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The Certified Organic Associations of BC provides support for this site: encouraging organic and alternative food production in Canada by improving accessibility to organic farming content online. |
Who Owns What in the Organic food industry
Familiar Brands Funding Attack and Consumers Right to GMO Labeling
August 21, 2012
The corporate owners of Horizon Organic, Silk, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic and many other brands have already joined Monsanto and collectively donated millions of dollars to keep consumers in the dark. Meanwhile, food manufacturers that share the values of organic consumers, like Nature's Path, Lundberg, Organic Valley, Nutiva, Amy's Kitchen and Eden Foods have financially contributed to support Proposition 37 (along with major allies Dr. Joseph Mercola and Organic Consumers Association)
CHART, PETITION.
Phil Howard, author of these charts, is assistant professor at Michigan State University's Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and ResourceCyber-Help for Organic Farmers HOME PAGE
See how ownership of organic companies has transitioned from 1995 to 2007, in an animated sequence [9MB], produced by Phil Howard in collaboration with Skye Bender-deMoll,.an author of SoNIA (Social Network Image Animator).
See also charts showing:
- Acquisitions by the top 30
- New brand introductions by the top 30
- Major independents and their brands
- Private label brands
- Seed Industry Structure 1996 - 2008
COMMENTS? Click here to read chart author Phil Howard's comments and discussion in our forum - and make your own comment.
List of assets owned by food companies (Wikipedia)
MORE ON CORPORATE ORGANIC FOOD:Organic companies swallowed up by Big Ag
The fact is, organic food has become a wildly lucrative business for Big Food and a premium-price-means-premium-profit section of the grocery store. The industry's image - contented cows grazing on the green hills of family-owned farms - is mostly pure fantasy. Or rather, pure marketing. Big Food, it turns out, has spawned what might be called Big Organic.
FULL STORYThe Future of Organic Products: Brands or Private Labels?
Pioneering brands are re-inventing themselves to widen consumer appeal. However, retailer private labels are also evolving with some transcending traditional boundaries. The O Organics private label has expanded from Safeway retailers into foodservice outlets in the U.S. It has also developed an international presence, marketed by numerous food retailers in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
FULL STORYWhole Foods 'Organics' From China!
Whole Foods, which touts its support for locally grown food and organic agriculture, imports a great deal of its frozen food from China.
FULL STORYWhat Happens When Big Corporations Take Over Green Companies
It is a fairly familiar story in business. Someone has an idea, a passion. He or she builds a spectacular small business around that idea, builds a reputation for creating something really unique, and people love the business. Then, the owner sells the company to a large corporation.
FULL STORY
Organic Inc - Natural Foods and How They Grew
By Samuel Fromartz
Fromartz, a business reporter who focused on startup companies in publications like Inc. and Fortune Small Business, writes in the introduction to "Organic, Inc.": "I was particularly interested in people who sought to manifest their values in their businesses. ... The intersection of idealism and business was not an easy place to stand, since one usually trumped the other." The following statistics -- "Sales of organic food had shot up about 20% per year since 1990, reaching $11 billion by 2003" -- indicate that the organics industry, which has its roots in utopian ideologies, is in for an interesting ride. - San Francisco ChronicleWho's Really Behind Organic Food Brands Like Amy's and Odwalla?
Over the past decade many small organic food brands have been snapped up by giant corporations. Clearly, this can be bad for standards and quality.
FULL STORYThe battle for the soul of the organic movement
"It's now no different from conventional farming - producers are being squeezed, products are over-packaged, let alone the numbers of air miles that are used to fly organic goods around the world."
FULL STORYMega-producers tip scales as organic goes mainstream
"I think organic is not quite what people think at this point," said Michael Pollan, a UC Berkeley journalism professor whose new book, The Omnivore's Dilemma
NEWS ON CORPORATE ORGANIC FOOD:Stephanie Strom, New York Times - July 14, 2012
Organic companies swallowed up by Big Ag
Even as the demand for organic food continues to explode, organic farmers in America are getting thrown under the very beet cart they helped build.
Full textAri Le Vaux, Denver Post - July 26, 2009
Organic goes down a slippery road
Even as the demand for organic food continues to explode, organic farmers in America are getting thrown under the very beet cart they helped build.
Full textSamuel Fromartz, Huffington Post - July 7, 2009.
Is Organic in an End-Game?
In short, though some are controversial, you would be hard-pressed to find any processed organic food business arguing for a blanket dismissal of all synthetics.
Full textThe Cornucopia Institute - October 13, 2008.
Collateral Damage: Organic Farmers Being Squeezed Out
They claim the acquisition of major brands by corporate agribusiness, and their dependence on factory farms, threatens to force families off the land and deprive consumers of the superior nutritional food they think they are paying for.
Full text.
MORE ORGANIC FARMING NEWS
The Question: How do I decide where to buy?
If you can't find local suppliers or businesses that you know and trust, here's a little help:
Responsible Shopper - provides a track record for major companies
Related articles
- When Organics Go Mainstream Vijay Cuddeford
- Who Owns Organic? The Global Status, Prospects, and Challenges of a Changing Organic Market. [PDF - 1.5MB]
- Big Business Enters the Organic Market Place Paul Tick
- Corporate Double-Speak on their Organic Food Lines Mark Kawar
- What We Need to Know About the Corporate Takeover of the "Organic" Food Market Cynthia Resnick
- Behind the Organic-Industrial Complex Michael Pollan
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