ORGANIC
food has become much more popular and mainstream in recent years,
accounting for 3 to 4 percent of US food sales and climbing. In the
UK, for example, 40 percent of baby food consumed is now
organic. But I still don't trust it, especially when “organic food”
is sold in relatively bigger stores—compared with my community
grower whose produce I can see blossom from seed to harvest.
Otherwise, who cares about “organic”? Check this out: Hershey's
owns organic chocolate maker Dagoba; Pepsi bought Naked Juice; Coke
and Odwalla report to the same boss; Nestle and Tribe Mediterranean
Foods are the same. More: Kellogg also owns Morningstar Farms, Kashi,
Gardenburger and Bear Naked, and ConAgra/Lightlife. General Mills,
Cargill, Kraft, Cadbury, M&M Mars and others also own a host of
natural brands. The conglomerate Hain Celestial Group is a major
player in the sector.
Meantime,
in Asheville, a Trader Joe's, which specializes on organic and
vegetarian foods, competes with Greenlife Grocery on the same block
on Merrimon Av. Trader Joe's also owns Aldi's, which sells foodstuff
that an average joe and jane could afford but snobbed by
“organic-only” patrons. What's scary about giant food companies?
They mass-produce their products, and here's a sample of their
production line: Farmed in Guangzhou, China; washed and cleaned in
Madras, India; packaged in Cebu, Philippines; and repackaged in
Matagalpa, Nicaragua; then shipped to Asheville, North Carolina. Can
you trust that? I don't—but I don't want to lose sleep over it. I'd
like to simplify my food and save my stress to the next NBA playoffs.
I will buy food that I can afford, eat anything that looks good,
served on a clean plate.
