Hartman s research shows the demand is there but the marketing acumen and message is not. Many companies and players are moving toward ways to fill the void. Long-time organic activists worry where this is headed. Most are a little skeptical. Tomatoes and apples are by far the most frequently purchased organic produce items.
Surveys show that concern over pesticide residues in food is the dominant reason.
The long-standing quest to reduce pesticide use and risks is what has brought many environmental and consumer organizations into the campaign to expand the scope of the organic industry. They see in organic farming a way to promote positive solutions to negative agriculture production problems. Those who care about resource stewardship and environmental quality see much of value in organic farming systems, because such systems are grounded by necessity on gentle management of natural resources, systems and cycles. It helps, of course, that organic farming principles reject unambiguously the notion that farmers can dominate nature with synthetic chemical inputs. The best and most recent data comes from the 1997 Hartman report that was commissioned by the Food Alliance, a group promoting sustainable agriculture in the Pacific Northwest.