Okay – only four sleeps left until Halloween 2007 blows into town. If you read Bev’s earlier post, your pantry may already be chock-a-block full of store-bought organic treats to give those hungry, menacing, night-prowling monsters. But if you’re like some of our readers and you’re not overly keen to hand out treats containing too much sugar – whether organic or not – you might want to consider some alternative Halloween approaches. Here’s a quick organic Halloween suggestion that is not only low in sugar but should keep most monster’s at bay – popcorn! Homemade organic popcorn – you can’t beat it. Popcorn’s fun, nutritious and it’s really easy to prepare. Simply start with some good quality organic yellow popcorn kernels...

It’s hardly surprising that a majority of organic producers in the United States favour group rather than individual certification. Group certification enables producers from the same industry or geographic regions to collectively market their products as organic under a single protocol. I’m not entirely convinced that Group Certification will attain the levels of credibility required by consumers in general or those focused on an international trade for organically certified goods and services. At the same time, Group Certification has some potential to assist developing nation participants. For those already receiving fair access to markets, the short-term advantages of Group Certification are unlikely to be sustained or translated...