There is a serious scientific study about luck that links it with connectivity.

People perceived as lucky tend to enjoy a higher than average number of social connections. The more people you meet, the more opportunities open out.

Susie Willis, mother of three and founder of the posh organic baby food maker Plum Baby, feels very lucky, she admits. She is also remarkably well connected.

Plum, by selling a range of recipes comprising some startlingly exotic ingredients to big supermarkets such as Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda, has broken into a market that has largely been a triopoly divided among Heinz, Cow & Gate and the organic firm Hipp.

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WALK down the shopping aisle of any large food chain and you'll notice an explosion in the number of organic products for sale.

You will also notice the large price tags that accompany them – up to three times conventional counterparts.

With conventionally grown food prices going up, can the organic community justify their costs or do we have to give up our daily flat white to afford this produce?

Those who have adopted the organic way of eating believe the benefits it brings to their health and the environment are worth the cost. But does this benefit really exist or are we merely the victims of trendiness?

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Shoppers who have previously been willing to pay up to 50 per cent more for organic meat, or fair trade coffee, could soon ignore ethical concerns in favour of keeping their shopping bills down.

The prediction comes from the influential forecasting group, the Ernst & Young ITEM club, which warns food inflation – running at 6.6 per cent, according to Government data – could get worse.

Joel Segal, the head of consumer products at the accountancy firm, said: "We are in a perfect economic storm and we are still seeing plenty of dark clouds ahead.

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Like many people, I’ve become more conscious lately of the fact that the choices we make as consumers have an impact on the environment. That’s why I look forward to summer in Maine for the chance to buy fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. 

There’s really nothing quite like the taste of a ripe, local tomato, nothing as sweet as a strawberry picked by hand from one of the farms around southern Maine. Not only do these local treats seem more succulent, but also buying local produce is good for the souls of those of us who are conscious of the need to reduce our carbon footprints and to stop taking so much from the environment. That’s because buying local doesn’t just help the local economy, it also reduces the need to ship food thousands of mile from California in gas-guzzling refrigerator trucks or airplanes.

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It is a trend that washes out decades of careful nappy marketing: more babies now wear re-usable nappies than at any time since the 1970s.

Technological breakthroughs have allowed moisture to be locked away for up to twelve hours. Despite it all, legions of mothers are returning to the bulky safety-pinned terries that their mothers and grandmothers swore by in a less extravagant age.

In the topsy-turvy world now described by “green” parenting groups, there are even claims that mothers are becoming “too posh for Pampers”.

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Ten years ago Anni Brownjohn spotted a jar of American organic jam in a Coles supermarket. She was incensed. "I call it a light-bulb moment," she says. "First, because it was imported and, second, because my family had always eaten organic and I thought, 'Why don't more people' and 'Why do we bring it in from overseas?"'

It spurred her to begin an organic food and sauces business, although she would never have started had she known the difficulties ahead.

"It was really hard to get ingredients, prices were fairly high, we spent a lot of time teaching consumers," she says.

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Should you eat organic? This being Earth Day and all, I'd love to answer that million-dollar question with a few irrefutable facts (for one side or the other), leaving everyone feeling satisfied that the choice (one way or another) is easy. But the reality is that this simple question has a very, very complex answer.

Taken at face value, the answer is a simple one: For both environmental and health reasons, you should probably eat organic whenever possible. By choosing organic foods, you reduce your intake of pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals (whether as part of the growing process for fruits and vegetables, or as part of the feed for animal-based foods), and you also reduce their use in farming, which in turn helps the environment.

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When Kansas State University graduate student Ben Wileman was a practicing veterinarian in Belle Fourche, S.D., natural and organic labels were a big focus for the beef producers he saw.

They tended to be terms that were thrown around a lot, but few people really seemed to know what they truly meant," Wileman said.

The definition of "organic" is defined by U.S. Department of Agriculture; "natural," however, can be defined differently depending on who's doing the labeling. But both terms mean one thing: higher costs for producers. That's why Wileman hopes that his research will be another tool to help those in the beef industry pondering whether to abandon conventional methods and go natural or organic.

