More news is coming in to support the idea that Organic agriculture can actually increase crop yields in the developing world.

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A ten-year experimental project co-organised by an Ethiopian NGO and the government's agriculture bureau has shown that farms using organic compost are producing higher yields, sometimes double, compared with those using chemical fertilisers, according to Dr Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, Director-General of the country's Environmental Protection Authority.

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This news, along with the growth of organic farming in India suggests that some of the concerns in the recent Economist article about organic farming hurting the developing world might be unwarranted.

WalMart UK saw better than expected sales in its ASDA chain in the UK this Christmas and they believe it was due to their broadened range of organic opfferings. The story notes that ASDA sold 131 million [brussel] sprouts.

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It is unknown at this time how many of those sprouts were organic.

Jo Wood, wife of Rolling Stones & Faces Guitarist Ronnie Wood has run a successful organic beauty business for several years and in an interview with right-wing UK newspaper the Daily Mail she reveals that it has also kept the hard-drinking rocker alive.

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'I know people laugh about it. What's the point in eating organic veg when he is pickling himself with vodka? But I'd say that he is still with us because of his diet. He's eaten only organic meals for 15 years - I've insisted on that. It's clearly helped his health.'

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You can find your local Jo Wood organic stockist here

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By the way, that Jo Wood site includes artistic nudity. Rock and Roll!

Phayal.com, reports that in January the exiled Prime Minister of Tibet will travel to Tibetan villages in India to promote organic farming. The Prime Minister has been inspired, in part, by the the natural farming guru, Masanobu Fukuoka. In the 1940s, Fukuoka, who was educated as a microbiologist in Japan, developed a method of farming that requires no tilling, weeding, pesticides or fertilizer. His book, One-Straw Revolution, explains how to "let nature do the work." Fukuoka himself traveled to India to receive recognition for his work.

Hold on to your crystal balls! It's prediction time! The largest advertising agency in the U.S., JWT, released their 70 Things to Watch list for 2007. While there are a number of environmentally responsible trends on the list, the only organic item is "Organic Fabrics." To prepare you for next year's trends, here is a short list of some organic fabric related stories from Organic Note 2006. Eco-chic jeans. Silky soft bamboo. Organic cotton. Baby knits.

I saw this beautiful pullover in a boutique yesterday. Made of organic cotton and recycled polyurethane, it is part of Anna Cohen's sexy winter line. But it isn't just the material that make her clothing green. She runs her company "with sustainable practices taking into consideration all parts of the process from raw materials to end-of-life use." Cohen recently won the Eileen Fisher Grant for women entrepreneurs with a social vision. She says "We must make this transition into personal responsibility a beautiful empowering process." Some items are on sale at The Green Loop.

The Washington Post reports that the FDA is recommending approval for cloned meat for human consumption. Organic standards don't appear to address the issue of cloned animals but it would seem that this sort of "monocrop' agriculture ends up requiring more specialized chemicals. The Organic Center has an essay outlining some of the risks of cloning. Some see the dangers as patent issues where farmers don't have the right to breed their own animals.

Popular Science magazine has a long and fascinating article about the perfect food, the banana. Every supermarket banana produced since the 1960's has been grown from a clone of the same single banana tree. If you know about genetic diversity you might recognize this as a disaster waiting to happen and Popular Science thinks the disaster is happening now. Conventionally produced bananas already require tremendous amount of pesticides and fungicides. But it looks like the way out, at least in the short term, is even more spraying. The article reassures us that the pesticide issue "isn’t so much for banana consumers, at least directly, since most of the substances used on the plants don’t make it into the flesh of the thick-skinned fruit."

If you've ever wondered how different health food brands are related, check out this chart compiled by Dr. Phil Howard at Michigan State University. He puts Hain Celestial right in the center because they've acquired so many different brands and are themselves owned 16% by Heinz (the ketchup company). Perhaps his concern for corporate ownership of health food brands has lead Dr. Howard to ask in his latest research, what comes after organics.

The House of Fleury claims to be the first biodynamic champange producer, starting in 1989 and converting the entire estate by 1992. If your local wine shop doesn't carry organic champagne, you might still be able to order online in time for New Year's Eve. Organic Champagne delivers on their name with a wide selection, however they only deliver on it inside the UK. The Organic Wine Company has a small list of sparkling wines. Let's Talk Wine discusses organic champagne in detail.