Organic food facts

Organic product sales continue to grow exponentially in the United States. U.S. organic food sales grew by approximately 20.4 percent during 2003, to reach $10.38 billion, according to figures from the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA’s) 2004 Manufacturer Survey.

• U.S. organic food sales have grown between 17 and 21 percent each year since 1997, to nearly triple in sales, while total U.S. food sales over this time period have grown in the range of only 2 to 4 percent a year. According to the findings, organic food sales now represent approximately 2 percent of U.S. food sales.

• Organic foods are increasingly found in more mainstream retail establishments. In 2003, 44 percent of total organic food sales were handled through supermarkets and grocery stores, mass merchandisers, and club stores. Meanwhile, independent natural product and health food stores and natural grocery chains accounted for 47 percent of sales. Direct sales through farmers’ markets, co-ops, foodservice operations, and exports represent the remaining 9 percent.

• Consumers continue to seek out fresh organic fruits and vegetables at their local food cooperatives, supermarkets, farmers’ markets, and through Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs). There are even companies that deliver organic products directly to customers’ homes. For instance, in the Puget Sound, Washington, area, Pioneer Organics (www.pioneerorganics.com) offers a home delivery service featuring organic produce and groceries.

•  Other trends show that organically produced products as milk, cheese, meats, and baby food are growing in popularity. The routine use of antibiotics and growth hormones in livestock handling in conventional agriculture, for instance, has motivated many consumers to seek organically derived dairy and meat products.

• The wide variety of organic foods available meets the diverse tastes and choices of consumers. In addition to fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, meat, eggs, dairy items, and baby foods, it’s possible to buy organic pasta sauces, salsa, fruit juice, soup, cereal, ice cream, peanut butter, tea, coffee, frozen dinners, chocolate, popcorn, snack food, beer and other beverages, to name just a few options available.

Other developments:

• Organic hamburger patties produced by Wisconsin farmers and sold through Organic Valley (www.organicvalley.coop) have replaced traditional quarter-pound patties in University of Wisconsin Housing Food Service cafeterias.

• Schools are testing organic products in vending machines. Stonyfield Farm has helped roll out “healthy vending machines” featuring nutritional organic and natural products. The machines are now installed in various schools throughout the nation.

• Supermarket and department store chains, such as Meijer Inc., Super Target, Kroger, Price Chopper, Giant Food Inc., Stop & Shop Supermarket Companies, and King Soopers, are offering more organic products. For instance, Super Target grocery stores in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas and Utah now market organic boneless chicken breasts, organic gluten-free skinless frankfurters, organic gourmet chicken brats and jumbo hamburger patties produced by Wholesome Harvest. Meanwhile, Raley’s and Bel Air are now offering Dakota Beef’s 100 percent certified organic beef in all of their 117 North California and Nevada stores.

·        Song, Delta Air Lines’ low-fare air service, has added organic food items for babies and children for purchase on board, in addition to its offerings for other age groups.

• Procter & Gamble Co. has expanded sales of its organic Fair Trade coffee from online and telephone orders to supermarkets, mass retailers and drugstores.

• The Sterling Café in Seattle, WA, has received organic certification from the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

• Bon Appétit Management Co. has begun recruiting growers to supply organic produce for companies and institutions it serves in Washington State. As a result, fresh organic produce will be on menus at the Seattle Art Museum, Amgen, and Seattle University.

• White Wave’s half-gallon organic Silkâ Chocolate is America’s single best-selling product in the chocolate milk category, according to grocery sales tracker Information Resources, Inc.

• Kaiser Permanente has taken steps to encourage the establishment of farmers’ markets at its medical centers, beginning in the San Francisco Bay, CA, area. According to an Aug. 6, 2004, article in the San Francisco Business Times, Kaiser’s Oakland medical center since May 2003 has hosted a weekly farmers’ market that draws as many as 1,000 employees, physicians, patients and neighbors to buy organic produce from local farmers. Since then, Kaiser’s San Francisco center got its own market, and Kaiser’s Hawaii unit has launched similar venues. During 2004, Kaiser opened an organic farm stand at its Richmond, CA, medical center, where low-income neighborhood residents can buy hard-to-find fresh produce. Farmers’ markets have also started up at Kaiser’s Santa Theresa and Santa Clara medical centers.

• Olympia, WA, grade schools now offer organic salad bars to their students. Lincoln Elementary in Olympia managed to cut its lunch costs by two cents a meal even though it offers a full organic menu. To do so, it eliminated desserts other than fruits.

• The Seattle School District, Seattle, WA, recently adopted a policy banning foods containing high levels of sugar and fat and encouraging offering organic food in school cafeterias whenever feasible.  The school board policy is available at http://www.seattleschools.org/area/policies/index.dxml.

• Whole Foods Market in Monterey, CA, has designed a school lunch program that it is pitching to private schools around Monterey County. As a result, All Saints Episcopal Day School in Carmel, Valley, signed up for the program which features lunches offering organic products whenever possible and avoiding the use of hydrogenated fats, artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.

• The Berkeley, CA, Unified School District has earned the “Golden Carrot Award” from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine for its efforts to get junk food out of its schools and to guide students toward healthy eating, including incorporating organic produce.

• The Hopkins, Minnesota, school district has revamped its school lunch program to incorporate more whole grains and organic foods.

• Due to demand, Yale University has expanded its sustainable food menu, including organic entrees, from its Berkeley College dining hall to 10 open residential college dining halls. Cost, however, is still a hurdle, according to dining service officials.

Resources on organic

Because organic products are becoming more widespread, it is becoming easier to find organic products in local venues. Here are some resources to consult:

• The Organic Pages Online—The Organic Trade Association offers a searchable online directory of its members, at www.theorganicpages.com. Visitors to the site can search for such categories as mail order, branded products, and farm-grown products.
• The O’Mama Report—The Organic Trade Association’s consumer web site, this provides many resources and articles of interest to consumers interested in organic agriculture and products. The site: www.theorganicreport.org.
• Consumers may also visit www.localharvest.org and www.eatwellguide.com to find farmers, restaurants and other sources of organic products in their area.

The Organic Trade Association is the leading business association representing the organic industry in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Its more than 1700 members include growers, processors, shippers, retailers, certification organizations and others involved in the business of producing and selling certified organic products.

© 2005, Organic Trade Association.