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OTTAWA — Canada’s decision to label as toxic a chemical that is used to make a popular form of plastic has created headaches for some makers of baby bottles, sports water bottles and other food and beverage containers.

But it may prove to be a bonanza for companies like Eastman Chemical, which makes a comparable plastic without the offending ingredient, as well as for makers of glass and food-grade stainless steel.

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All baby bottles containing the controversial chemical bisphenol A will be pulled of Toys "R" Us shelves by the end of the year, the retailer said Monday.

The company's move to phase out products with the chemical follows Friday's federal government announcement that Canada will ban the import and sale of polycarbonate baby bottles containing bisphenol A (BPA). If the ban proceeds, Canada will be the first country in the world to limit BPA.

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Dear EarthTalk: I heard a reference to "Earth-friendly chocolate" and was wondering about what goes into chocolate that would raise environmental concerns.

- Ben Moran, Providence, R.I.

Like coffee beans, the cacao seeds from which we derive chocolate can only be grown successfully in equatorial regions - right where the world's few remaining tropical rainforests thrive. Worldwide demand for chocolate leads to temptation among growers to clear more and more rainforest to accommodate high-yield monocultural (single-crop) cacao-tree plantations.

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Fraud in organic farming may become an increasing concern as the sector experiences rapid year-on-year growth, leading scientists to develop ways to test whether synthetic fertilizers were used.

It is true that organic food and products sometimes cost more than conventional foods. And while we might instinctively feel that they're worth it, is there proof to support the investment?

The answer is a resounding, "Yes!"

In 2000, the Australian Bureau of Statistics noted that Australians spend twice as much of their money on junk and fast food than they do on fruit and vegetables.

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Woolworths Holdings (WHL) said that it will continue to expand its organic food range, aiming to increase organic food sales by more than one billion rand by 2012.

Woolworths is one of the country’s largest retailers of fresh produce, currently supplying about a third of the fresh produce consumed through South African retailers, it said, adding that it was also a well-established leader in certified organic fresh produce. 

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There is little doubt organics are no longer a hippie thing - they've gone mainstream. My mother-in-law now buys organic carrots. Wow. On a recent trip to California, I was amazed to find entire grocery markets dedicated to organic produce - from crackers to celery to cleaning products. The selection was incredible. In Quebec, we don't seem to have embraced organics to quite the same degree, but the growing organic section in my local Loblaws tells me more and more people must be making it a priority.

But what's up with organic wine?

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The biggest study into organic food has found it is more nutritious than ordinary produce and may lengthen people's lives.

The study, which is peer reviewed and will be published over the next 12 months, is a $27 million four-year European Union-funded project that is likely to end years of debate over whether organic food is more nutritious than other food.

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A new study brings to light a potentially dangerous link between chemicals used in ordinary products, such as baby shampoos and lotions, to reproductive problems in children. The chemicals, called phthalates, have been under attack by some environmental advocacy groups, according to a Feb. 4, 2008 AP News article, although experts are uncertain what dangers they might pose.

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The report, titled 'An investigation of consumer motivations towards organic food purchases in Australia', lists health consciousness, environmental concerns, knowledge of organic products, availability, convenience and price as all factors that can affect consumer choice.

Dr Angela Paladino from the University of Melbourne's Department of Management and Marketing, prepared the report with honors student Samantha Smith. Dr Paladino says the report highlights just how many factors are considered by shoppers when purchasing organic food. "While many respondents indicated they had a positive attitude towards purchase organic products, they were sometimes unwilling or unable to purchase in accordance with their attitudes.

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Organic food is popping up everywhere these days, including the once-inhospitable shelves of chain supermarkets. Organic Rice Krispies and Organic Frosted Flakes now compete for prime retail space with their pre-organic cousins. Organic Oreos are due out soon, signaling agribusiness' final capitulation to the organic onslaught. Consumer Reports tells us that nearly two-thirds of Americans bought organic foods and drinks in 2005. Organic foods sales have been expanding at a rate of five to 21 percent per year since 1997,compared with two to four percent for the overall food industry. Meanwhile, the price of Whole Foods Market stock has shot up like Jack's beanstalk. Since organic represents only 2.5 percent of the total food market, there's plenty of room to grow. And big business is hungry for the profits.

