Going Greenand Organic

By: Lauren Pease

Have you ever debated which brand of apple to purchase while in a grocery store?
In that debate, did you take the time to consider whether or not to purchase an organic
brand? And, if you did choose organic, was it because you have somewhere heard that
organic products are better and healthier than nonorganic products? Most of us likely
have given that many media sources, such as news articles and documentaries, work to
persuade us that organic is better. Due to many events that have occurred since 2002,
American society has been shifting towards purchasing more and more organic foods
each year.
The first issue to address is, what is organic? Something that is certified
organic follows the standards that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
has established. While the standards vary slightly from crops to livestock to multiingredient foods, their organic standards say that Overall, organic operations must
demonstrate that they are protecting natural resources, conserving biodiversity, and using
only approved substances. This includes refraining from the use of prohibited pesticides
in crop production and the administering of antibiotics or growth hormones in their
livestock. Only upon following these guidelines can a product be labeled as certified
organic (USDA, 2013).
According to the USDA, while organic products were once purchased by a small
percentage of Americans, today the majority of Americans purchase at least some organic
products each year. Because the cost of organic foods still remains high, it is of interest
to examine why so many more Americans are now willing to pay high premiums for
foods that they were once not willing to purchase (USDA, 2014).
1

Once upon a time, all farming was organic farming. Pesticides were not widely
used until after World War II when scientific research identified
chemicals that were able to kill insects. These chemicals, known as
pesticides, were applied to farming because it decreased the number of
crops lost to insects, therefore increasing the amount of food produced

Once upon a
time, all
farming was
organic
farming.

(Whole Foods website). In 1972, however, the United States Environmental Protection
Agency banned the use of the pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) because
it was identified as having many negative environmental and toxicological effects (EPA
website).
Whole Foods Market, founded in 1980, helped the USDA in establishing their set
of national standards for organic food production and processing which were released in
2002. These national standards helped to create consistency in food labeling since before
national standards existed, there was a lot of ambiguity as to what it meant to be organic
(Whole Foods Market, 2000). Whole Foods Market was a major leader in the shift
towards organic food, as it was Americas first nationally certified organic grocery store
(Whole Foods Market, 2003). Since then, the demand for organic food has been
consistently increasing (Greene, 2013). In addition to Whole Foods, stores like Trader
Joes have become increasingly popular because of their organic products. Trader Joes
has become especially popular because it offers many of the same organic foods, but at
lower costs (Lutz, 2014).
The shift towards organic food continued as the media became involved in the
issue of Americas food supply. The release of the 2008 movie Food, Inc. by Robert
Kenner affected the views of many Americans who never before questioned the safety of

the food that they were purchasing. This documentary revealed insider information on
the American food industry through a series of interviews. From these interviews, it
became apparent that the family farm no longer dominates the American food industry;
rather, large corporations now dominate American food production. The interviews also
reveal how many of these large corporations run their farms, which can be horrifying to
many viewers. In addition to exposing farm conditions, the documentary also revealed
that some large corporations, such as Wal-Mart, are making changes towards becoming
organic because of consumer demands. The goal seemed to make Americans more aware
of the current conditions of its food industry so that they take charge in making a change.
Food, Inc. is not the only documentary in this genre. Many others such as Nourish
(2009) also work to make revelations about our food industry and urge Americans to
make a difference in their eating habits by making informed decisions so that food
choices can become better and healthier. Because the USDA continues to see rising sales
in organic foods, these documentaries can be seen as contributors to societys shift
towards organic.
These major events have helped to lead to us to Americas current state where the
demand for organic foods has been increasing each year. According to the USDA, just
from 2011 to 2012 the organic food sales in the United States increased by eleven percent
(Greene, 2013). The Organic Trade Association reported that eighty-one percent of
families self-reported to purchasing organic foods at least some of the time (Daniells,
2014). In Figure 1 below, you can see that the sales have been rising for the organic food
industry, revealing the paradigm shift towards organic farming.

Figure 1. According to Nutrition Business Journal, organic food sales have increased
from $11 billion in 2004 to about $27 billion in 2012 (USDA, 2013).

After seeing any one of the documentaries exposing the food industry, people
were more likely to purchase organic, or at least actively think about their choices. There
are many reasons people choose organic, including to prevent consuming pesticides and
antibiotics, to help protect the environment, and to preserve biodiversity. Organic
farming allows for all of these things, which is why it is becoming more and more
widespread throughout the Unites States.
Based on an article posted in USA Today, Whole Foods Market is losing profits
due to competitors such as Wal-Mart, Safeway, and Trader Joes. These strong
competitors indicate that organic food options are becoming more and more prevalent in
American society, and at lower costs which will likely only continue increasing the
number of Americans who purchase organic. Because of its decline in sales, Whole
Foods Market is instituting a rewards program, which is predicted to establish a stronger
customer loyalty base for the store. If Whole Foods is successful in establishing a
stronger customer loyalty, it is also likely that the number of organic products purchased

will increase since Whole Foods carries so many organic products, and every product in
their store is all natural (Whole Foods Market).
The shift in American society towards organic is definitely a positive one for
many reasons. For one thing, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied
Ecology, it was found that organic farms have thirty percent more species than
conventional farms, indicating that organic farming increases biodiversity which is
beneficial for the environment (Journal of Applied Ecology, 2014). In addition, organic
farming has been shown to be more energy efficient than conventional farming because
the lack of pesticides saves energy (Smith, Williams, and Pearce, 2014). Of course, there
is the reason that organic food does not have pesticides, which is seen by many people as
a positive. The American shift towards organic food continues going strong, and
hopefully society will eventually reach a point where all foods are organically grown, and
we no longer have to use pesticides or cause as much damage to our environment.

Works Cited
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