This week's dose of organic headlines, updates, resources, goodies, and recipes courtesy of Doug Snodgrass...

It is a bizarre concept to me - and I'm speaking only from my experience as an American - that eating organic foods is considered by many to be radical behavior.

Have you been to a restaurant where the waiter/waitress offers to put fresh pepper on your food with a pepper grinder? Imagine if instead of a waiter/waitress, an exterminator were to come to your table with a pesticide sprayer, asking whether you want your food sprayed, or not sprayed.

Which would be the more radical choice?

If the following is to believed, perceptions are changing for the better.

Organic foods are now 'mainstream', says USDA

American producers are struggling to meet robust demand for organic foods despite dire predictions for the organic sector during the economic downturn. Some market researchers claim that consumers have increasingly turned to less expensive options that still tap into their ethical concerns, such as local, Fairtrade and free range. But, in this latest review, the USDA said that the organic market has proved resilient, with “double-digit growth for well over a decade”, and that organic consumers have become “increasingly mainstream”.

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service said: “Organic products have shifted from being a lifestyle choice for a small share of consumers to being consumed at least occasionally by a majority of Americans.”

[...]

And while concerns have been raised that consumers may not be prepared to pay steep premiums for organic foods, Economic Research Service (ERS) data has shown that consumers are buying organic foods at significantly higher prices than conventional. The ERS said that the 2006 price for a half-gallon container of milk ranged from 60 percent above non-organic milk for private label organic milk, to 109 percent above non-organic for branded organic milk.

The USDA said that “general themes have emerged” regarding the habits and demographics of organic consumers, although studies have come up with varied results, depending on sample size, geographic location of respondents, and the type of survey.

“Consumers prefer organically produced food because of their concerns regarding health, the environment, and animal welfare, and are willing to pay the price premiums established in the marketplace,” the department said.

More mums give their kids organic milk as survey confirms reduced risk of asthma and exzema

Researchers found infants raised on organic dairy products are a third less likely to suffer from allergies in the first two years of life.

The latest findings come from a Dutch study that followed the lifestyle, diet and health of 2500 pregnant women and their children for two years after birth.

Children weaned on organic milk, cheese and yoghurts and who were breastfed by mums eating organic dairy products were 36 per cent less likely to suffer from allergies, they found.

Study author Dr Machteld Huber said: "There was a clear relationship between organic dairy use and less eczema.

"The difference was significant but only for children exclusively eating organic dairy products."

National Organics Week Kicks Off (Ireland)

IRISH ORGANIC food sales have increased year on year by 13.2 per cent to €124 million, An Bord Bia, the Irish food board, announced at the beginning of National Organic Week yesterday.

The board said last year Irish organic sales reached €104 million in the year ending July 2008 and it expected sales to continue growing.

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Recent research for the board found 73 per cent of Irish grocery shoppers purchased an organic product in the last month, compared to 20 per cent in 2003 and 45 per cent in 2008.

Fruit, vegetables and dairy products account for the most popular purchased categories.

[...]

Seventy three per cent of those surveyed stated “not having added chemicals or pesticides” as the main benefit of buying organic food.

More info about National Organic Week in Ireland can be found here.

Again, another very good step in changing mainstream perceptions.

White House Farmers Market Launches Thursday

Speaking at the Chefs Collaborative conference in Chicago Tuesday, U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary Ann Wright told 150 delighted food professionals about the market, which will sell local produce from D.C. area farmers and run late into the fall. But those hoping to buy some green beans and bell peppers grown by the First Lady herself will be disappointed. Most of the White House garden produce goes to area food banks, Wright said.

Local food advocates will, no doubt, greet this news with a big crunchy cheer. But, if response to the White House organic garden was any indication, others won't be so thrilled. Pro-pesticide groups who, last spring, wrote to the First Lady and were featured on "The Daily Show" decrying the garden for its "irresponsible" pro-local and organic message might see this as yet another, well,pro-local and organic message.

A sad reality of modern times.

Organic's crunch: Once high-flying firms face three big threats to growth

After posting 22 percent growth on record sales last year, Organic Valley Family of Farms entered 2009 with a thud.

The recession played a part. It trimmed demand for premium-priced food. The organic milk market turned from dearth to glut. The LaForge, Wis., company that bills itself as America’s largest cooperative of organic farmers, had to cut its dairy farmers’ output by 7 percent to avoid dropping some farmers or reducing the payments they receive.

But something else is weighing down Organic Valley and the rest of the once high-flying organic-food industry. They face new competition as cheaper “natural” foods gain market share. They’re also battling a blow to their reputation from a British government report disputing the claim that organic products are more nutritious and offer more health benefits than conventionally produced food.

The threats are "the biggest challenges the industry has ever seen," says Phil Howard, a food-system expert at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

Far from withering on the vine, however, the industry is cutting costs, rolling out new offerings, sending out coupons, and at times reducing prices by selling smaller-sized packages. Those who weather the storm could prosper if they create ever more appealing and healthy foods that can attract a wider audience.

Related Reading:

How on Earth Can We Feed 8 Billion People? 
Alternative Agriculture Gaining Traction - Conference Targets Sustainable Farming Community

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