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Children’s clothing labels have finally seen the green light and are putting the fun into eco wear. Lucy Siegle reports.

Babies have it all, don’t they - lying around in the warm, smiling at shapes... They also have hundreds of ethical babygro options. Like organic baby food, organic-cotton baby clothes are beginning to dominate the market.

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Welcome aboard the eco-friendly hotel of the future - a blimp-style airship that can complete a luxury 'world cruise' in just three days.

These are the first pictures of the giant white 'Manned Cloud' hotel, which will take 40 passengers, looked after by 15 staff, to the world's most exotic destinations.Equipped with a restaurant, a library, a lounge and a gym on the first deck, the hotel has a cruising speed of 81mph but can hit a top speed of 105mph.

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GIRARDOT, COLOMBIA

— Forget steel and concrete. The building material of choice for the 21st century might just be bamboo.

This hollow-stemmed grass isn't just for flimsy tropical huts any more — it's getting outsized attention in the world of serious architecture. From Hawaii to Vietnam, it's used to build everything from luxury homes and holiday resorts to churches and bridges.

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Heralded for its beauty properties since Egyptian times, Donkey milk is experiencing a revival as it features in a new Swiss skin care line for babies and women.

With organic foods raking in $16 billion and more annually, some are concerned that Department of Agriculture standards and independent third-party verification may be insufficient to prevent fraud.

Science to the rescue.

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Surprise -- your potatoes are better traveled than you are. American food travels an average of 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to table, reports the Worldwatch Institute.

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Are birth control pills bad for the environment?

Since 2003, as the Chicago Tribune reports, scientists have raised concerns about the flow of synthetic estrogen and other hormones into water, as they are flushed (whole, or after running though the body) down the toilet. There, the hormones may be having enough of an effect that fish that would have been born male are born female, or at least reducing the ability of populations of fish to reproduce.

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Safety standards in China's food industry were called into question again today with reports that dozens of people in Japan had become ill after eating imported dumplings containing insecticide.

About 80 people are reported to have fallen ill over the past two days after eating the frozen dumplings, made by Tianyang Food Processing in Hebei province. They include a five-year-old girl who fell into a coma, but later regained consciousness.

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Commercial pipfruit growers are flocking to join a $2.7 million residue-free programme, while more growers are opting for organic production.

Pipfruit New Zealand chairman Peter Beaven said 10 per cent of apple and pear production was either organic, or under conversion, and he expected that to increase.

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A few months ago, I wrote about child labour, exploitation and cotton production in the fashion industry. I got a tremendous response from people who wanted more information about what they could do to avoid buying clothes not only with a carbon footprint, as is so focused on by the media, but a legacy of suffering, too.

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The first thing you notice in Dave DeSantis's garage is a red Volkswagen Jetta with letters on the back that say: "This car runs on recycled vegetable oil." If you walk around the back of his house, you'll see the south-facing roof covered in 72 solar panels that collect energy from the sun and convert it into power: His electric bill, which was running about $300 a month, has been all but eliminated. In fact, in the summer the panels produce more electricity than his household uses, so he gets a surplus balance to use during the winter.

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In Europe, organic foods are a victim of their own success, with production no longer able to keep up with demand, while purists claim that the initial ideals of clean, natural and healthy produce have been sacrificed for profit.

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Pampering" is a delicious part of the indulgent world of spas. But today's top term in spa-talk is "wellness."

The function of a spa has evolved from simply pleasure to purpose, says Mary Blackmon, founder and CEO of spa-addicts.com, a website that lists 400 urban and destination spas in North America.

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Sales of organic and free range chickens have soared following a controversial Jamie Oliver television programme which showed disturbing scenes of chickens being slaughtered using battery-farming methods.

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Cocoa, economic development and social and environmental sustainability? If we didn't know better, we would have thought Cadbury's had gone Fairtrade on its 100-year anniversary of buying cocoa from Ghana. While this unfortunately isn't the case, Cadbury's announcement this morning of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership does sound like a step in the right direction for mainstream chocolate bars, big business and especially cocoa farmers.

