Organic "yuppie chow" anyone ?
Has big business turned organics into 'yuppy chow'? MICHAEL VALPY
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
May 30, 2007
SASKATOON — Organic food is being taken over by big business, marketed as "yuppie chow" for the privileged, and increasingly packaged with as little concern for the environment as conventional food production, says a York University academic researcher.
In a paper to be presented on Friday at Canada's largest gathering of social sciences scholars, Irena Knezevic says that most of the major organic brands on the North American market are now owned by large corporations such as ConAgra, Cargill, Kraft, Coca Cola and Pepsi.
She says their products - along with those sold by retail giants such as Loblaws and Wal-Mart - are turning organic agriculture into product brands that are becoming "a marketing tool more so than an assurance of quality, let alone an assurance of a fair and sustainable production process."
Officials from Loblaws and Wal-Mart were unavailable for comment last night. . . .
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