Yup, Organics Are Mainstream

According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), sales of organic food and goods grew more than 8 percent last year. Sales topped $47 billion in 2016, with organic food accounting for $43 billion of the total market and now making up just over 5 percent of the nation’s total food sales. That's impressive, considering that overall food sales grew just 0.6 percent last year. One notable growth area is organic meat and poultry, which grew more than 17 percent and now takes in almost a $1 billion in sales, marking organics' biggest yearly gain. 

How far can organics grow? Certainly, this survey points to the huge opportunity for growth in nonfood categories, especially health and beauty products. But there's another huge problem that may be compounded by the White House’s recent executive order to create a new task force that will “recommend eliminating food and agriculture legislation, policies, and regulations that might hinder the profit-making of 'agribusiness'" within the next 180 days. The industry’s challenge is the amount of land and farmers dedicated to producing organic foods. Many pro-organic groups are up in arms, as they feel that this is a giant step backwards that may allow companies like Dow (who gave Trump $1 million toward his inauguration) to have an easier time gettng their products approved for use in agriculture.

“We need more organic farmers in this country to meet our growing organic demand, and the organic sector needs to have the necessary tools to grow and compete on a level playing field,” Laura Batcha, CEO of the OTA, told the Star-Tribune, in Minneapolis. “That means federal, state and local programs that help support organic research, and provide the organic farmer with a fully equipped tool kit to be successful.” 

Which is sort of funny -- or not -- since First Lady Melania Trump has said that First Son “Barron’s health has improved out of sight since we started eating organic, non-genetically modified food.”