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Organic Food 101 Organic Food 101
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A Movement Gets a Makeover

When you think organic food, do you envision tie-dyed hippies in scruffy beards and sandals at a dingy co-op, or do you picture luxury car-driving elites parked outside an upscale suburban market? In this game of word association, there is no wrong answer.

Today, organic food has grown into a $14 billion business and represents the fastest-growing segment of the grocery industry. In 2005, two-thirds of American consumers bought organic food at least once. That’s heady stuff for a movement deeply rooted in the 1960s counterculture that championed sustainable, small-scale food production and roundly rejected industrial agriculture.

So how did a movement that began by emphasizing the virtue of small grow so big? Simply put, people caught on.


Health and Food Safety

Peace of mind has certainly played a part in the growth of organics. Concern about the long-term health effects of the pesticides, chemicals, growth hormones and antibiotics used in conventional farming convinced many people to seek out alternatives. Outbreaks of "mad cow" disease and E-coli raised consumer awareness about the conditions in factory feedlots, inspiring some buyers to turn to organic and grass-fed meats and poultry in an effort to buy "safer" foods.

Of course, it’s not only what's left out of foods: what's in them has been equally important in swaying consumer opinion. Many people believe organic food is just plain healthier. A 2003 study from the University of California at Davis found that organic produce includes significantly higher levels of vitamin C and a greater variety of micro-nutrients than conventional produce. A Danish study released in 2005 concluded that organic milk contained significantly higher levels of vitamin E, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Other studies have shown that grass-fed animals produce meats, milk and eggs with more vitamin E, folic acid, beta-carotene, and omega-3 fatty acids and less saturated fat and cholesterol than corn-fed animals.
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Creator: MleighS84
Category: Diet and Nutrition
Posted: 1/29/2008
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OzzieOcean “ I make it a point to only buy organic eggs and meat. I will only buy organic fruits and veggies... to me there is no other choice. ”
-  OzzieOcean on 5/22/2008
MleighS84 “ I went to Trader Joe's for the first time this past weekend - AMAZING - it was an orgasmic experience - I know quite intense but that store is amazing!!! ”
-  MleighS84 on 3/18/2008 in response to lizette11216
lizette11216 “ I wish Organic food was not expensive. Sometimes I shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Price of organic food is relatively high compared to price of conventional food in regular stores ”
-  lizette11216 on 3/7/2008
CountAight “ Well really this country was based on small-scale competition, the formation of big industries is really an anomaly...but that's for another day ;) ”
-  CountAight on 2/3/2008

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