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Now you've abandoned your unworkable post-Christmas diet, it's the perfect time for a proper, measured detox, says the lifestyle consultant Linzi Boyd

Look Before You Leap Don't detox on a whim. Keep an honest food diary for two weeks beforehand. This is a great way of taking stock of what you eat and how you feel afterwards - tired, bloated, still hungry or craving sugar half an hour later. That festive binge a few weeks ago wasn't representative of your usual diet, so wait for things to normalise before you start making changes

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The organic export market is set to become more competitive, with China now a dominant force.

Australian National University research scientist, John Paull, says the cost of organic produce is likely to reduce significantly.

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The green revolution may still be in its infancy, but it's reaching the brewing world big time. Almost every brewer is interested in organic beer, and quite a few have made beers using mostly organic ingredients.

The problem is that obtaining legitimate organic certification from one of the reputable nonprofit groups, such as Santa Cruz-based California Certified Organic Farmers or Oregon Tilth, is time-consuming and difficult

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Sipping organic beers seemed like a dream come true. I got to be a beer drinker and a do-gooder at one sitting. The reality of the organic-beer scene turned out to be slightly more complicated.

It is true that organic beers are marginally "greener" than their nonorganic kin.

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Are you a Loafer? LOAF - Local, Organic, Animal-friendly, Fairly traded - is tipped to be next year's acronym for conscientious shoppers.

Coined some years ago by Britain's Christian Ecology movement as a tick-box when buying food, it fits today's zeitgeist perfectly and has become a hot blog topic in the US ("Are you LOAFing this Thanksgiving?").

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If you’re one of those last minute shoppers, you might be spending the next few days out looking for holiday gifts. Just about anyone would be grateful for good old-fashioned skin care products but, this year, opt for natural skin care that will really make a difference. In fact, you can even make them yourself with one ingredient you’re sure to have around – cranberries. Here are a few ideas you can cook up in your kitchen.

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ACID house has thrown City Life some cultural curveballs over the years but none are as charming as a project by Sale mother of two Naomi Timperley taking place at Pure nightclub in the Printworks on Sunday - a club 'night' aimed at children from six months up to seven years called Baby Loves Disco.

It's the chance for parents to get out and bring their kids into a whole new environment of play within the near luxurious surroundings of the city's enormous Pure nightclub.

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TERESON DUPUY thinks reusable diapers are having their back-to-the-future moment.

Sure, she knows that lots of parents (indeed, most of them) would rather toss dirty nappies than wash them. But she says that the convergence of four disparate elements — Internet chat rooms for new mothers, easy ways to sell on the Web, the green movement and the development of better polyesters — is spurring many parents to rethink their attachment to disposables.

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This is a tale of two pigs. The first – let’s call him Soren – is reared in Denmark. For the first few months of his life, he lives a cramped existence in a barn. This pink, flabby creature is castrated so that his meat won’t taste too strong. When at last he is allowed outside, his only freedom is a small concrete run. At a young age, he is killed and turned into bacon, using potassium nitrate and sodium nitrite. When you put slices of him in a pan, white watery liquid runs out.

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They might be juicy, sweet and relatively cheap, but almost all store-bought strawberries contain pesticide residues, some from several different chemicals, tests show.

Consumer organisation Choice is calling for stricter fruit testing and warning shoppers to opt for organic berries in view of new results showing widespread and varying pesticide levels.

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By the time you bathe your kids, wash and condition their hair, brush their teeth, rub in moisturiser on their skin, you have exposed your child to thousands of synthetic ingredients that could be causing them harm

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One New Zealand supermarket is already swinging away from battery eggs and others say they will follow if customers demand it but there may not be enough free-range or organic eggs available.

Five huge UK supermarket chains last week promised to ban or phase out battery eggs. Two more are reducing the shelf space given to the cheaper, less ethically produced eggs and are under pressure to ban them. The turnaround is due to a massive consumer backlash sparked by a campaign by superstar chef Jamie Oliver.

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OUT with the old, in with the new. Click here to find out how to give your make-up and cosmetics bag a healthy overhaul.

TODAY’S revelation that some of the biggest players in the private power generation sector may be behind a $500 million gas-fired power station for Tamworth has to be seen as good news.

