It was a decision that made good business sense. With the cost of producing organic soybeans on the rise and consumer demand flattening, Broomfield-based WhiteWave Foods Co. -- a subsidiary of Dean Foods of Dallas -- ditched organic in favor of conventional soybeans in all but three of its Silk Soymilk products.
But it turns out the change is costing WhiteWave in reputation among some of its consumers.
The Organic Consumers Association has called for a boycott of WhiteWave products, which also includes Colorado's Horizon Organic-brand dairy.
Horizon and Silk represent the nation's leading brand of organic milk and the best-selling soymilk brand.
"Dean Foods has just declared war on the organic industry," said Mark Kastel, senior farm policy analyst at The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog.
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WhiteWave Shifts from Organic to Natural Soybeans
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By Kimberly Morrison
Denver Business Journal - CO, July 21, 2009
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