Organic food industry

The organic food movement began in response to the twentieth-century introduction of chemicals and pesticides to the food industry to increase yield. The organic food industry grew steadily in the United States after the passage of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, which helped set strict standards for organic food production. In the twenty-first century, many Americans, inspired by new books and films on food production and consumption, began seeking alternatives to the conventional food supply chain, including organic foods.

Background

Traditional farming as it existed before the twentieth century is considered “organic” because it did not rely on synthetic chemicals. Some of these techniques eventually garnered more rigorous scientific examination, with proponents laying a foundation for what would eventually become known as the organic food movement. In the 1930s, for example, British scientists Lady Eve Balfour and Albert Howard began to research the role of agricultural production in healthy food. In 1943, Howard advocated the recycling of all wastes by using animal waste and sewage on farms. Howard also worked to create the ideal compost heap by mixing plant and animal waste, proposing that healthy soil equals healthy livestock and crops.

With the widespread application of chemical pesticides and fertilizers in the mid-twentieth century, the separation between organic and conventional crops grew. This rift was apparent when even some academics referred to organic farming as a cult and proponents as spreaders of “doom and gloom.” In the 1960s and 1970s, however, the organic movement was accelerated by Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring (1962), which emphasized the problems associated with pesticides. In addition, water pollution from farming and the energy crisis gave farmers incentive to use fewer chemicals.

In 1980 the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) took an interest in organic farming, publishing a document titled Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming. This report helped bring organic farming into the mainstream. In 1981 the American Society for Agronomy argued that organic farming contributed to more sustainable agriculture. However, the administration of President Ronald Reagan buried the report and eliminated positions at the USDA related to organic farming. Nevertheless, momentum for organic farming had increased and courses in organic farming had already been initiated at agricultural universities across the nation. As the environmental movement continued to grow through the 1980s and 1990s, more emphasis was placed on maintaining biodiversity, animal welfare, and fair trade practices.

Regulation

The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 implemented national organic standards and established the National Organic Standards Board. The board makes recommendations to the National Organic Program (NOP) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help regulate the organic food industry. The NOP, established in 2000, was put in charge of developing and regulating organic food standards, which ensure that companies use the correct practices when growing and producing organic products. The NOP verifies that the players within the organic food industry—including farmers, ranchers, distributors, and processors—comply with these standards and become certified by accredited agents.

The organic food industry is heavily regulated by the USDA, which frequently inspects and audits organic companies to ensure that regulations are followed and organic products are labeled correctly. All organic products must carry the USDA organic seal, which verifies that the product is at least 95 percent organic or has been made with certified organic ingredients. The seal means the crops have been harvested without exposure to radiation, sewage sludge, synthetic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, or genetically modified organisms. The seal also ensures that animals are raised according to standards that protect their health and well-being. Farmers raising livestock cannot use antibiotics or growth hormones and must feed the animals a 100 percent organic diet. The animals must also be provided with an outdoor pasture. Animals that have been cloned do not qualify as organic products.

As awareness of food production methods grew in the 2000s, food labeling became an important issue. Consumers often had difficulty understanding the differences between the profusion of labels and health claims, especially those denoting organic and nonorganic food products. In 2002 the USDA created National Organic Standards, overriding any state regulations and creating a standardized labeling system. The labels include different levels such as “100 percent organic,” which means the product must be made from only organic products, “organic” products that have at least 95 percent organic ingredients, and products “containing organic products” with at least 70 percent organic products.

In addition to carrying the USDA organic seal, products from livestock—including meat, eggs, and milk—may also have other labels regulated by the USDA. Products that contain any of these various labels may or may not be organic. If a product is labeled "natural," for example, this means it does not contain any artificial ingredients and is minimally processed, but if it does not contain a USDA organic seal it is not officially an organic product. A product labeled "free range" means that the livestock was permitted unlimited access to indoor/outdoor areas and fresh food and water. "Cage-free" means the livestock was not kept in caged areas, but was permitted unlimited access to indoor areas. "Grass-fed" livestock are fed primarily grass. Unlike organic grass-fed livestock, however, these animals may be fed grass that has been treated with pesticides and may be given antibiotics and/or hormones. A "no-added hormones" label means that the livestock has been raised without the use of hormones or steroids. Other labels, such as "pasture-raised" and "humane," may or may not be regulated by non-USDA independent certifying organizations.

