andrea, great post. funny is i was reading this morning an article about organic producers here in italy, close to my city (rome). i think we should add to the above thoughts that the label organic allows in a short time, at least, to charge a premium and defend revenues. they are not organic but the make money on. too sad.

Andrea,

For me, if the label says organic, the product needs to be 100% free of genetic manipulation, pesticides, hormones, food coloring and anything else that keeps the contents of the package from being pure.

Therefore, it does come down to reading the label, since we have no other way of knowing what we are eating. Of course, that also means truth in labeling.

If marketing screws this up, I am one marketer who will be outraged.

Lewis

It seems there is a basic disconnect, between evaluating marketing organizations and people against market share changes, production organizations and people being evaluated on cost of product shipped, and the essential ethic of the company.

Marketing has two jobs, to portray the company image as defined by higher management, and to create markets for products within that image. Higher management *could* insist on integrity, actually monitor and measure compliance (to assure there is no disconnect between actual practice and 'stated' policy), and applies that direction at all levels. Higher management *does* set the standard for evaluating marketing performance (as well as production), and that standard is going to dictate what latitude marketing has to tie promotions into actual production practices.

On the other hand, what consumers consider 'organic' may actually describe what some companies have been doing for years. Certain products such as Quaker Oats, Cheerios, and Kellogg's Corn Flakes come to mind as possible candidates. Also Coor's Beer, Seagram's Seven Crown, Cambell's Chicken Noodle Soup, and certain other products might, on close inspection, fit that label. In those cases where the product already fits the label, shouldn't the company remind the consumer of the value of their product?

I recall the catchy jingle of Kellogg's Sugar Pops, and how 'sugar' kind of fell out of the label, but I didn't understand there was any change in the product. Nor a change when Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes became 'Frosted Flakes'. The previous fad of 'low fat' made me laugh when I saw bags of sugar labeled 'zero fat'.

I think unethical companies -- using untrue labels to garner sales -- should be held up for ridicule and disciplinary action. Until the have to *act* as if they were ethical, to hold onto market share. After all, if you pretend long enough, it becomes habit.

Brad,

Thank you for sharing but I respectfully disagree that "Marketing has two jobs, to portray the company image as defined by higher management, and to create markets for products within that image."

First, marketing should not be the tail wagging the dog. Image should be authentic and not defined by executives sitting around a table. The fact is that companies don't create their image; people perceive it and whatever they perceive becomes the image. One of marketing's jobs is to understand and to guide that perception.

Second, any business that is creating markets for products doesn't get it. That concept is 100% backwards. Instead, businesses create products for markets and then marketing informs and touches those markets to move them to try the products.

Lewis

The pressure is on for companies to walk as well as talk "green." Even baby steps toward real, integrated environmental/social responsibility for brands will be seen as a positive by consumers - and they will wait (a little) longer to see if the brand follows through on the promise.

It is great to see this discussion!

Hi Andrea,
This is a timely blog entry, and I thank you for posting it. Having worked within the natural products industry for over 11 years in the recent past, I can state that the "organic" issue is a complicated one.

Large mainstream companies have noted two things: the grassroots demand for healthier, cleaner, whole foods and the fat profit margins to be had on those products vs the "traditional" grocery store product offerings. And, of course, this is being utilized as a powerful marketing tool, warranted or not, by various companies' practices.

Regardless, the meteoric growth of organics has put incredible pressure on the supply stream. There are shortages of many organics due to surging demand and a very short list of suppliers and available raw product. Consequently, the word "organic" is being widely and many times, erroneously used. The Federal government has tried to put some standards out to assure that "organic" signifies foods grown without artificial fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, bioengineering and the use of radiation. However, true devotees of the organic ideal embrace the respectful and ethical treatment of farm animals for the food supply. They seek small crop growers who are as local as possible, many of whom are held very accountable for their practices, and accredited by stringent organic certifiers, whose standards far exceed the government's.

