Organic Food Stores

The organic food movement has been booming ever since the USDA enforced national standards for certifying organic foods in October 2002. Increasing concern over the outbreak of Mad Cow disease, E. Coli, health problems caused by toxins and pesticides, and the health of the environment has caused the public to take a more active interest in ecological friendly foods and products.

According to the Organic Trade Association, retail sales of organic food reached $15 billion in 2005 and are expected to surpass $32 billion by 2009.

One major result of the success of the organic food industry has been organic food stores. The largest and most profitable of the organic food stores is Whole Foods. It is the 4th largest grocery food chain in the United States as well as the leading retailer of natural and organic foods in the world. Whole Foods own 183 stores in 30 states, the District of Colombia, Canada, and the United Kingdom and has 62 more stores in development. The company has 40,000 employees and for the past 9 years has been voted on of Forbes top 100 companies to work for. Its annual sales reached $4.7 billion in 2004 and the company plans to reach $12 billion by 2010.

Wild Oats Markets is another popular organic food store. It has 101 stores located in 25 states and Canada. Both Wild Oats Markets and Whole Foods offer a large selection of high quality organic food and products. Both organic food stores also provide a wide selection of both fresh and packaged organic foods. While these organic food stores offer the best in the organic food industry a criticism often cited is the price of their foods. Both organic food stores sell their food and products at higher prices than are found in regular grocery stores. This is mainly due to the production and handling costs that result from the methods and regulations enforced for organic agriculture.

A positive result from the success of organic food stores is mainstream supermarket chains are beginning to sell their own organic foods. Some supermarket chains are even creating their own organic store brands and selling them at cheaper prices than organic food stores. Supermarket chains that have already begun to offer organic food selections are Sam's Club, Safeway Inc., and Wal-Mart. Food companies such as Kraft, Kellogg, Mars, General Mills, and Pepsi are also following the lead of supermarket chains. These companies are already developing organic versions of their popular food products.

There are many advantages to organic food becoming mainstream. For example, the price of organic food will drop in comparison to the prices in which organic food stores sell their organic products. This will allow more people to be able to afford them. Organic food will also be more widely available and distributed. Another advantage of large companies like Wal-Mart going organic is it will expand the amount of organically farmed land as well as hasten the globalization of organic food.

There are also critics of large supermarket companies making organic food mainstream. One fear is these companies will either not strictly follow the standards of growing food organically or will bring down the standards in which organic food is grown. Only time will tell. For now the best place to buy quality organic food is in organic food stores like Whole Foods and Wild Oats Markets. These organic food stores adhere to all the regulations required by the USDA and make shopping for organic food a fun experience.