Organic Food Now Mainstream in Hudson Valley Region

Today's Times Hear ld Record reports on the growing acceptance of organic food products.  There is one caveat in this seemingly positive story. 50% of organic food is now sold by supermarkets, aka, Wal-Mart. This is part of the problem. Huge retailers dictate to vendors what they will buy and what they want to product to be right down to how it is manufactured; in this case grown. Since when does a buyer sitting in Bentonville AR know anything about health food?

 

Anther issue with things going mainstream cause a reactionary from those who have been "in the know" in the early days. They often become angry at the newbies stepping on their turf. Kind of like when I have tried to volunteer for many organizations who say they have only a small number of people doing the grunt work. Just try to join them and you get an attitude as if you are stepping on their right to martyr themselves for the cause.

 

Unscrupulous manufacturers jump in on the band wagon as well. I mean organic garlic from China? Gimme a break!

 

What usually happens after the mainstream hype is over is logic and reason settles back in. The last groupies of the trend  lose interest and go away. The devious producers usually follow suit. The original groupies realize the trend is good as the hype levels off and join back in wiser for the move.

 

There will not be as many involved as during the hyper days of organic euphoria but the remaining crowd is much larger and healthier (pardon the pun) and the industry is better off in the long run.