As to a number of mass market "organic" brands, there is a skepticism as to how organic they truly are, or as to the percentage of the product ingredients that truly can be tagged organic. The fact is, as Gary Hirshberg, president of Stonyfield Farms said in a recent interview, that to remain in the organic food business today, sourcing has to be done globally. It's pretty hard to assure high standards are being met and maintained in this kind of environment.

The irony is that while the organic food movement has realized its greatest dream of opening a large segment of consumers up to eating healthier, whole, untampered with foods, the very success of it has put its high standards in peril. With agribusiness the law of the land, it will be interesting to see if we can and will ultimately begin to orient ourselves to organic production on a much larger scale, since demand is there, or not. To the educated consumer of organics, the term means much more than it does to the newly converted who may simply buy products or brands that are being marketed as "organic". The latter may simply be fooling themselves.

Right on Claire. My family has been buying organic foods for over 20 years. It was easy in Seattle, not so easy in New England. And now with marketers labeling for short-term gains and dollars, we find ourselves spending lots of time reading labels, including in places such as Trader Joe's and Wild Oats.

Keep up the good fight, and don't be afraid to out those manipulating consumers.

I never got on the organic bandwagon, but I do shop at Whole Foods and Central Market from time to time. Partially, I'm sure, because it's just not that important to me, if either of those two organizations were to tell me something was organic, I would believe it, because they've committed themselves to the idea.

On the other hand, Kellogs telling me something is organic, even though they've been around much longer, I have to be skeptical -- for the same reason someone else cited -- they think relabeling something makes it so.

Andrea,
Thank you for posting on Organic. As a producer I spent 9 months filming organic and knew very little when I started. The key is the soil. There are no pesticides that are chemical. The food grown tastes like Rachel Carson from The Silent Spring talked about. If you want to watch the dvd I can send it to you. I new read all labels & have a pattern of food I keep buying and try not to eat as many preservatives not that the knowledge is there. I know due to the oil thing politically more people are going green. It only takes 4 days to sprout lettuce and a garden can fit on someone's patio in any city. After the WW II they had victory gardens and it is my belief more people want to be enlightened per what I have read on earth org's site.
Every convention I do I sell out so I am hoping to make money from my hard work while teaching that there doesn't need to be hunger.
Kathy

This is one of those things that begs a big old public service campaign.... I'm not sure what will help get the word out to more of the people who for whatever reason have never been exposed to truly, down and dirty, organic food.

As soon as you have a friend who eats organic or can explain why he or she buys one thing over another, you definitely DO start to conduct your own research and make wiser decisions. (It is like politics in that way) So - discussions like this one, and grassroots, slow but strong moving education campaigns will help the green/organic movement grow and endure. It certainly is interesting to be watching its progress now.

Perhaps Kathy's films are part of that education? Great! And, there is a fantastic "trend" look at the locally grown/green/organic movement in the Fall "nu-austerity" issue of Viewpoint mag (modeinfo.com)

I think going organic is important, but like everything else, it is important to be knowledgeable about the products and not just listen to the marketing hype. Reading about the topic from reputable sources is a good place to start. One website that can get you started is:
http://www.organic.org/education/faqs - This has a few facts on what it takes for a label to say that it is organic, what portions of the products are actually grown on organic farms and what steps a farm has to do before being certified as organic.

I think it is great to bring awareness to the fact that we don't want or need so many chemicals and hormones in our foods. It will be interesting to see where it all goes.

I think superficial marketing efforts such as slapping a "green" or "organic" label will fail, because they essentially ignore a communications basic: Know Your Audience.

Like any group, organic (or green) consumers are that type of consumer due to actual underlying values. I think you're right that slower, real (honest) communication will pay off in this realm. The inauthentic stuff will be a short-lived consumer-disconnect. (Hopefully!)

Post-script to this post:

Cornucopia Institute, an activist group representing small farmers, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, claiming that Wal-Mart incorrectly labeled several products as organic.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111401092.html