The term "ecolabeling" is derived from the science of ecology which deals with interrelationships among organisms and between organisms and their environment. Although organically grown and other ecolabels account for probably less than 1% of the total market, these labels and related issues are important because in "capturing the interface of environmental and trade issues", they may forecast farming and market trends.

"Certified organic" has become the most widely known USDA-defined ecolabel, including clearly defined soil and crop management programs, especially the avoidance of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, sewage sludge or biosolids genetically-engineered organisms and ionizing radiation. However, the organic farming movement has generated a broader emphasis on sustainable food production systems, healthful food, environmental and social justice issues, described as the "Greening of the Food Market". The term "greening", used by political parties, national government programs around the world and environmental activists emphasizes sustainability, ecology, grassroots democracy, community-based economics and social justice, among other issues. And while organic growers want to preserve their market niche, they generally support ecolabeling but are concerned that consumers don’t become saturated and confused by too many different causes, messages, and claims. Another important difference is that organic farming is more farming-system focused whereas ecolabeling is more of a consumer-oriented, market-driven concept. For example, the specific crop production farm or site is important in ecolabeling because "place links label principles and standards with specific crop production fields and establishes a basis for accountability." This means that produce should be traceable back to the field in which it was grown. Developing technology called "active smart labels" may also allow shoppers to point a hand-held computer, like a palm pilot, at a container of orange juice or a can of tomatoes and determine exactly where that item was grown and by whom.

The large number of existing ecolabels do not currently have a single, comprehensive standard comparable to the USDA organic standards. However efforts are underway, similar to the USDA organic standards, to develop procedures for initial and continuing certification, continued compliance, and due process for lack of compliance. And some ecolabels already have clearly defined standards that focus on reduced pesticide and fertilizer use, IPM and other sustainable practices. Since ecolabels don’t generally prohibit pesticide use or require a minimum pesticide residue standards (5% of allowable EPA standards, under USDA National Organic Standards), there is no transition period after initial certification by some ecolabel programs. In contrast, there is a 3-year transition period from conventional to certified organic production. Ecolabels do, however, offer conventional growers, who support sustainable environmental and social justice issues, an option to demonstrate their stewardship with fewer barriers to adoption. The Consumers Union has also created a searchable website ( http://www.ecolabels.org ) about specific ecolabels currently found on food, wood, personal hygiene, and household cleaning products.

Some examples of ecolabels that may be relevant to Florida growers are "Protected Harvest," supported by the World Wildlife Fund, the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association. This group markets "Healthy Grown" potatoes produced under a BIO-IPM management system that measures and restricts pesticide use. The Food Alliance, based in Oregon and Minnesota, already certifies an ornamental and citrus grower in southern Florida and promotes sustainable agriculture practices through market-based incentives, develops promotional strategies, and establishes and maintains third-party-verifiable standards for producers and processors. Another proposed ecolabel, "Food Miles" takes into account food miles (the distance food travels from where it is grown to where it is distributed, purchased, and consumed and the amount of food product transported) to provide consumers with a relative indicator about the transport-related environmental impact of their purchases. Sustainable seafood ecolabels like Seafood Watch and the Marine Stewardship Council promotes environmentally responsible fishery and aquaculture operations through ecolabeling and directed marketing campaigns and evaluates the status of the fish stocks, the impact fisheries on ecosystems and the effectiveness of the fisheries management system. "Grown and Picked in the USA by Workers Paid a Living Wage", based in Immokalee, Florida, addresses "social and economic challenges faced by growers and seasonal workers with the goal of empowering both as a force for change and improvement. Using an entrepreneurial approach "Harvest for Humanity" (http://www.aboutharvest.org/ ) works to ensure financially secure, year-round workers "through the implementation of an living wage concept and to increase the value of farm products through a cause-related label that incorporates key sustainability issues, including safely grown, local origin, and social justice." The North Florida Food Partnership, currently being developed by Quality Certification Services, a Florida organic certifying agency, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and local growers will include both certified organic and other growers and will soon have a website.

Implications for Florida growers? Operations that sell less than $5,000 a year in organic agricultural products are exempted from certification but they must operate in compliance with these regulations and may label products as organic, according to published regulations. Such farmers and also those within the three-year transition process from conventional to organic farming could market crops under some ecolabels. Conventional farmers who are already committed to sustainable practices but who do not want to become organically certified might also market crops under ecolabels that are less restrictive than organic ones. Innovative partnering already existing in other states like Wisconsin between the USDA, the World Wildlife Fund, fruit and vegetable growers associations and land grant universities could also be developed in Florida for crops like strawberries, tomatoes, citrus and other crops to create new national and international market niches under the auspices of not only organic but other certification programs.

