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Oprah Winfrey Reveals Her First Move into the Organic Food Business
Last year, there was a ton of buzz about Oprah Winfrey’s rumored entrance into the organic food industry when she filed for the trademarks “Oprah’s Organics” and “Oprah’s Harvest”.
Speculation was swirling about exactly what she was up to – would it be salad dressings, prepared foods, personal care products. No one really knew, and I wondered if she would be making a cameo appearance at Natural Products Expo West this past March at the Anaheim Convention Center. (She never showed up.)
Well, now we are getting the first bit of confirmed information about Oprah’s foray into organics.
In the June issue of O Magazine, the media superstar is giving readers an inside look at her organic farm in Hawaii. And on People magazine’s website, there is a video where Oprah and her good friend Bob Greene discuss the importance of growing organic fruit and vegetables, especially in Hawaii where 90% of the island’s food is imported.
Yet, it is in the video where Bob Greene says that it’s only a matter of time before they “start selling” the vegetables that are currently being grown on her property.
With the help of Hawaii natural resource management group Bio-Logical Capital, Oprah’s farm is now producing 100 species of fruits, vegetables and herbs, and one acre is producing 145 pounds of food each week. The food is for Oprah, her guests, and the farm workers. Additionally, some of the food is being donated to local restaurants.
To watch the video on People, click HERE.
By the way, her farm looks absolutely majestic.
MY TAKE
As I said last year, getting Oprah Winfrey involved in the organic food industry is HUGE. Not only will she draw a tremendous amount of attention to the sector and help educate people about the increased health benefits of organic food, but she could become an important figure in the fight against GMOs.
Two things of note.
1) Given that she is growing organic food in Hawaii and has plans to sell it there, I am hopeful that she will become involved in the massive GMO protests taking place on the island.
GMO contamination is a very, very serious problem in Hawaii since all of the major GMO companies use the island as their personal outdoor laboratory where so much experimentation of genetically-engineered crops takes place.
If you want to see just how grave and unsettling the situation is, watch this documentary called Stop Monsanto From Poisoning Hawaii: Genetic Engineering Chemical Warfare.
2) I still believe that Oprah selling organic fruits and vegetables from her farm in Hawaii is just the beginning. I can definitely see the “Oprah’s Organics” brand expanding into all types of packaged foods and personal care products (areas that the trademarks cover), with a certain percentage of the profits donated to charity, similar to what Paul Newman established.
All is all, having Oprah Winfrey involved in organics is just a phenomenal thing, and it is fantastic to see this becoming more real. As I get more information about her organic ventures, I will be sure to let you know.