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The View from New York, By Ned GrothAmericans and Their Food, Part 1: OrganicAmerican eating habits are diverse, influenced by myriad cultural and economic factors. Like people everywhere, we want foods that taste good, look pretty, and provide healthy nutrition. We pay close attention to prices (like my wife, many consumers here only buy foods that are on sale or have discount coupons). Some of us also think about ecological implications when we buy foods. Sad to say, though, many US consumers have no idea where foods come from, how they are produced or how that affects the environment. Opinion surveys have shown that American attitudes on green products and sustainable consumption fall into four general categories. At one end are “committed greens,” who always consider the environmental costs when buying products. About 20 percent of consumers fall into this group. Another 30 percent or so are “opportunistic greens,” who are not driven primarily by green concerns, but happily buy green products if they seem equal in price and quality to the competition. At the other end, about 15 percent of Americans are so-called “browns,” who dismiss environmental concerns as “liberal claptrap” and resist buying green products. The other 35 percent are “tuned out/stressed out;” they are generally uninformed, uninterested in environmental issues, or too concerned with economic survival to give much weight to ecological attributes of products. Based on this spectrum of attitudes, it seems likely that at least half of all US consumers should be interested in buying organically-grown foods. Europeans who see Americans as being largely uninterested in “green consumption” might find this surprising. Here, the result has been vigorous growth in organic sales during the past 20 years. Organic foods were once a small “niche” market in America, sold only in specialty shops and bought mainly by “food faddists” and “committed greens.” In the 1980s, organically grown foods made up far less than 1 percent of the US market, and almost all the organic foods sold were fresh fruits and vegetables. Today, organic has “gone mainstream.” Organic produce and organic processed foods are sold in almost every supermarket, and some grocery chains, like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, specialize in organic and sustainably-produced foods. During the 1990s, the market for organic foods grew at about 20 percent per year, and now accounts for 3 percent or so of the total US grocery market (reference). About three out of four US consumers buy organic foods at least occasionally, and one in four buys organic regularly. Behind this dramatic growth rate are federal support for organic foods, through a national certification program and standards, and growing consumer awareness of and demand for organic foods. Consumers who prefer organic have many reasons. Most important is the desire for “healthier foods.” In that context, organic fruits and vegetables have far lower pesticide residues, and many consumers believe they also offer superior nutrition. Some consumers buy organic to support sustainable agriculture, or to avoid GM foods, or want to buy from local growers and small farmers. Some prefer the taste of organic varieties. The perception that organic is “locally grown” is less valid than it used to be. Surging demand has drawn large US food corporations to organic production, and organic food here today is as likely to come from an agribusiness giant as from a small farm. At the same time, new organic choices for consumers have multiplied, and rising sales volume has shrunk cost differences between organic and conventional produce. This being America, where environmental issues are always politicized, there is a small but vocal “anti-organic” movement here. Led by conservative ideologues, nourished by right-wing think tanks historically funded by the pesticide industry, and given coverage by controversy-loving media, these contrarians paint the organic movement as Luddite technophobes. They argue that only chemical-intensive farming can feed the world, and claim that organic fruits and vegetables contain natural pesticide residues just as toxic as the synthetic residues in conventional produce (reference). These claims are mostly nonsense, and the anti-organic fringe has gained little traction with US consumers. The bottom line, then, is that while the market for organic foods in America is still small, it has grown robustly, and has room to expand much more. Recent oil price shocks have boosted food prices, and may put higher-priced organic foods at a disadvantage; Whole Foods recently announced that its sales growth has leveled off and its profits were down in the last quarter. But organic is clearly mainstream now in America, and it seems to have a rosy long-term future. That’s my view on organic foods, from here in New York. For more information: www.hartman-group.com/news Ned, a biologist by training, worked for many years at Consumer Union, the US sister of Consumentenbond, and has advised WHO and FAO on food safety issues. It goes without saying that Ned and his wife, who live just outside New York City, adhere to the principles of CSR: Consumer Social Responsibility. Feel free to respond to this column at info@schuttelaar.nl. |
Ned Groth |
