SubscribeWho Really Owns the Organic Food Brands
Good Magazine have published a fantastic chart showing exactly which food conglomerates own which organic food brands.
"Organic" is a dreadfully overused word - but it often gives the impression of shiny healthy goodness.
See the full chart here.
via FitSugar.
UPDATE: This concept has been followed up in the NY Times Blog and Disease Proof that points to an outstanding article on whole topic of big food processors.
More like this in Big Business · Mar 18, 2008
You gotta hand it to the marketing dept.
Who wouldn't want to buy Bear Naked organic products?
ReplyYeah - what is with all the nudity - Bear Naked and Naked Juice.
What surprises me is the Mars (M&Ms) own Seeds of Change - a heritage seed and organic food company.
ReplySo, I never realized Morningstar was organic. I just assumed it was delicious and easy. :)
But, I have no problem with food corporations, anyways. Especially when they show they're willing to respond to the market.
ReplyDitto.
ReplyAlthough there are some obvious benefits to this, I see 2 problems with it;
1. This one is a little sentimental, but I think that the whole concept of "organic" conjures up images of family-run farms - small scale operations. It just doesn't "feel" right. Kind of when Walmart broke into the organic market.
2. Larger companies may be inclined to pressure congress to loosen organic farming standards.
I hope I'm wrong on this, but I'm a tad leary.
ReplyNo, Mike, I think you have the right of it. My first thought when I looked at this was that I had a good idea of what companies I should avoid. I think pretty much all of these companies I already avoid--most of them are processors, so should be avoided generally.
ReplyThey already do pressure congress to lessen farming standards!
From this site:
What happened when the values of the small back-to-the-land organic farmer met the values of food giants? The National Organic Standards document the result. On the surface, NOS makes uniform the agricultural practices of all organic farmers. But beyond that, NOS has created a two-tiered system of Big Organic and Little Organic.
Big Organic has ensured its future in the organic market with several key victories. These include the right to raise thousands of animals on mega-farms and to import monocropped organic ingredients from other countries and other hemispheres. They also won the inclusion of food additives and preservatives in processed, pre-packaged organic food. Their version of organic does not take into consideration conservation of fuel or the environmental effects of long-distance transportation.
ReplyI don't really have that image with organic. For that, I tend to buy local instead.
Reply"Local" - good point.
Know your source.
ReplySince organic has nothing to do with "processed", this list doesn't surprise me at all. There are plenty of organic processed foods that I'd never eat. Most food companies manufacture tons of "brands" that help with product recognition. Kraft, for example, owns Oscar Mayer, Lunchables, Velveeta, Boca, Hellmann's, etc. They also produce generic or store brand products (like the Sam's Choice brand at Walmart, Roundy's, etc.). I generally tend to buy non-processed foods anyway (most of my groceries are fruits, veggies, meats, nuts, milk, eggs, and whole grain rice and pastas. I could care less who makes it, as long as it has healthy ingredients and is reasonably priced.
ReplyMany of these I would never eat (Boca, Morningstar, Kashi, etc.), as they are highly processed garbage. Not much like food.
However, Cascadian Farms, for instance, I know for their frozen organic berries. Nothing wrong with that.
Though, I'd still rather have frozen berries from a small, local farm. And those, thankfully, are available!
ReplyCall me crazy, but I'd take Kashi's "processed" cereals over Kellogg's processed cereals any day.
ReplyI think organic is good ,but who really knows whats organic or not no one is policing the producers ,we just take them for there word.I grow as much as I can myself.
ReplyThat is interesting Kellogs owns Kashi. I always thought they were on their own.
ReplySpectra's comment "Since organic has nothing to do with "processed" is worrying. I know the USDA(NOP) are in charge of the whole organic thing in the US. I was under the impression that for a product to be labelled 'organic' it had to be processed organically.
I would appreciate any info on how processing does not come into organic certification.
Here in the UK I think supporters of organic food have an advantage in the fact that the main certifier - the Soil Association (SA) - is an independant non-profit charity.
Unless processing adheres to strict SA guidelines it doesn't get passed as organic. Unfortunately I can see the SA coming under increasing pressure from agri and biotech corporations, in the same way as the USDA is now.
Never Teh Bride - sad but true. USDA are capitulating to agri-business more and more. Industrial organics is a lovely fantasy, sold to the masses to disguise the real agenda - to crush the rise of organic food and the independant farmer.
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