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BABIES might be little bundles of joy but they are anything but innocent when it comes to their impact on the world's environment.

There's all that packaging from gifts and toys, all those fabrics from clothes and bedding and all that water from bathing and washing to think about.

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Controversial British food critic A.A. Gill says in his latest book, Table Talk, that although he applauds and supports the aims of environmentally careful producers he thinks organic has been polluted with cynicism, sentiment, sloppy practice and lies to the point that it's intellectually and practically bankrupt.

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Organic beauty is going through a boom but, as Liz Hancock discovers, it's nothing new. Sixty years ago the pioneers of the movement were already teaching our grandmothers all about looking beautiful naturally.

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The debate over genetically modified foods - hotting up in Victoria ahead of the State Government's review of the ban on GM canola crops - is as complicated as it is important.

Important, because once the door is opened to genetically modified crops, it may not be possible to close it again: once GM organisms are released into the environment, their control cannot be guaranteed. Whether you think that's a good or bad thing depends on your point of view.

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Yummy fast food without the guilt. It’s a concept that may propel a new London eatery into the ozone.

The O zone Organics restaurant opened this summer at Hyde Park and Fanshawe Park Roads, serving up healthier versions of fast-food favourites such as burgers, hot dogs and French fries.

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Reducing our carbon footprint in the kitchen is the aim of Australia’s first carbon-neutral cooking class at the Peaceful Gardens Cooking School in Koonwarra, a tiny organic food hub in South Gippsland.

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Cattle farmers have set up WA’s first organic beef co-operative to tap into growing demand from health-conscious consumers.

While conventional beef producers contend with their lowest prices in years, organic farmers in the cooperative are commanding prices that are about 20 per cent higher.

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Organic growers will be forced to be accredited to sell their produce under a national standard being developed to stamp out rogue traders and boost consumer confidence in the industry.

A Standards Australia technical committee working on a national standard and enforcement framework for organic and biodynamic goods looks set to force mandatory certification for producers.

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A group of outback women say they are confident a 10-day trade mission to Asia will result in more sales of organic beef from Queensland's Channel Country.

Eight women from the OBE beef company have just returned from visiting customers in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Georgie Fraser, 17, from Thargomindah, says the visit helped to promote the clean and green image of Australia's organic beef industry.

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Minimise your pet's carbon pawprint with some know-how, writes Lucy Treloar.

Four-month-old Hebe is lying on a cushion in the sun. Her paw flies up to catch a twist of paper dangling on a length of string above her. This homemade kitten toy is one way that owner Sarah Teasdale's family minimises the environmental impact of its new member. "I don't want to use up valuable resources," says Teasdale.

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THERE was a time, not so long ago, when the children at Barnier Public School would have said the supermarket was the place where fruit and vegetables come from.

But now they are in no doubt about what it takes to grow them from scratch.

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Rachel Pelkey has seen it many times before. Working behind the counter at Grille Zone in Boston, she'll watch diners finish their meal, gather their rubbish, march it to the front of the restaurant, and then look confused.

"The biggest question I get is 'Where's the garbage?' " she says with the kind of grin a mother gives her questioning child. "I explain that we don't have a garbage can, only compost and recycling."That often sparks a chain of follow-up questions: Why only compost? What do you mean it's a near zero-waste restaurant? Everything is biodegradable? Even the plates and knives?

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Looking good can come at an environmental cost. Science graduate and former model Tanya Ha lifts the lid on the beauty business.

Humans generally care about how they look and smell. The condition of our skin and hair are central to our appearance. Everyone wants to be as beautiful or as handsome as possible, hence the long history of cosmetics, dating back to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.

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Armidale in NSW will be host to the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) Road Show on November 30. Organisers say the event will be of particular interest to food producers, processors and retailers in the area. Part of its focus will be the renewed concentration on research and development that growth in the organics industry has allowed.

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Infants certainly outgrow clothes before they wear them out. Clothing of cotton, especially organic cotton, is for babies, said green-living expert Trish Riley. 

