Registration is now open for the 40th annual Provender Alliance Educational Conference to be held October 5-7 in Hood River, OR. The Organic Trade Association and The Organic Center will be present at this event. 

Gwendolyn Wyard, OTA's Vice President of Regulatory and Technical Affairs, and Nate Lewis, OTA's Farm Policy Director, will be giving a presentation titled "Shedding Light on the Controversial Shopping Basket." This session will provide up-to-date and accurate information on controversial organic issues including where each issue is at in the regulatory process and how shoppers can weigh in and make their voices heard. Topics will include hydroponics, animal welfare, aquaculture, natural flavors and GMO labeling. 

Dr. Jessica Shade, Director of Science Programs for the The Organic Center, will give a presentation titled "The Science Behind Organic: Recent Studies in Organic Research." This workshop will help to bridge the gap between science and the public by covering studies published in the last two years about the human health and environmental benefits of organic agriculture. 

For more details about the conference and to register, visit the Provender Alliance website.

The Organic Trade Association will host a seminar on organic equivalency in Switzerland. The Organic Center's Director of Science Programs Dr. Jessica Shade will present on the latest organic science. Following the seminar, OTA will host an all-organic pavilion featuring six OTA member companies at Sial Paris. To learn more contact OTA's Director of International Trade Monique Marez. 

Food 2.0: Investing in the Next Wave of Natural & Organic will take place June 7-9, 2016 at the Millenium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. Food manufacturers, companies & entrepreneurs, food service providers, distributors, food hubs, the investment community, consultants, lawyers and others will meet to assess the natural & organic food landscape and prospects.

OTA's Senior Director of Regulatory and Technical Affairs Gwendolyn Wyard will give a presentation on navigating the certification process, and will also sit on a panel discussing GMOs. To connect with OTA at the event, contact Gwendolyn. 

The ShiftCon Conference will take place in New Orleans December 1-3, 2016. ShiftCon is the only social media conference focusing on food, wellness, health, and the environment. This conference blends workshops, networking, parties, and intense collaboration of changemakers all over in one place, with 500+ leading social media influencers attending.

OTA and The Organic Center will sponsor an Organic Track including two sessions focused on the health and environmental benefits of organic. The sessions will be moderated by OTA's CEO Laura Batcha and presenters will include Organic Center scientists Dr. Jessica Shade and Dr. Tracy Misiewicz, as well as Dr. Asa Bradman, a University of California Berkeley scientist and Organic Center board member. 

Friday, December 2

4:00 - 5:00 pm | Hot Science: How Organic Agriculture is Improving Our Environment
Organic isn’t just good for you, it’s good for the environment. This compelling and informative presentation addresses organic’s role in some of the most critical aspects of environmental science – soil health, water quality, biodiversity conservation, and climate change. Come learn how your food choices – and specifically choosing organic — can improve the world we live in.

Saturday, December 3

9:45 - 10:45 am | Hot Science: How Organic Supports A Healthy You 
Groundbreaking studies prove that choosing organic food for yourself and your family is good for everyone’s health on a number of levels. This panel presentation features top scientists in the field to highlight the most recent research supporting the health benefits of eating organic, including improved nutritional content, pesticide avoidance, and protection against antibiotic resistant bacteria. From our babies to our senior citizens, organic supports a healthy you, and this panel will prove it!

To connect with OTA at ShiftCon, contact our Director of Media Relations Maggie McNeil. To connect with the Organic Center at ShiftCon, contact the Center's Director of Science Programs Jessica Shade. 

OTA will sponsor an organic boot camp for journalists during the National Press Foundation's 4-day training on The Future of Food and Agriculture. On July 25, 2016, OTA will lead a tour of an organic farm, followed by a presentation on organic. Over four days, journalists will dive into a range of topics, taking them from the fields to the dinner table to a peek into the future of agriculture. 

The all-expenses-paid fellowship covers airfare, ground transportation, hotel costs and most meals. NPF offers this professional development opportunity for journalists to enhance skills, increase knowledge and recharge their reporting on one of today’s most critical issues. 

LEARN MORE

OTA CEO/Executive Director Laura Batcha will join U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree and a group of U.S. organic food producers and advocates on a trip to Cuba May 2-7. The group, including OTA Members from Honest Tea, Global Organics, and other companies, will spend five days on the island, meeting with Cuba’s agriculture minister, touring farms and restaurants, and talking about opportunities for both imports and exports between Cuba and North America. The trip is being sponsored by the Center for Democracy in the Americas, which favors normalizing relations with Cuba. Part of the mission is to establish connections between Cubans who have been successfully producing essentially organic food for the last 25 years and companies involved in the American organic movement. To learn more, see the Portland Press Herald's article announcing the trip.