Mega-producers tip scales as organic goes mainstream-SF CHRON

[fed-up]

GREEN GIANTS
Mega-producers tip scales as organic goes mainstream

Carol Ness, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, April 30, 2006

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/04/30/MNGJGII7B21.DTL

Thirteen-and-a-half million servings of organic romaine, radicchio and baby greens. That's how much Earthbound Farm, the biggest organic produce company in the country, sends across America from its gigantic San Juan Bautista processing plant every single week.

...

The yang is County Line Harvest farmer David Retsky, steering an orange tractor to sow organic Palla Rosa radicchio, Easter Egg radishes and Cosmic Purple carrots on the 6 hilly acres he farms outside Petaluma. Retsky and his small crew handpick whatever is ready, and sell it the next day to a few farmers' markets and restaurants, plus a specialty wholesaler, in Oakland and San Francisco.

Both farms are certified organic. But they couldn't be more different in scale, in how far their produce travels, in how much fuel is burned to produce and deliver it, in how fresh it is when it gets to market, and in how much it costs.

Consumers who think they're buying from a small local farm may actually be buying from a company moving up to half-a-million pounds of lettuce a day. Their organic milk might come from cows grazing on lush spring grass near Bodega Bay -- or it might come from a barren 5,000-cow feedlot dairy in Colorado.

Organic convenience foods and snacks might be manufactured by Northern California companies from local ingredients. But, increasingly, they're being made from ingredients bought cheaply from as far away as South America or China....


...

more at link, good article for those that have concerns about their food, fuel useage and supporting their local farmers

[Fridays Child]

1. Whoever said, "Eat local. Act global." was very wise.

Still, I think there needs to be wide distribution of organic produce. Not everyone has access to local produce.

Good article. Thanks for posting it.