It’s been exactly two years since Kirstie Alley walked away from Jenny Craig, having lost 75 pounds on the program, and announced she was dreaming up her own weight loss program.

Little did she, or we, know, that while she was passionately working on starting this company, she would gain back the 75 pounds she lost, plus ten. We’ve watched Kirstie’s weight fluctuations for years. Using Oprah as a stage for promoting her weight loss, and confessing her weight gain, Kirstie made yet another appearance today. This time, it was to promote her new show on A&E, Kirstie Alley’s Big Life premiering March 21, and her new company, Organic Liaison.

She says she’s been working with a team of scientists to create an organic weight loss plan and is now excited to share with all of us Organic Liaison. It’s a multi-layer membership and supplement program that supports the weight loss efforts of men and women, and is meant to “escort you into the world of organic weight loss,” says Kirstie in the site’s introductory video.

More and more products are coming out touting that they are less harmful to the environment or are earthy friendly, but in order to use this type of labeling the product must be manufactured with minimal energy and packaging should be made of recycled materials (think the paper grocery bags at Whole Foods supermarkets). Not all manufacturers follow the full guidelines that entitle this “green” messaging, so by referencing the logos listed below you can ensure that the products and produce you purchase are in fact “green”:

For products to use the USDA labeling it must contain at least 95% organic ingredients that have not had any chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides or genetically modified organisms used.

One of the hottest buzz words in food right now is “organic.” I want to help you better understand what these foods are, what you stand to gain from them and a few of the negatives.

What is organic?
In order for a food to be labeled organic it needs to be grown and processed without using any genetic engineering procedures, or without any synthetic/artificial fertilizers (must use real fertilizers).  Organic foods are grown without the use of all “-cides”, meaning no pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.  Also, the food must be grown or processed without antibiotics, preservatives, chemicals, or use of radiation.  In short, the food was produced and processed in the most natural way and delivered to consumers in the purest form without any chemical tainting. To be certified organic a product must bare the USDA certification of 100% organic.  This seal means the farm has been evaluated and tested by a set standard of practice and is certified after passing.

Farmer’s markets are markets that allow customers to purchase locally grown, flavorful, farm-fresh, organic produce.  This type of market is great because it comes straight from the ground to your hands.  This type of market allows farmers to develop personal relationships with the buyers and the consumers can show their loyalty with the farmers.  The setup to the market varies, but typically it takes place once or twice a week at a designated public place.  Some markets even make it more of a social get-together by providing live entertainment.

The internet has been a buzz with talk of conspiracy, genetically-modified foods, contamination, restrictions on organic farming, and backyard gardens being banned. Recent recalls and contamination of peanut butter, pistachios, spinach, and tomatoes and concerns about outbreaks of bird flu and mad cow disease seem to be driving three pieces of legislation that have been proposed and referred to committees. It has been suggested that these contamination events were stunts to ease the way for these freedom-restricting bills. Others suggest that the terminology used for organic products and food labels do need some clarification. The fear and outcry seem to result from the vague and confusing nature of the legislation.

With names like the Tracing and Recalling Agricultural Contamination Everywhere Act, the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act, the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act, and the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 it’s no wonder there is confusion about what is and is not being regulated, to what extent, and by who. After reading through HR 875, the proposed bill most likely to come to a vote, I can testify that there is not much more clarity to be found in the actual legislation than there is in all the alarmist blogs and email forwarding.