Today the grocery shoppers buying soy salami are just as likely to
have white perms as long hair. Mintel Consumer Intelligence reports that sales of soy
products reached $1.7 billion in 2002, an increase from $817 million in 1997.
Throughout the 1990s, sales of organic products increased 20 percent or more each
year and food giants, such as General Mills, Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods, now produce
organic products. The USDA organic standards, approved in 2002, put an official seal
of approval on the $9.5 billion market, which is the fastest growing segment of the food
business.
Green consumers continue to be concerned about food security issues such as
genetically-modified organisms, the shrinking number of crop varieties and plants
that are patented by corporations. According to an ABC News.com poll, 52 percent
of Americans believe that genetically-modified food "is not safe.""
Food shoppers and chefs have also shown a growing interest in purchasing local
produce. The USDA estimates that the number of farmers markets grew 79 percent
between 1994 and 2002.
|
