Organic Foods are Enjoying a Tremendous Rise in Popularity
What are organic foods? You see it every time you go to the supermarket and the grocery store. You see florescent labels and entire sections of the store devoted to organic foods. While organic foods have been grown since the dawn of agriculture, the twentieth century brought about industrialized farming methods that drastically altered the way crops were produced. Mass production of food required less attention to crop rotation, bio-diverse cultivation, and natural pest control. Synthetic pesticides were introduced, along with genetic manipulation of the food itself. However, organic food production is making a comeback. The reemergence of organic farming and food production is a direct reaction to the assembly line ideal applied to the craft of farming. Many people have the idea that organic farming and food production use a minimum of processes to bring the food to your table, and this is correct. While organic farming still uses additives and pest control, the elements introduced into the growing cycle are naturally based and environmentally friendly.
Organic food and organic farming began gaining popularity in smaller farmer markets and specialty urban markets close to rural suppliers. Customers were sold on the idea that the food provided would be free from the usual pesticides and grown to yield maximum nutrition. This nutrient-rich and eco-friendly food made it to the dinner table and was served to friends and acquaintance, and soon the purchase and consumption of this product began to grow and ultimately begin its return to the general American marketplace. In the early eighties, concern about the planet began to surface after the initial fear of nuclear annihilation dissipated after the fall of Russian communism. If we were going to live in peace, we would have to start taking care of our home and our bodies.
The idea of organic foods entered the mainstream media and was bounced about initially as an interesting but unrealistic option for national consumption. To everyone’s surprise, the idea took root and began a movement that soon rocked the entire world. Over the years, studies have been released to show the incredible growth and market penetration of organic food. It has been noted that the consumption of organic food has been growing by approximately twenty percent every year. This is a clear indicator that not only is the trend popular, but it’s picking up momentum consistently at an incredible rate.
By the time the second millennium began and was through its second year, worldwide consumption of organic food totaled twenty-three billion in US dollars. It kept growing every year, stunning its detractors and winning more believers until finally, six years later in 2008, the total worldwide sales of organic food products jumped to a staggering fifty-two billion in US dollars. How can that many customers be wrong? The fact that they are continually buying the product and increasing their purchases seems to indicate that the organic food movement is here to stay.
Even though these numbers are entirely mind-boggling, you have to consider the estimated growth potential of this niche market over the next twenty years. If you can wrap your mind around this reported estimation, you would be interested to know that the growth of organic food production and consumption is due to rise ten to fifty percent a year. This will put the option of organic food to a sizable chunk of the world’s population, bringing a healthy eating option to all. This is almost too good to believe, especially if you know that the production and consumption of organic food already takes up between one and two percent of the world’s total food consumption and production. That’s a fair bit considering there are almost six billion people inhabiting earth.
This vast increase in product interest has catapulted the organic food products from the shelves that lined the back wall in your local health food store to be placed on prominent display on the multinational supermarket chains. If you ever cared to find out the numbers of this rapid wholesale conversion, you need to hear this. Two-thirds of the organic milk and cream sold in the whole of the United States can be found on your typical large corporate-run supermarket. Trends of other organic foods are beginning to sport similar statistics.
Organic farming of food is also taking off like wildfire in the world community; it is not limited to just the United States. One of the many regions adopting this less environmentally damaging method of food production is the European Union. The EU reported that, in a year, over three percent of the food produced inside their borders was organic, and these numbers were thought to be on the increase. If you are looking for a method to help the planet and keep yourself healthy, you will be happy to note that many others share your want and are currently benefiting from the goodness of nature unaltered.