The Grazing Mind

As of late, our farmers across the country have been struggling to make ends meet, due to the sharp increase in what they pay for their input costs, including grain and fuel. We’ve been carefully reviewing what we pay our farmer partners in light of these mounting cost pressures as we want to ensure that they make a fair and competitive wage and are incentivized to produce the highest quality organic milk on the market.

At the same time, Horizon, like many other organic dairy brands, has seen a sharp increase in demand for our milk, resulting in reduced availability.  Because of this, you may have read or found that it’s harder to find organic milk on store shelves.  This increased demand resulted, in part, from shortages from other organic milk suppliers, as well as from last year’s unprecedented heat, humidity, rain and flooding, which negatively impacted the entire organic milk industry.

In light of these conditions, today we announced a short-term pay price increase and extension to all our Horizon farmers beginning Feb.1.

We believe this action will ensure the most sustainable livelihood possible for our organic dairy farmers and the overall organic dairy industry. As always, we’ll continue to monitor this situation and take additional action, if needed.

New Year’s resolutions have been a hot topic around the office these past few days. And not surprisingly, the most popular resolution revolves around the waistline. New year, new diet.

No doubt you’ve been hearing or saying the same thing so in keeping with that theme, here’s a healthy recipe courtesy of our friend Dr. Greene and our Horizon brand to help keep you (and us) on track. Enjoy.

Grilled Salmon Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Horizon Organic fat-free plain yogurt
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh mint, minced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons flax oil*
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1-1/4 lbs fresh boneless, skinless salmon
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 2 green onions, minced
• 3 tablespoons lowfat feta
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 egg white
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

*Find flax oil in the natural section of your grocery store.

 Directions:

To make the sauce, line a colander with a coffee filter, place over a bowl and strain the yogurt 30 minutes. Line a second colander with a coffee filter. Combine cucumbers and salt and strain for 30 minutes to remove moisture. Rinse cucumbers to remove much of salt and squeeze dry. Combine strained yogurt, cucumber, garlic, mint, flax oil and lemon juice in a small bowl and chill 30 minutes while you prepare the salmon burgers.

Cut salmon into 1-inch cubes. Place salmon, mustard and green onions in a food processor and pulse 4-6 times until salmon is minced to the consistency of ground beef. Put salmon in a bowl, add feta, breadcrumbs, oregano and egg white, and mix until well combined.

Form the salmon mixture into 4 burgers. Brush each with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat and oil the grill according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Cook burgers 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve with tzatziki sauce.

Nutrition Facts/serving (includes sauce):

Calories 345; Calories from Fat 150; Total Fat 17g; Saturated Fat 4g; Cholesterol 88g; Sodium 887mg; Total Carbohydrates 12g; Fiber 1g; Sugar 6g; Protein 35g; Vitamin A 9% DV; Vitamin C 9% DV; Calcium 22% DV; Iron 12% DV.

Omega-3s 3.813g [3813mg]

The National Organic Standards Board voted today to continue to allow plant-based DHA that is not hexane extracted to be used in the production of organic foods. We applaud this decision, as Horizon has used plant-based DHA in our Horizon Organic milk with DHA Omega-3 since 2007.

This is a clear victory for the millions of consumers who have purchased our DHA Omega-3 milk products over the past four years due to the added health benefits they are thought to deliver, including support for brain, heart and eye health at every stage of life.

As a result of this decision, consumers can continue to feel good about purchasing Horizon organic milk with DHA Omega-3 because it affirms that our plant-based DHA Omega-3 is a safe and effective non-synthetic additive, as well as non-GMO and extracted without the use of hexane. Unlike DHA from fish oil, it is also free from any possible ocean-borne contaminants, does not contribute to overfishing and is vegetarian.

Consumer demand for these products has helped us grow Horizon’s network of more than 600 family farmers. In fact, we’ve been able to double the number of family farmers we work with over the past five years.

This decision paves the way for the type of future innovation in organic dairy that will help grow the category. That’s good for the organic movement, good for people and good for the planet.

A classic dessert with a little holiday flavor…

A recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that not enough children and teens drink low-fat milk.  Instead, many are drinking 2 percent or whole milk regularly. However, recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, and the American Academy of Pediatrics state that all children aged two years and over should be drinking low-fat milk in order to avoid unnecessary fat and calories and to help prevent obesity.

Well guess what?  We’ve got a solution! To all the moms out there, packing school lunches and stocking cupboards and fridges nationwide: meet Horizon Organic’s lowfat milk boxes.  Not only are they convenient, but the delicious milk inside has changed from 2% to 1%, thereby reducing the amount of sugar, fat and calories in our plain, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla single serve milk boxes.

So lose the guilt and start handing these puppies out to the kids.  You can even sneak a few yourself guilt-free – the grown-ups around here have certainly been known to knock a few back ourselves…

There’s good news for organic consumers coming out of Ohio recently. The State of Ohio has agreed that it will no longer pursue enacting a rule that would have limited labeling on organic dairy products. Our hope is that this outcome sends a message to other states that might consider similar anti-consumer labeling restrictions.