However, those in the ecolabeling movement stress that in the near future, synergy rather than competition among the various ecolabel programs, especially in developing uniform, comprehensible standards, will be the keystone for market stability.

Free fresh produce will be available to students all throughout the day, not just during lunch, in more than 100 schools in four states and one Indian reservation in the 2002-03 school year.  The $6 million pilot program is seen as a potential springboard to a larger program to provide America’s youth with easier access to fresh produce through the school foodservice. The pilot program will be launched this October in Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, which each state having 25 schools participating, and one Indian reservation in New Mexico.  USDA funds will provide each school an average of $50,000 to buy fruits and vegetables for the school year. There are no restrictions on how they buy or how they serve the produce.  Program feedback is expected as early as March, and the National Cancer Institute and PBH are providing material to states to help supplement the program with nutrition education. 

In its inaugural season in 2001, more than 1.5 million pounds of "Healthy Grown" potatoes reached grocery store shelves. "Healthy Grown", cultivated through a partnership between the World Wildlife Fund, the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, and The University of Wisconsin-Madison, requires growers to follow bio-intensive, integrated pest management practices.  Those practices require growers to rotate fields, manage insects, weeds and disease with fewer and less toxic chemicals, maintain standards for water use, and alter storage practices to separate Healthy Grown potatoes from noncertified acreage.

Many feel the key to the label’s success will be retailer support, and so new signs and labeling with pictures and quotes from growers are being designed to help tell the label’s story.  The Wisconsin growers association is trying to get buyers and wholesalers to buy into the program and offer the product, just to see if consumers are willing to pay a little bit more for a product raised in a more environmentally friendly manner.

The program had a slow start last season due to unusually higher markets, but expectations for this season are high, with long term goals including having up to half the state’s potato acreage certified through the program.  Some companies however, aren’t planning to join the Healthy Grown program, for reasons ranging from the extra documentation and storage tracking resources required, to lack of interest from established customers.

Some companies, like Pacific Gold Farms Inc., have seen sales grow every season for their organic fruit, but sales, come from buyers specializing in organic product, not large retailers.  Some blame the lack of buyer support on the need for a strong, high-volume organic program, while others claim that for such a program to be put together, you would need buyer support.  According to The Packer’s 2002 Fresh Trends consumer survey, only one third of organic purchasers reported buying organic fruit, while 73% reported buying organic vegetables.  Organic proponents argue that as quality rises and the price premium falls, organic produce sales will continue to rise.  But for most major berry marketers, organics remain a small part of the overall business.  These marketers claim production is difficult with too much depending on weather, and difficulty in maintaining the organic certification for long growth periods, citing strawberries as a 14-month crop.

Those who buy organic produce will continue to do so but those who don’t, probably won’t. A recent consumer study by AC Nielsen US, reported in The Packer, indicated that of the 33% of consumers who bought organics within six months of the survey, most (85% ) plan to continue buying organics but only 3% of those who don’t normally buy organics will do so. Nielsen recommended that retailers emphasize that organic growers don’t use conventional pesticides and gmos rather than claiming higher quality for organic produce.

Tyson Foods Inc. sent letters to its employees and contract growers in December stating that the company's poultry operations in Jacksonville would be closed permanently on Jan. 31, effectively shutting down 75 farms in northeastern Florida and seven in southern Georgia. Officials said the chicken market is in contraction with production exceeding demand and that they don't expect any change in prices or availability of chickens for consumers.

Broiler poultry production in Florida is set up on a contract basis. Families often own three or four of the 300- to 400-foot-long barns where they raise tens of thousands of chickens. Barn owners are responsible for utility costs and labor, while the company provides the birds, all the feed and any medicine needed. The company delivers the birds in increments of 5,000 just hours after they hatch and then picks them back up as 6-pound, ready-to-process birds known as broilers 51 to 56 days later. Jacksonville was processing 650,000 of them a week. Growers are paid based on a formula that includes the cumulative weight of the birds they raised compared with the feed they used and compared with similar statistics from nearby farms. In central and south Florida poultry operations produce eggs rather than broilers as in north Florida. Tyson has 40 plants in 18 states from Pennsylvania to Texas and is planning to close plants in, Oklahoma and Maryland.

Since broiler manure is generally drier with a higher nitrogen content per unit weight than wetter manure from cage-layer operations where eggs are produced, these closing could affect availability of manure used as the primary fertilizer by organic growers.