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Fears over health fuel 30% rise in sales of organic food
James Meikle, Guardian
The “healthy” image of organic food helped UK sales soar by 30% last year to nearly £1.6bn, a report by the Soil Association says today. The huge increase in sales followed the scare over the Sudan 1 food contaminant in processed foods, fears over obesity and good news about nutrients in organic milk.
But the massive rise in interest in organic produce – sales last year were three times greater than in 2004 – has also raised concerns that UK farmers cannot keep pace with the surge in demand. That will bring renewed warnings about lower-standard imports and of more food being passed off as organic when it is not.
The rises seem spectacular but organic food and drink still accounts for only 1.3% of the total annual market, the association’s report reveals.
The range and numbers of buyers are rising rapidly too, research commissioned for the report suggests.
(7 July 2006)
Similar trend in the U.S.: “Demand for Organic Food Outstrips Supply” (from AP):
America’s appetite for organic food is so strong that supply just can’t keep up with demand. Organic products still have only a tiny slice, about 2.5 percent, of the nation’s food market. But the slice is expanding at a feverish pace.
Growth in sales of organic food has been 15 percent to 21 percent each year, compared with 2 percent to 4 percent for total food sales.
Deconstructing Dinner in Canada
Global Public Media
Deconstructing Dinner is a weekly radio program produced at Kootenay Co-op Radio in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. The program discusses the impacts our food choices have on ourselves, our communities and the planet. Deconstructing Dinner is broadcast on seven radio stations and is available for download on the program’s web site or via a podcast feed. Click here to see all of the most recent shows. For a Deconstructing Dinner sampler platter, choose any of the links below.
- June 1 – “Permaculture – Farming and Living with Nature” with Gregoire Lamoureux, Peter Bane, David Holmgren
- May 25 – “Best of Deconstructing Dinner Jan-May ’06”
- April 13 – “Deconstructing Dinner in our Schools I” with Colleen Matte, Su Donovaro, Karl Machado, Marilyn Lawrence, Sarah Miles, Amber Johnson, Students of A.I. Collinson Elementary
- March 16 – “Peak Oil and Food” with Wayne Roberts, Charles Levkoe
- February 9 – “Sterile Seeds” with Devlin Kuyek, Lucy Sharratt, Terry Boehm, Harry Collins
- January 5 – “Why Deconstruct Dinner” with Cathleen Kneen, Abra Brynne, Barbara Seed, Gwen Chapman, Frank Moreland, Sandra Mark, Kim Stansfield
(July 2006)
See original article for links.
Rising Popularity Produces Heady Times for Organic Beer
Clarke Canfield, Associated Press via Common Dreams
Organic ales, lagers and pilsners are increasingly squeezing their way into retail coolers alongside non-organic beers.
When Jon Cadoux launched his line of ales under the Peak Organic label this spring, he figured making them organic would distinguish them from the multitude of other beers on the market. At the same time, he wanted to put out a product he says is healthier for people and the planet.
While organic beer sales are still minuscule in the overall beer industry, they are rising fast. North American sales of organic beers grew from $9 million in 2003 to $19 million in 2005, according to the Organic Trade Association.
(10 July 2006)
Organic food leans on imports
Joe Rojas-Burke, Portland Oregonian
Economy – Local and U.S. farmers can’t keep up with demand, forcing stores to buy products worldwide
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…As organic food goes increasingly mainstream, demand is racing ahead of farmers’ and ranchers’ capacity to grow the certified fruits, vegetables, beef and poultry stock, which are produced without synthetic pesticides, weed killers, hormones and antibiotics. Farmers are converting acreage into organic production at an increasing rate. In Oregon, 30 farms have been certified this year.
But it’s not all good news for organic farmers in Oregon and elsewhere. As food companies large and small scramble to line up suppliers, many are turning to farmers in Mexico, China, Vietnam and other countries rather than wait for domestic growers to step up production. Producers worry that lower-cost overseas competitors will get an early lock on the market.
“It means more opportunity for more growers,” said John Foster, executive director of Oregon Tilth, an organic certifying agency based in Salem. “Whether or not U.S. suppliers can compete in a world market, it’s anyone’s guess,” he said.
The market for organic food remains relatively small, accounting for about 2.5 percent of total food sales. But retail sales of organic goods are growing by about 15 percent to 20 percent a year. And sales of some products, such as milk, beef and poultry, are growing faster.
(8 July 2006)
