{"id":15094,"date":"2021-09-01T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T17:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calcanstaging.kinsta.cloud\/?p=15094"},"modified":"2025-09-12T05:11:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T12:11:31","slug":"organic-food-has-become-mainstream-but-still-has-room-to-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calclimateag.org\/es\/organic-food-has-become-mainstream-but-still-has-room-to-grow\/","title":{"rendered":"Organic food has become mainstream but still has room to grow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Organic food has become mainstream but still has room to\u00a0grow<\/h2>\n

By Kathleen Merrigan<\/a>, Arizona State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Organic food once was viewed as a niche category for health nuts and hippies, but today it\u2019s a routine choice for millions of Americans. For years following passage of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990<\/a>, which established national organic standards, consumers had to seek out organic products at food co-ops and farmers markets. Today over half of organic sales are in conventional grocery store chains, club stores and supercenters; Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Target and Safeway are the top five organic retailers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Surveys show that 82% of Americans buy some organic food<\/a>, and availability has improved. So why do overall organic sales add up to a mere 6%<\/a> of all food sold in the U.S.? And since organic farming has many benefits<\/a>, including conserving soil and water and reducing use of synthetic chemicals, can its share grow?<\/p>\n

One issue is price. On average, organic food costs 20% more<\/a> than conventionally produced food. Even hardcore organic shoppers like me sometimes bypass it due to cost.<\/p>\n

Some budget-constrained shoppers may restrict their organic purchases to foods they are especially concerned about, such as fruits and vegetables. Organic produce carries far fewer pesticide residues<\/a> than conventionally grown versions.<\/p>\n

Price matters, but let\u2019s dig deeper. Increasing organic food\u2019s market share will require growing larger quantities and more diverse organic products. This will require more organic farmers than the U.S. currently has.<\/p>\n

There are some 2 million farms in the U.S.<\/a>. Of them, only 16,585 are organic<\/a> \u2013 less than 1%. They occupy 5.5 million acres<\/a>, which is a small fraction of overall U.S. agricultural land. Roughly two-thirds of U.S. farmland is dedicated to growing animal feed and biofuel feedstocks like corn and soybeans<\/a>, rather than food for people.<\/p>\n

In my view, converting more agricultural land to organic food production should be a national goal. Organic farmers produce healthy food, promote soil health and protect watersheds. Ruminant animals like dairy cows when raised organically must graze on pasture<\/a> for at least 120 days each year, which reduces their methane emissions.<\/p>\n

The list of climate and environmental benefits<\/a> associated with organic is long. Organic farming consumes 45% less energy than conventional production, mainly because it doesn\u2019t use nitrogen fertilizers. And it emits 40% less greenhouse gases because organic farmers practice crop rotation, use cover crops and composting, and eliminate fossil fuel-based inputs.<\/p>\n

The vast majority of organic farms are small or midsized, both in terms of gross sales and acreage. Organic farmers are younger on average than conventional farmers<\/a>.<\/p>\n