But from an environmental perspective, it may be better to buy secondhand items made from conventionally grown cotton. Colorado eco-mom Jenny McGruther said she prefers buying used items over organic new ones. "Whatever pesticides were there have been completely washed out, and the carbon load has already been calculated," said McGruther, who said she spent $1 or $2 per item of gently used secondhand clothes, compared with a new organic onesie or T-shirt for $10, $20 or even $30.

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Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound containing two phenol functional groups, belonging to the phenol class of aromatic organic compounds. It is widely prepared and sold, and various important polymers/plastics are made from it.

Bill Walker represents the "Environmental Working Group," which conducted the study. "It's a neurotoxin, meaning it can damage the developing brain, which scientists are still doing a lot of research about. The research does indicate that there are concerns with it," says Walker.

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A £12m EU-funded investigation into the difference between organic and ordinary farming has shown that organic foods have far more nutritional value.

Up to 40 per cent more antioxidants, which scientists believe can cut the risk of heart disease and cancer, could be found in organic fruit and vegetables than in those conventionally farmed.

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Once foods were natural, with no additives and no packaging, and mothers had time to prepare fresh meals for the family. Today's children's food market is saturated with convenience foods. Now a small but growing number of mums is putting the goodness back into children's food - while making a crust.

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One way to ensure a good supply of plants is to save seed from your own garden.

A primary aim of the organic gardener should be to become less dependent on outside sources (by making your own compost and raising your own plants, for example). So passing over seed catalogues and the luxury of their foil-packed products in favour of "home-grown'' is a move in the right direction.

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The bamboo boom is a green tidal wave.

Bamboo can be found in everything from wood floors to baby soft fabrics. Marketed as beneficial to the environment, it is a renewable resource. Bamboo is a a woody grass, not a tree. As one of the fastest growing plants in nature, bamboo easily replenishes itself. In China, bamboo can grow 24 inches in a day. Mature plants are harvested for such versatile uses such as flooring, furniture, doors, construction materials, clothing, bedding and towels.

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New Eco Home Makes Good Business Sense.

New Zealand’s first purpose-built green office building, on Queens Wharf in Wellington, will be officially opened on 24 October.

The new ‘smart building’, with a five-star rating from the New Zealand Green Building Council, has been designed to operate in an environmentally sustainable way for its tenant Meridian Energy. But the concept behind the building also makes compelling business sense. 

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As the attempt to make everything eco-friendly sweeps the country, knitters too are finding green options. They're hungry to try new yarns, and the industry is responding with more natural fibers.

Specialty magazines such as Interweave Knits and knit.1 have devoted space to the topic this year. "The main motivation was really pretty simple — it was about time for somebody to really examine what organic means," says Interweave Knits editor Eunny Jang.

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For a guy born, as CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips puts it, with a drawer full of silver spoons in his mouth, Prince Charles often doesn't get much of a break.

But, says Phillips, his romantic history aside, the prince is now being credited with being well ahead of the curve on some of the more popular causes of our time -- environmental protection, and organic farming and gardening.

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IF A building can clean its own air, save its own water, and produce its own energy, it becomes part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Imagine the enormous environment and economic benefits if every building could do this. And they can, if they’re designed for it. 

How do buildings imitate nature? They take in water, use it and eliminate it, like all plants and animals. In urban areas, a city usually provides the supply and manages the wastewater, so most buildings are not exactly self-sufficient. Some high-rise buildings capture, recycle and reuse their wastewater. That’s what wetlands do. Green roofs capture and purify storm water, and plants clean the air and provide habitat. Buildings with solar skins use the sun’s energy as a power source, just like butterflies, flowers, and wheat. 

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An island in Vanuatu is hosting the South Pacific's first international barista competition, writes Leanne Tolra.

THE weather-beaten four-wheel-drive lurches and jolts along the rugged dirt road through lush, verdant vegetation; past dozens of grass-hut villages and an endless parade of smiling, waving children.

We're on our way to the Tanna Coffee plantation, on Tanna Island in Vanuatu. It's been touted as one of purest coffees in the world: organic, disease-resistant and grown in the dark, rich, volcanic soils of this untamed paradise.

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Greener buildings can slow down global warming. 