The Ohio decision follows a federal appeals court decision a year ago which reversed an Ohio regulation that would have severely restricted the organic milk industry’s ability to make clear claims about the composition of its milk. Specifically, Ohio had attempted to prohibit organic dairy producers from informing consumers, through product labels, that organic dairy products are produced without antibiotics, pesticides or synthetic hormones.

Ohio has now agreed to abandon the rule, reinforcing the federal appeals court’s finding that the First Amendment allows organic dairy producers to proudly state that their products are produced without antibiotics, pesticides or synthetic hormones. The court ruled in response to an appeal by organic milk processors on behalf of the entire organic community.

This decision is a clear win for the organic movement, and for consumers who want and deserve to know what it is and isn’t in the products they are purchasing.

Horizon is proud to be a member of the Organic Trade Association (OTA) which led the three-year fight against Ohio’s proposed labeling restrictions. Horizon, along with several other organic dairy companies, collaborated with the OTA over the past year in negotiation efforts that led to this decision.

At WhiteWave, we strongly believe that consumers have a right to make informed purchasing decisions. This victory in Ohio will help ensure that consumers in Ohio can continue to look to labels to learn how their dairy products are produced.

This Friday, Horizon Organic celebrates its 20th anniversary. Why not wish them a happy 20th, and support one of our favorite partners, Farm Aid, at the same time?

We do! And thank goodness. Here’s what we know about it:

- The form of DHA in Horizon products has been used without any safety concerns in foods in Europe since 1993 and in foods in the U.S. since 2002.

- DHA is used in nearly 100 percent of infant formulas and in 500 food and supplement products around the world.

- Regulatory agencies worldwide, including the FDA, have extensively reviewed on numerous occasions the safety of the same DHA used in Horizon products and all agree with the conclusion that these ingredients are safe for use.

- Numerous health organizations worldwide, such as the World Health Organization and American Dietetic Association, have recommend that DHA be included in infant formula, while organizations like the European Food Safety Authority and March of Dimes have set recommended intake levels of DHA for pregnant women, children and adults.

- The DHA Horizon uses in its products has been evaluated for more than 15 years in over 100 pre-clinical studies, and in over 100 human clinical studies, 31 of which involved infants. These pre-clinical and clinical studies create an impressive database that establishes the safety of DHA.

- A large and growing body of evidence demonstrates that DHA Omega-3 is important for supporting brain, heart and eye health at every stage of life. In fact, Horizon organic milk with DHA is an excellent way for families to get much-needed DHA. Many Americans, especially children, don’t get enough DHA in their diets.

- The DHA used in Horizon products neither contains nor is made with hexane, a chemical solvent sometimes used to extract oils from their original source. Horizon’s DHA is a 100% vegetarian, sustainable source of DHA made from algal oil.

- Horizon products fortified with DHA are not made or processed with genetically-modified ingredients. The use of GMO ingredients is not permitted in organics.

- And we offer a choice. Consumers can purchase Horizon Organic Milk with Omega-3 DHA… or without. Both are clearly labeled.

We are proud to offer DHA in a number of our Horizon products. We agree with what the FDA, the World Health Organization, the American Dietetic Association and the growing body of scientific evidence says about DHA – it’s safe, it’s healthy, and it’s an important nutrient.

Last week, I had the opportunity to be part of a team representing WhiteWave in Baltimore at the Organic Summit and Natural Products Expo East, one of the largest trade shows for the natural and organic foods community.  Events like these are great opportunities to stay connected with Horizon’s roots as a pioneering organic brand, connect with others and see what’s new in the growing natural products industry.

One of the highlights of our time in Baltimore was hosting natural products retailers and brokers at our Horizon Organic dairy farm in nearby Kennedyville, Md.  Our farm team welcomed about a dozen guests for a pasture walk, a tour of the milking parlor, maternity barn and free-stall barn and – most important – an opportunity to meet the cows.

We’re celebrating Horizon’s 20^th anniversary this year, so it was a great time to be among fellow members of the organic movement.  With our organic heritage in mind, our WhiteWave Foods booth on the Expo East show floor took us back to our roots, since our brands got their start in natural foods stores and co-ops.  The booth is made of recycled shipping pallets and celebrates our Colorado home and the history of Horizon and Silk.

As part of our 20^th anniversary celebration, we released the first edition of a new Horizon Organic Stewardship resource, a six-page collection of facts and data on our company-owned farms, family farmer partners and processing plants.  Transparency is an important value for organic consumers, and this resource, which resides on our website and will be updated regularly, speaks to everyone’s growing desire to know where our food comes from.

Kelly Shea, WhiteWave’s vice president for organic stewardship and industry relations, did a great job participating in a panel discussion on “Engaging the Next Generation of Organic Farmers” at the Organic Summit, and blogged about it here.

More than 20,000 people attended Expo East this year, an increase from last year’s attendance – and a very positive sign of the continued growth potential and momentum of the organic movement.  I was proud to be there with our WhiteWave team and can’t wait for Expo West in Anaheim next March.