Which Giant Corporation Owns Your Favorite Organic Food Brand?

[Richard]

Did you know that Boca is owned by Kraft? That Naked Juice is completely controlled by Pepsi? That General Mills runs Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen?

This fascinating chart (to view it click the source link below) by Phil Howard, an assistant professor of Community, Agriculture, and Recreation and Resource studies at Michigan State University, will show you where your money really goes when you buy that name-brand “organic” snack -- and you can bet that if it’s made by Kraft, it’s probably not coming from a small family farm, either.

Sources: Good Magazine March/April 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

For those of you who still believed that your Horizon organic milk, your Kashi crackers or your Odwalla green drink was being churned out by a small farm or mom-and-pop shop nestled in a pristine valley, well I’m sorry to burst your bubble.

The reality is that many of the same corporations that make the biggest junk food offenders -- soda, potato chips, sugary cereals, candy, etc. -- are also behind many of the most well-known organic food brands. So how does a soda company, for instance, go from pushing corn syrup-laden “liquid candy” to marketing “all-natural” health drinks with a vision to “nourish people everywhere with the ineffably honest art and rhythm of nature’s offerings” (as it says on Odwalla’s Web site)?

Either they had an epiphany, and suddenly wanted to stop making products that contribute to many people’s early departures from this planet, or they saw the potential to make some money.

The latter option, of course, gets my vote.

Is Big-Business’ Involvement in Organic a Good or Bad Thing?

Depending on whether you view the glass as half-full or half-empty, this can be viewed in two ways:

1. People are speaking with their pocketbooks and demanding healthier food choices, and America’s largest corporations are responding.

2. America’s largest corporations, eager to gain market share in the natural foods movement, have begun mass-producing “organic” foods, and as a result are slowly deteriorating the meaning and health benefits upon which the organic label was founded.

In reality, there’s a bit of truth to both of these views. With the involvement of large corporations, organic food has turned into a $16-billion business, with sales growing by as much as 20 percent per year. What this means for a lot of America is access to more organic foods, likely at lower prices.

Large corporations also have big advertising budgets, which means the idea of eating foods free from pesticides, genetically modified ingredients and raised in sustainable, humane ways is getting a lot of publicity whereas just a couple of decades ago it was next to unheard of.

Phil Howard, an assistant professor of Community, Agriculture, and Recreation and Resource studies at Michigan State University, put together the revealing chart discussed above. He’s also behind many other graphics that show just how the organic label is being expanded by corporations. As of January 2008, for instance, this chart from Howard shows you the massive expansion of popular food lines coming out with their own organic versions.

But there is a downside, and a major one at that. When big corporations dip their hands into a project, they are looking to maximize their profits by turning out the largest amount of product for the least expense. If this means sacrificing some ethics and skimping on some quality, that is often exactly what is done.

As a result, you now have to be very wary when you see the term “organic,” as it doesn’t always mean that the food is any better for you or the environment. For example:

• Horizon Organic, the company that supplies Wal-Mart, has continually ignored federal organic standards -- specifically, a cow's access to pasture.
  
• The organic label is now being put on salmon, despite the fact that there is not much difference between conventional farm-raised salmon and its organic counterpart.
  
• You can buy organic versions of ice cream, potato chips, crackers, soda and just about everything, but these foods are STILL not good for you. 
  
• At least one study has found that the transportation of organic produce causes an environmental impact large enough to cancel out any environmental benefits.

There’s Something Even Better Than Organic

It’s sad to say but the organic label has become virtually meaningless as a sign of quality. In seeking out food that is truly grown the way nature intended, you are therefore far better off seeking local producers.

These are the people who are truly still running small farms, where you can find grass-fed beef that is truly grass-fed (and not finished on grains in the last months) and produce that is truly fresh, not just coated in wax to make it appear that way.

Depending on where you live, finding a local farmer or food coop may seem unrealistic, but just as demand drove the rise of organic, it is driving the demand for locally grown foods. You can peruse this list of sustainable agriculture options to find like-minded people in your area who will know how you can connect with local food producers. Also be sure to take advantage of farmer’s markets and roadside stands as the summer approaches.

As Phil Howard’s chart has revealed, you just never know who is behind even your “healthy” food choices, that is, unless you meet them face-to-face. So if you’re concerned about where your food is coming from, avoid the processed organic junk foods at your supermarket, and instead support the farmers that are still producing real health food.

Related Articles:

 Cracking Down on Organic Food Fraud

 More Organic Food Deception by Wal-Mart

 The Selling of Organic 

Story here:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articl...brand.aspx

[GertrudaRose]

Fascinating.  On the original article website there are comments after the article that contain an interesting discussion of organic affordability and low pay rate.  They also discuss the absence of corporate conscience.

