Midwest Conference Menu Highlights “Organics”
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February 26, 2009
La Crosse, WI – The nation's largest organic farming conference gets underway tonight in La Crosse. Organic foods will be on the front burner at the 20th annual Midwest event, and organizer Eric Hatling with the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) says interest in foods grown without synthetic chemicals is heating up among both growers and shoppers.
"For farmers, they're getting good prices for their certified-organic products. Consumers want to know more about where their food comes from and how it's produced."
Attendance is expected to top 3,000 at the gathering, which brings together producers, consumers and environmentalists to share growing and marketing tips.
Hatling says perceptions and preferences about the food Americans eat are changing. For one thing, buyers don't want food raised with synthetic chemicals such as pesticides, drugs or hormones.
"And people are more concerned about how far their food has to travel to get to them, for many reasons – freshness being one of them. Also, buying things locally supports their local economies. And how the food is produced is very important."
While organics don't dominate food marketing, organic sales are growing by double-digits yearly, Hatling says, and shoppers often are willing to pay a bit more for organic products. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa are among the top states in organic production, he adds.
The conference begins this evening with workshops and runs through Saturday at the La Crosse Center. More information is available at www.mosesorganic.org.