BETTER architecture and energy savings in buildings can do more to fight global warming than all curbs on greenhouse gases agreed under the United Nations’ Kyoto Protocol, a UN study shows. 

Better use of concrete, metals and timber in construction and less use of energy for everything from air conditioners to lighting in homes and offices could save billions of dollars in a sector accounting for 30% to 40% of world energy use. 

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What does organic gardening mean? It's not a weird or alternative form of gardening - the term has been around for quite a few years now. Even the garden tabloids put out by the Extension Service have always had a section on it.

In a nutshell, it's just good gardening - without the use of chemicals. It's how we all gardened before getting sold on unnatural products that promised better yields with less pest damage, but quickly turned out to create some horrific and long-lasting health and ecological disasters.

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A love affair with cosmetics is putting women at risk of chronic health problems, with toxic chemicals packed into beauty products that are largely unchecked by regulators, a leading Australian expert claims.

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As supermarkets enter the fray, the battle for the organic dollar is hotting up. But do organics really have an edge?

STEVE SKOPILIANOS scans a sea of lettuce, the symmetrical waves of growth stretching half a kilometre to the banks of the Maribyrnong River. He reels off their varieties with the pride of an old-style farmer with soil in his veins.

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When you pay more for organic food, are you getting what you pay for? Not necessarily.

Organic food is produce that has been grown, or animal flesh that has been farmed, without the use of chemicals, pesticides or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It has benefits: it cuts down the chemical load that we take in and reaches us in a natural state with its nutrient content intact.

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Australian food and beverage producers are being encouraged to join an “invasion” of the United States in a drive to get aboard the world’s biggest food marketplace.

Austrade’s Washington-based food and beverage specialist, Peter Brennan, is at this week’s Fine Foods Australia event in Sydney to seek out businesses interested in exhibiting at major US trade shows.

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Expectant mothers should be aware of and take into account active ingredients contained in their everyday skincare and cosmetics products for use during pregnancy, according to recent reports. 

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It's perfectly natural for new homeowners to mark their territory with a fresh lick of paint. Britons spend £144 million a year on it, according to The Ecologist magazine.

Yet few pause to consider the ingredients that make up the average tin of paint. They include a potent cocktail of solvents and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - which have prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to rank paint as one of its top five environmental hazards - and are said to be the cause of sick-building syndrome.

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A growing band of supermums is combining business nous with food, children and health.

ONCE, foods were natural with no additives and no packaging and mothers had the time to prepare meals for the family. But today's children's food market is saturated with convenience products.

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American pram manufacturer Orbit Baby is set to launch an eco-friendly edition of its Bassinet Pram this autumn.

The fabric will be made from natural fibres, free from chemical treatments and lined with an organic cotton interior and wool exterior.

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The Natural Baby Expo is a successful expo that connects products and services with parents and children across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.Brisbane show on 15th and 16th September at the RNA showgrounds.

Call it another nail in the coffin of conventional cleaning products: A new study has found that literally dozens of popular household cleaners contain undisclosed toxins that have been linked to asthma, fertility and other problems. The research points out something most consumers still don’t realize. Namely, that the household products they think are safe really aren’t.

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A United States study comparing organically-grown tomatoes with conventionally-grown tomatoes has found significant health benefits in the organic produce.

The 10-year study, published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, showed flavonoid levels were up to 97 per cent higher when tomatoes were grown in organic soils and fertiliser applications were reduced. 

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China's first 'eco city', at Dongtan, is due to commence construction in early 2008. There are also plans for four other new green towns, according to engineering firm Arup, who are overseeing the developments.

At Dongtan, to be built on an island outside Shanghai, all energy will be renewable, no conventionally fuelled cars will be permitted and farms will grow organic vegetables for local consumption.

The first wave of residents and staff for a sustainable development institute should be able to move into the project by the end of the decade.

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Pauline Amell-Nash worried that the pesticides and additives used to grow and preserve food were bad for her 1-year-old daughter Sophia, not to mention the earth itself.

That's why the puréed carrots, sweet potatoes and fruits Sophia ate were purchased from makers of organic baby food.

"She is so small I just thought that the more pure, honest things she ate would be better for her," the California mother said.