Industry Growth

The organic food industry grew steadily in the United States in the early twenty-first century to become one of the fastest-growing segments in the food market. According to the Organic Trade Association, organic foods accounted for almost $14 billion in sales in 2005 and $17.7 billion in 2006. The industry continued to grow even when the US economy entered a major recession during the late 2000s. In 2009 organic foods accounted for $26.6 billion in US sales and $54.9 billion in global sales. The United States led the global market in organic food sales, with Germany and France not far behind. By 2014 the USDA estimated that organic products sold in the United States formed a $35 billion market, accounting for about 4 percent of all US food sales. That same year a Gallup poll found that 45 percent of Americans were actively seeking to incorporate organic foods into their diets. Steady growth continued into the next decade; in 2020 organic food sales in the US exceeded $51 billion, led by the fruit and vegetable sector. By 2023, the market for organic food in the US was worth nearly $60 billion.

The wider availability of organic foods at large grocery chains was cited as one of the main reasons for the continued increase. At first, organic foods could be found only at small specialty grocery stores and farmers markets. By 2016 organic food was stocked in three-fourths of all US grocery stores as well as an additional twenty thousand or so specialty food stores, according to the USDA. People also began choosing more organic products because of an increased awareness of health issues, the environmental impact of food manufacturing, and food and animal safety concerns.

Impact

In the early twenty-first century many people increasingly chose organic products because they believed these products were better for both their health and the environment. Organic foods are not treated with potentially toxic chemicals such as pesticides, which can leave a residue on produce and allegedly affect its taste and appearance. However, the taste improvement and even the health benefits of organic foods have been contested by some scientific research, with skeptics suggesting that psychological factors cause perceived differences between organic and nonorganic products. Additionally, organic food is not fully guaranteed to be pesticide-free, as it may have residues of pesticides from adjacent farms or previous farming practices. Some critics of organic farming also suggest that risk of food contamination may increase when farmers use manure instead of synthetic fertilizers and are barred from using chemical and antimicrobial washes. Most experts agree that more research and data is needed to establish any advantage or disadvantage to organic food in these areas.

Organic foods also do not contain food additives, such as artificial sweeteners, colorings, flavorings, and preservatives. Organic farmers are prohibited from using chemical pesticides, which can wash from farmlands into waterways where they may contaminate the water supply and soil, kill wildlife, and destroy vegetation. Instead, organic farms use such practices as hand weeding and crop rotation, which are designed to benefit the environment and reduce pollution. Research suggests that in many cases the environmental benefits of organic agriculture are real. However, the size and complexity of the food supply and distribution chain in developed nations such as the United States raises many interrelated issues for people deciding between organic and nonorganic products. For example, organic crop yields may be lower, necessitating greater land use, and organic crops may require more water than drought-resistant genetically modified strains. These and similar factors can in some instances cancel out the benefits of the organic process. Additionally, while prices have fallen as organic agriculture has grown more common, in many cases organic foods are still more expensive than nonorganic counterparts, presenting questions of economic inequality and food access.

In 2012 the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released a list of the most and least contaminated fruits and vegetables. This list can be used to decide which foods to buy organic when shopping on a budget. The most pesticide-laden products on the list were apples, followed by celery, sweet bell peppers, peaches, strawberries, imported nectarines, grapes, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, blueberries, and potatoes. Those with little-to-no pesticide residue included cabbage, onions, avocados, sweet corn, sweet peas, pineapples, mangoes, asparagus, kiwi, and grapefruit.

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