Organic Food Industry Trends
People are more health conscious today than ever before. There is more information available to us about the healthy aspects of the types of foods we eat. This trend is increasing among those individuals who have now reached retirement age and are even more concerned about staying healthy and strong for years to come. There are even individuals who become concerned for their pets, evaluating pet foods to see if they really contain ingredients that are healthy for their beloved animals.
All of these concerns and information awareness have led to a growth in the organic food industry. The trend for growth in the organic food industry has peaked the interest of marketers in different areas across the food and health care world. The organic food industry trends look like they will continue moving in the direction of increasing the market for these products.
What Organic Means
When an individual buys organic food, it means a variety of different things.
- Organically grown foods mean that there are not conventional pesticides that are used get rid of the insects that might plague the crops. These pesticides are made of synthetic and toxic chemicals that leave a residue on the crops, as well as being absorbed into them as they grow.
- Sewage sludge is also not used to fertilize crops since that is also a terrible means of fertilization and can cause some serious illnesses, as evidenced by some vegetable recalls in recent years.
- Buying organic food also means that the individual can be sure that additives and preservatives are not used in producing the crops. These additives and preservatives are also chemicals that are synthetically made and have been shown in studies to cause detrimental effects to human beings.
- Buying organic food means that the animals were not raised with the antibiotics and hormones that are used in the traditional means of ranching. Instead they are fed on organic foods so that they are raised as close to their natural state as possible. In addition, these animals in most cases have not been genetically modified which can also cause some issues to human beings that consume products made from these animals.
Pricing and Availability
The price of organic foods is usually much higher than the prices of the products that are produced from traditional means. The reason for this is that natural and organic food industry farmers and ranchers have to use different methods so that they can produce the same amounts of food and make a profit. These methods require more care be taken of the fruit and vegetable production so that cheap but toxic chemicals for fertilization and pesticides are not used, but the fruits and vegetables still grow healthy and strong.
Natural and organic food industry products used to only be available at the local farmer’s market or in health food stores that specialized in that type of product. Where it used to be impossible to find organically grown foods in a grocery store in the past, today almost all grocery stores will carry at least some organically grown products in their produce and meat sections so that individuals have more of a choice in that area. The items will be marked organic or free range so that the consumer knows that they are buying organically grown or raised products. In addition, there are some restaurants that are now leaning toward natural and organic food industry products in their meals so that individuals can be assured that the food that they are eating at the restaurant is free of the toxins that they try to avoid by eating organically at home.
There are organic websites where individuals can find all sorts or resources on where to buy organically grown foods in their area, which includes farming supplies as well as restaurants and grocery store items. For example, see:
There are some individuals who like to grow their own vegetables or to take care of their lawns organically, and these resources are also available online.
Another trend in the organic food industry is for natural ingredients to be used in other health care products such as skin care products. Instead of these products being made from petroleum based ingredients and other chemicals and preservatives; these products that are produced organically are using natural fruit and vegetable ingredients so that it is better for the skin.
Since there has been such a growth in the organic food industry, another trend is that there are more laws governing the production and labeling of organic foods as well as watch dog organizations who monitor how farmers and ranchers are producing their products. There are more and more products on the market today that are marked organic, but there was not a system in place to ensure that everyone was abiding by the same standards in marking their foods and products organic. Even with the watch dog organizations, individuals still need to be careful when buying these products from the natural and organic food industry to make sure that they do not claim to be organic but really only use one or two natural ingredients in the product.
