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Survey: 78% of U.S. Families Say They Purchase Organic Foods

Recently, I wrote about a USDA report that said more than two-thirds of U.S. consumers buy organic products at least occasionally and 28% buy organic products weekly.

Well, the favorable news just keeps pouring in.

In partnership with KIWI Magazine, the Organic Trade Association polled nearly 1,300 U.S. families about their attitudes and behaviors relating to organic food.

Highlights of the study include:

– 78% of U.S. families are buying organic food, up from 73% from 2009.

– 72% of parents are now familiar with the USDA Organic seal, up significantly from 65% in 2009.

Not surprisingly, 48% of parents surveyed revealed that their biggest motivation for buying organic is their belief that organic products are healthier for them and their children.

The other motivating factors were a concern over the effects of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics on children, and the desire to avoid highly processed or artificial ingredients.

MY TAKE

With this new Organic Trade Association’s poll, the USDA’s recent announcement, and the Thomson Reuters survey that was taken this summer, it is very clear that organic food is incredibly important to many, many families in the U.S.

And people are starting to become much more aware of the dangers of eating foods that contains toxic pesticides and synthetic growth hormones. After all, who in their right mind would want to put those things into their body?

So, what troubles me is the total disconnect between the preference that Americans have for organic food and the food policy that is implemented in Washington D.C.

This is particularly evident as I write this because the so-called Super Committee is supposedly negotiating the Farm Bill behind closed doors and without any open discussion. (Mark Bittman had a great op-ed piece about this in the NYT today.)

The reality is that politicians are ignoring what is best for American citizens and are making decisions that will keep them in office by catering to special interest groups (i.e., influential and powerful corporations).

As individual consumers, how can we make a difference?

– Continue to buy organic when you go out to eat or shop at the supermarket. Nothing talks louder than the mighty dollar.

– Tell the FDA that GMOs must be labeled. The U.S. is the only developed country in the world that doesn’t label GMOs. We have a right to know what is in our food.

– Let your voice be known with your representatives in Washington D.C. Every single phone call or email matters. They all add up.

Thank you so much for supporting organic food.