Corporate Control of Organic Food

[S.Annadana]

Corporate Control of Organic Food SectorSetting aside (excuse the CAP pun) local foods for a moment, I want to highlight some interesting things I’ve seen recently about corporate ownership of organic foods. This remains relevant to local foods however, since some have suggested that the local sector is vulnerable to the same process of co-option by corporate agri-business as has been seen in the organics sector in recent years.

My interest was sparked by this chart produced by Phil Howard (of Michigan State University) and published in Good Magazine, which illustrates corporate ownership of many of the large organic food brands in the US. Here’s a snapshot of part of it - click the image for the whole thing…



This graphic has been picked up by various media and blogs - and the common question raised is - do you still want to buy organic if it’s produced/distributed/retailed/profited from by one of the big corporations that run the conventional agri-food system?

For example, have a look at this review of the Top 10 Ethical Chocolate brands in the UK from the Guardian, back in September last year. When reviewing ‘number 1′ - Green and Blacks - Adam Vaughan writes:

Inarguably the biggest and most famous British ethical chocolatier, Green & Blacks’ sheer scale means you could argue it’s the most ethical too. But since launching the world’s first Fairtrade Mark product in 1994 - its distinctive and delicious orange-and-spice Maya Gold - the company has come in for flak on its ethics. On the Fairtrade front it still only has one Fairtrade chocolate bar in a 16-strong certified organic range. Then there was the 2005 takeover by Cadbury Schweppes, which was a stretch too far for many ethical shoppers (Guardian).

So does corporate ownership reduce the benefits of organic food? And would corporate ownership make local food less valuable?

Some would argue that we can already see the process of corporate co-option of the local food sector taking place, with increased interest from the big four supermarkets in the UK in stocking local produce, a process commented on by CorporateWatch recently, who write:

The local food sector is forecasted to grow in value by 33% over the next five years. Following on from their foray into organic food, the big supermarkets are falling over themselves to develop ‘local’ sourcing policies (CorporateWatch).

In the US, the Hartman Group, who conduct market research in the organics sector, found in 2006 that “today, as organic products increasingly enter mass-market channels, almost three-quarters of the U.S. population buy organic products at least occasionally. At the core of the market, 23% of U.S. consumers buy organic products on a regular (at least weekly) basis.” Following this 2006 report (which retails for a stunning $17,500!), another report will be released this year, which observes the process in which “Organics have long left the sole domain of specialty or natural food supermarkets as seemingly every mainstream conventional retail channel has integrated organic products into their marketing mix.” The pre-release piece continues to state that:

“The market saturation and perceived muddiness of organic purity has created a level of suspicion among core consumers that has lead many in search of what’s beyond organic by sourcing from local or highly trusted sources. In order to understand where organics might be going, it is essential to analyze these “beyond organic” behaviors and sources.”

If I had a spare $13,500 I’d let you know what the Hartman Group’s 2008 findings are, but I’m afraid that information will be reserved for those with a corporate budget.