Expo West Coverage: Our next publishing date will be on Wednesday, March 11 with my full recap of Natural Products Expo West 2026. I look forward to seeing many of you at the show, and if you will not be there, please be sure to follow along on my Instagram Stories.
This week’s Organic Insider follows up on two consequential stories.
1) “NATURAL” GMO FOOD COLORS: NOT WHAT ACTIVISTS HAD IN MIND
Several months ago, Organic Insider warned that as major food companies pledged to remove petroleum-based synthetic dyes, they might pivot — not to carrots and turmeric — but to colors produced through genetic engineering via precision fermentation.
That prediction is now unfolding.
The FDA just approved beetroot red submitted by Phytolon, one of the companies referenced in our earlier reporting. Federal officials are framing this decision as progress toward replacing synthetic dyes with “natural” alternatives.
“We are making it easier for companies to move away from petroleum-based synthetic colors and adopt safer, naturally derived alternatives,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
But describing a genetically-engineered pigment as “naturally derived” is precisely what alarms consumer advocates.
Activists who protested artificial dyes were calling for truly natural, transparent ingredients — not colors produced using synthetic biology and engineered microorganisms.
Under the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard — portions of which were recently invalidated by a U.S. Court of Appeals — disclosure may not be required if no detectable modified genetic material remains in the final product. That creates a regulatory gray zone where genetically-engineered colors could potentially be marketed as “natural,” likely inviting legal scrutiny.
Independent certifiers of non-genetically-engineered food see no such ambiguity. The Non-GMO Project has made clear that precision fermentation processes using genetic engineering do not qualify for verification.
The FDA’s action opens a public comment period on this beetroot red approval through March 9, 2026 — an opportunity for consumers and industry stakeholders to weigh in.
2) MONARCHS PROTECTIONS DELAYED — AGAIN
The monarch butterfly was proposed for protection under the Endangered Species Act in December 2024, with a final decision due by December 2025. But that listing has now been delayed indefinitely.
In response, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Food Safety have filed suit to compel the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to finalize these federal protections for this insect.
Previously, Organic Insider reported on the catastrophic collapse of western monarch butterflies, whose population fell 96% year over year to just 9,119.
While monarchs are not the primary crop pollinators, their decline signals broader ecological distress. The same pesticide pressures, habitat loss and land-use changes affecting monarchs threaten bees, birds and bats — pollinators responsible for roughly 35% of global crop production and 87 of the world’s leading food crops.
“What is happening to the monarch butterfly mirrors what is happening to the other pollinators, and if the population collapses, we may not be able to recover it,” said Emma Pelton, senior endangered species conservation biologist, western monarch lead at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
Compounding concerns, the Fish and Wildlife Service lost 18% of its staff last year, and the Endangered Species Act listing budget has been cut to 2004 levels.
The monarch’s fate is not symbolic.
It is systemic — tied directly to how we farm, regulate pesticides and define environmental accountability.
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With gratitude, 
Max Goldberg, Founder |
A formal complaint filed with the USDA alleges that Quality Assurance International (QAI) has created a certification mark that functions as a marketing claim strongly implying products labeled “Made with organic ingredients” are certified organic, in violation of federal regulations for labeling organic food.
The organic children’s nutrition brand raised $197.9 million at a valuation of $724 million.
Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) sponsored legislation to help farmers seeking to transition to organic agriculture by establishing a voluntary test-out option for the organic three-year transition period.
The reapproval comes despite federal court decisions in 2020 and 2024, striking down the agency's previous approvals of the weedkiller as unlawful.
Dutch beverage giant Refresco is buying the plant-based food producer as it expands into the better-for-you category.
The EPA's approval of 2,4-D and glyphosate mixture are finally undone following a decade-long campaign and Center for Food Safety litigation.
A big win for sovereignty in the EU.
The movement within organic agriculture excites some Gen-Z consumers but causes confusion in the marketplace, as producers ‘can slap the word on anything,’ says Joe Dickson.
The Swedish company claims the ruling is anti-competitive and ‘solely benefits Big Dairy.’
Why some victims could potentially be left with nothing.
The investment by Semcap comes a month after the company sold a majority stake to private equity firm L Catterton.
The Healthy Florida First initiative tested popular bread brands, revealing “triple-digit” levels of the herbicide glyphosate.
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