
The industry spoke and it wanted to consider higher THC percentages allowance for hemp. We heard that and responded and this is the first step toward that. Amendment X is good policy because it enables the state of Colorado to remain competitive in an ever-changing industrial hemp industry that has quickly established a global presence. It allows Colorado to remain competitive as the hemp industry evolves.
NaturColor’s Innovative, Herbal-Based Hair Colors Featured on Worldwide Business with kathy ireland®
NAPA, CA (October 18, 2018) – From top supermodel to a global entrepreneur today with a $2.6-billion dollar brand, Kathy Ireland’s mission is to celebrate products that “make our world better,” she told Fast Company in September 2018. As part of this commitment to serving brands that are better for people and the planet, Worldwide Business with kathy ireland® is pleased to announce an exclusive interview with NaturColor Brand Ambassador Angela White to discuss safe, eco-friendly hair color gels.
NaturColor is an herbal-based permanent hair color gel that's designed to change or enhance one's existing hair color while blending in gray. It was formulated for those who are ecologically minded and may be coloring their hair for the first time. NaturColor can be used to complement natural hair color while covering gray. It can also be used to add subtle highlights or dramatically change existing hair color. NaturColor is intended for both men and women to discreetly color their hair at home. The product was created for the busy, value-conscious consumer or traveler, male or female, young or young at heart. A complete application takes less than one hour. NaturColor is headquartered in Napa, California.
White shares with Kathy Ireland in the interview segment that NaturColor has ingredients that make it better for our hair and the environment. She explains, "NaturColor uses plants and botanicals as the base, so we use every part of the plant -- the root, the stem, the leaf -- and we break that down and make extracts and oils to help moisturize the hair. It's a gentler coloring process."
Available in 31 blendable colors, NaturColor permanent hair color gels are handcrafted with the finest Italian pigments derived from botanicals. All NaturColor products are cruelty free and contain no ammonia, resorcinol or parabens. They can be used repeatedly without damaging the hair, unlike many commercial chemical hair colors.
JL Haber, Vice President of Programming for Worldwide Business with kathy ireland®, is happy to feature NaturColor. "It's so important for many people to look and feel their best every day. Sometimes, that includes coloring our hair. But so many hair color gels are bad for our hair or bad for the environment. Not NaturColor! This innovative product is easy to use, safe for our bodies and ecological. We're delighted to have NaturColor on our show,” he says.
Tune In on October 20 and 21
For more information about NaturColor's herbal-based hair colors, visit NaturColor.comand tune in to Fox Business Network as sponsored content on Sunday, October 21, 2018 at 5:00pm EST and Bloomberg International on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at 7:00pm GMT and Sunday, October 21, 2018 at 10:00am D.F. and 2:30pm HKT. Viewers can also watch the video clip here.
About Worldwide Business with kathy ireland®
Worldwide Business with kathy ireland® is a weekly half-hour show featuring global executives sharing their business insights and framing the opportunities shaping their industries. Hosted by a business mogul, Kathy Ireland interviews some of the brightest minds in business today. The show broadcasts on Fox Business Network as part of their sponsored content line up and globally on Bloomberg International. Worldwide Business with kathy ireland® extends beyond the weekly on-air program with digital content delivered on various video platforms and across social media. Visit www.tvwwb.com for detailed airing schedules or check local listings. For more up to date information visit Worldwide Business with Kathy Ireland® on Twitter and Facebook.
About NaturColor
NaturColor™ is a botanical-based permanent hair color gel designed to change or enhance one's existing hair color while blending in gray. This high-quality botanical product line represents a new generation of hair colorings, formulated for those who are ecologically minded. In addition, NaturColor offers shampoos, conditioners and other hair care products. NaturColor is a brand offering of Herbaceuticals International, based in Napa. CA. Visit www.NaturColor.com and follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
Contact
Eric Gustafson, NaturColor, eric@herbaceuticals.biz, 707.259.6266
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com, 303.807.1042
Twenty-five Years Later, Consumers Are “Grossed Out” by GMO Foods
Photo: Pexels
For Presence Marketing Newsletter, October 2018
By Steven Hoffman
After nearly 25 years since the introduction of genetically engineered foods into the American diet – and despite the fact that nearly half of all U.S. cropland is dedicated to GMO agriculture – consumers have largely remained skeptical, even to the point of being “grossed out” by the idea, says Sidney Scott, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Scott is lead author of a research paper titled “An Overview of Attitudes Toward Genetically Engineered Foods,” published in the August 2018 Annual Review of Nutrition.
“In some contexts, people view nature and naturalness as sacred and genetically engineered food as a violation of naturalness,” the authors wrote. What the research overview doesn’t address, however, is why some consumers seem to be fine with heavily processed foods — Hamburger Helper, frozen microwave dinners, or maple-flavored “pancake syrup” — but cannot abide genetically engineered foods such as weed-resistant soybeans, vitamin A-enriched rice, or fast-growing salmon, reports the University of Washington’s The Source. “Consumers seem to be saying it’s not OK to poke into the DNA. That’s yucky,” Scott said. “People are grossed out by that.”
According to the study’s authors, the U.S. tends to have a permissive approach to regulating genetically modified crops and “generally recognizes them as safe.” The European Union, on the other hand, is more restrictive, allowing only two genetically engineered crops to be grown commercially: potatoes and maize. A key aim of the research team’s work was to expose the gap between advocates of genetically engineered foods and opponents, writes Food Dive. “What we’re trying to figure out now is what will allow people to reach a better consensus," said Scott. "I don’t think it’s insurmountable.”