The Omnivore's Dilemma: Part II

     Food is a business. So no matter what, the main focus will eventually be money and profit. People can try to turn towards a more sustainable, healthier food system, but someone will always see an opportunity to turn a profit and go for it. This is why I was not surprised to hear some of the facts that Pollan introduced about Whole Foods Market. Once he started talking about the “prose” of the supermarket, I immediately began to question the authenticity of these stories. Whole Foods sells food. They’re running a business and are looking to attract consumers in any way possible. If a little story about a cow makes you buy milk, then they’ll give you a story. I’m not holding this against Whole Foods or judging them in any way. Like I said, they’re a business. It makes sense for them to sugar coat background information about an animal and unfortunately, it makes sense for them to sell “processed organic food.” Pollan suggests this may be a contradictory term. But as defined by the USDA, it’s not. I think I would agree with Joel Salatin when, speaking about the term organic, he says, “I’m afraid you’ll have to ask the government, because now they own the word.” He sounds a little extreme, but isn’t he right? If the government sets the regulations for what is and what isn’t organic, then they’re defining organic. Sure, as consumers we can educate ourselves fully on organic food and formulate an opinion for ourselves and some people have. However, I would argue that most consumers really only know an organic food because it says so on the label. I could probably take something non-organic, slap an organic sticker on it and most people wouldn’t know the difference. But, it’s a marketing tool. Organic is in. Some people eat organic for health reasons, while others indulge because its hip. Whatever the reason, it is a quickly growing industry. The easiest way to maintain supply of the food is through big business. Chain supermarkets buy food from massive farms. It’s the circle of capitalism. I don’t actually know the facts, but I would guess organic food from a big farm can be sold for an equal amount as organic food from a small farm. This is where convenience comes into play. Like Pollan says, it makes more sense for Whole Foods to buy from one big farm then ten smaller ones. The idea of a somewhat fixed price also leads to why more organic farms are becoming industrialized. The cheaper it is to grow and sustain the food, the higher a farm or market’s profit margin. So even though it seems Whole Foods is helping to lead the way  for organic foods, as consumers we have to wonder what that truly means. We’re forced to adopt the governments idea of “organic” and decide whether or not that is good enough for us. Unfortunately for small farmers, our capitalist society makes it hard for small business. This is not just true in the farming industry, many businesses suffer when trying to compete with chains and bigger businesses.