Organic food: Healthy helpings or marketing miracle?

Abstract

It is an amazing phenomenon, and a rather rare occurrence, when the seemingly healthy choice is also the popular one. Yet, this is what has happened with the organic foods trend. Stores like Whole Foods have taken off, and become huge chains across the country. Organic produce is in high demand. Sales of organic produce rose from $1 billion in 1990, to $20 billion dollars in 2007, and there is a further increase of eighteen percent expected between 2007 and 2010. 1 Organic food is the fastest growing sector in food and beverage sales.2 Approximately 700,000 farms, in 138 countries, planted close to 30.4 million hectares and manage them organically. 3 What is this concept called organic farming? How did it develop and become so popular, almost overnight? This paper will explore organic food, particularly organic produce: its health benefits ( or lack thereof), how it became so popular, how stores such as Whole Foods have successfully capitalized on this market, and how food companies may find it possible to take organic foods to the next level by expanding into the fast food market.