[Mercy Now]

Which is why I like the heart of this little article :

The mom and pop factor.
Back when I was young and we would go traveling alot of the places we would eat were mom and pop joints. When we went to shop in stores while traveling, once again, mom and pop joints. You would walk in to these places and see their children working or playing or hanging out. Those places had a certain feeling to them as well.

That feeling....was spirit.

You could feel spirit because the places like that attracted good spirit to good spirit. Negative people can't allow places like that to exist. So they tax them out, eminent domain them out, buy them out, shut them down, and in extreme cases kill them out. In order to control it all.

Everyone with an eye to see and a little attention paid over a long span of time, could see the systematic elimination of the mom and pops. Worst in my opinion was the eradication of the mom and pop industiral sector. We as a people will soon feel the ramifications of that by the way unless we start reintroducing that back into our system. As well as mom and pops in all areas. Add to that the concious effort need to be aware and support these types of places. In doing this you automaticly support the "made in the USA".

But to do this you also have to factor in the added concious efforts to just say no to "made in china" or "made anywhere else other than the USA" products.

If you harken back to the news reports of when america was the leader in everything, and america was great, and america was floating in the black, you will find mom and pop operations, compared to corporate america today. Also all the mom and pop products seemed to be more sturdy and durable than corporation fodder products.

The proof is in all those weird product museums. Find which mom and pop places got taken over in whatever manner, then line up the products in order of date they came out, and do a comparison. Words like "solid state" actually meant something back then. My house has stuff from my great grandmother's time still in use. Because they last and were built to last.

Americans had also an isolationist view up until pearl harbor then it changed, but before it did americans kept american money in america for the most part. They bought american. They did not allow people to sway them with this pie chart or that demigraphic. they kept it in america because that is a big part of how america has stayed solvent, and they knew it. So why did we forget that? OR was it propagandawhacked?

Basicly what I am saying is that it seems to me,  that if we as a people want to lessen alot of our problems, that that old way is a way to go.

Mom and pop + more spirit = less corporation + less lobby money for the satan monkeys

On a side note though I would also like to add that the mom and pop must further be scrutinized to see if they are of a negative or postivie spirit. This should translate into how you feel. Did you feel like you walked into your grandparents house or did you feel like you just want to leave.

As a result of applying this in my own life there are places that I have literaly driven an hour out of my way sometimes for the food or the manfactured item, The food was very good, or the item still works, the money stayed in this country from my end.

I am aware that certain raw materials and ingredients can not be gotten in america, and people need to go outside for them. I am just saying whenever possible, when you can observe it, then make an effort to keep the money circulating in this country.

Also the more mom and pops start to spring up again the less need there is to go outside the country for stuff.

Corporations want to leave the country? Are those the same ones that helped to ruin this country? They are? Then why do you whine when another decides to leave this country? Good riddance. What they still have an office in this country? Well ignore them maybe they will go away for good. Your company left you high and dry? Open a mom and pop. Form a mom and pop network.

Take back your country and phase them out.

from lifeforce.myblogsite.com

[spiritvoyager]

Thanks for the Great Article Richard!  This is the first time I have seen so much whistleblowing info in one article on the sneaky spoilers in the health food industry.  Plenty of good info here to guide grocery buying decisions. 

Awesome rant Mercy Now!  I wholeheartedly agree that it all begins with us.  There may be a lot of things we feel powerless to outwardly control but we can certainly control how and where we spend our money for necessities.  You have inspired me to start being more vigilant in all purchases.  A while back, a friend was telling me that one of her relatives refused to wear anything that was not made in the U.S.A. and would not accept gifts that were not.  My friend said, "Do you know how hard it is to find clothing made in the U.S. ?" 

I am a bit obsessive about getting the best quality for the best price so I do shop around. A few years before Whole Foods came on the scene (15 years ago?) small independent quality health food grocery stores had started popping up.  Whole Foods put a lot of them out of business. This was definitely not "all good".  I shop at Whole Foods but still patronize local independents for supplements and packaged goods.   They still do some things better than Whole Foods and the mom and pops on the Internet. Mom and pop produce stores have always been my preference for fresh food. We should really make sure we keep the produce stores going.  With the current ongoing crazy manipulations designed to crash the U.S. and world economies, the mom and pop produce stores may be our saving grace.

Regarding the junk food like chips, etc.  If you're going to eat them, eating organic brands is still better than brands made with genetically engineered crops and hydrogenated or saturated fats.

[DreamTime]

I agree with you whole-heartedly, MN! I, too, remember when my mom and dad would take my sister and I out. We would always go to these little "mom and pop" places. The food was always better and so was the atmosphere. I would be hard pressed nowadays to find any "mom and pop" places. And when you do find something like that, their prices are so high, it's like you have to be rich to shop there.  It's a shame that in order to eat decent, you have to make lots of money.

[Mercy Now]

I may need to clarify here that I didn't write that article but I can recall those places and times like you DT and can relate very much to the sentiments conveyed by the author.