For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's All About Organics page, our Myth of Natural page and our Genetic Engineering page
Organic and ‘Natural’ Now Constitute 13% of All U.S. Grocery Sales
American consumers are increasingly willing to pay a premium price for foods and products that they believe are healthier, environmentally sustainable, and humanely produced.
Organic and "natural" products now constitute over 13% of U.S. grocery purchases. Sales of certified organic products are projected to reach approximately $35 billion in 2013, or 4.5% of total grocery sales. That compares with sales of “natural” products – uncertified, and routinely produced with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, animal drugs, GMOs, and sewage sludge – which are expected to exceed $70 billion in 2013.
Unfortunately many, if not most consumers are unclear about the qualitative difference between certified organic and most so-called "natural" products. Given this rampant mislabeling in the marketplace, if so-called "natural" products containing GMOs and synthetic chemicals and residues had to be truthfully labeled, organic sales would likely double within a short period of time.
The Organic Industry Explosion
35%: Increase in U.S. sales of organic food over the past five years, nearly three times the pace of the food industry as a whole.
Source: The Organic Trade Association
16.5%: Average annual organics industry growth rate from 2000 to 2010, compared with 3.25 percent average annual growth in the overall food industry.
Source: A Growing Demand for Organic Food: A Bright Spot in a Tough Economy, 2012
21%: Difference in jobs created from investing in organic products versus non-organic.
Source: Organic Trade Association, 2012
7.4%: Organic industry growth rate in 2012, more than double the annual growth rate forecast for conventional food sales.
Source: Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators, 2012 Edition
$29.2 billion: Total organic food and beverage sales in 2011, doubling sales since 2004, and up from $1 billion in 1990.
Source: Organic Trade Association, 2012
4.2%: The total market share of organic sales in 2011, up from 4 percent in 2010.
Source: Organic Trade Association, 2012
20%: Increase in organic cotton retail sales, up from $4.3 billion in 2009 to $5.16 billion in 2010.
Source: 2010 Global Market Report on Sustainable Textiles
81%: Families that say they buy organic, up from 73 percent in 2009. Forty-one percent are new entrants to the market, and nearly half say they buy organic food because it is “healthier for me and my children.”
Source: U.S. Families’ Beliefs and Attitudes, Organic Trade Association
Label Confusion: ‘Natural’ versus Organic
61%: Respondents who erroneously believed “natural” foods implies or suggests the absence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) versus 63% who correctly believed the same about organic foods.
Source: Hartman Group, 2010
62%: Respondents who erroneously believed “natural” foods implies or suggests the absence of pesticides versus 69% who correctly believed the same about organic foods.
Source: Hartman Group, 2010
59%: Respondents who erroneously believed “natural” foods implies or suggests the absence of herbicides versus only 69% who correctly believed the same about organic foods.
Source: Hartman Group, 2010
64%: Respondents who erroneously believed “natural” foods implies or suggests the absence of growth hormones versus 68% who correctly believed the same about organic foods.
Source: Hartman Group, 2010
73%: Respondents who erroneously believed “natural” foods implies or suggests the absence of artificial flavors/colors/preservatives versus 66% who correctly believed the same about organic foods.
Source: Hartman Group, 2010
58%: Respondents who erroneously believed “natural” foods implies or suggests the absence of antibiotics versus 63% who correctly believed the same about organic foods.
Source: Hartman Group, 2010
$9 million: Amount PepsiCo recently agreed to settle out of court for falsely claiming their Naked Juice brands were ‘natural’ and ‘non-GMO’.
Source: Beverage Daily
$60 billion: Approximate sale of products falsely labeled “natural” in 2011.
Source: Natural Foods Merchandiser magazine’s 2012 Market Overview
Compiled by Zack Kaldveer, assistant media director of OCA.