What do you think?
Rate this book
Organic, Inc.: Natural Foods And How They Grew
Who would have thought that a natural food supermarket could have been a financial refuge from the dot-com bust? But it had. Sales of organic food had shot up about 20 percent per year since 1990, reaching $11 billion by 2003 . . . Whole Foods managed to sidestep that fray by focusing on, well, people like me.
Organic food has become a juggernaut in an otherwise sluggish food industry, growing at 20 percent a year as products like organic ketchup and corn chips vie for shelf space with conventional comestibles. But what is organic food? Is it really better for you? Where did it come from, and why are so many of us buying it?
Business writer Samuel Fromartz set out to get the story behind this surprising success after he noticed that his own food choices were changing with the times. In Organic, Inc., Fromartz traces organic food back to its anti-industrial origins more than a century ago. Then he follows it forward again, casting a spotlight on the innovators who created an alternative way of producing food that took root and grew beyond their wildest expectations. In the process he captures how the industry came to risk betraying the very ideals that drove its success in a classically complex case of free-market triumph.
Organic food has become a juggernaut in an otherwise sluggish food industry, growing at 20 percent a year as products like organic ketchup and corn chips vie for shelf space with conventional comestibles. But what is organic food? Is it really better for you? Where did it come from, and why are so many of us buying it?
Business writer Samuel Fromartz set out to get the story behind this surprising success after he noticed that his own food choices were changing with the times. In Organic, Inc., Fromartz traces organic food back to its anti-industrial origins more than a century ago. Then he follows it forward again, casting a spotlight on the innovators who created an alternative way of producing food that took root and grew beyond their wildest expectations. In the process he captures how the industry came to risk betraying the very ideals that drove its success in a classically complex case of free-market triumph.
294 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2006
15 people are currently reading
480 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
September 28, 2012
The search for organic products is no longer the concern of hippies, religious devotees or strident activists. Recent food scares about alar and BSE (mad cow disease), e.g., mean that many people are taking very sharp looks at where and how their food is prepared. Because of these concerns, the organic market now means big business and supermarkets, corporations as well as farmers all want their share.
Mr. Fromartz is a business journalist and his dedication to his subject, which spanned two years and forms the bulk of this book, is clear in its ruthless detail. Determined to find out exactly what he was eating, what goes into his food and exactly what “organic” is, he left no stone unturned as he traced back the provenance of the food he and a lot of people are eating.
As time goes on, very close scrutiny indeed is being paid to what we eat. Restrictions become tighter and public watchdogs are always there to ensure our safety. In the end, the struggle to define what is and isn’t organic remains a heated issue. But Mr. Fromartz’s book gives us hope that organic food at an affordable price will be available for everyone, ensuring a healthier future for all of us.
If I have any complaint about this book, it’s in the length. In his efforts to show the far-reaching effects of organic farming, however, Mr. Fromartz gets a little too technical. I found myself getting bored when one part of his book got bogged down in minutiae about lawsuits, interviews and attacks from various special rights groups, resulting in a proliferation of initialed groups that looked like a collection of alphabet soup extracts. The notes in the back take up 34 pages!
But these were merely his attempts at shining a light on all aspects of food control, including the bewildering and often frustrating pull between making a profit and maintaining pure ideals. So perhaps he can’t be faulted entirely. Mr. Fromartz has done his homework and I give him high marks for that.
Mr. Fromartz is a business journalist and his dedication to his subject, which spanned two years and forms the bulk of this book, is clear in its ruthless detail. Determined to find out exactly what he was eating, what goes into his food and exactly what “organic” is, he left no stone unturned as he traced back the provenance of the food he and a lot of people are eating.
As time goes on, very close scrutiny indeed is being paid to what we eat. Restrictions become tighter and public watchdogs are always there to ensure our safety. In the end, the struggle to define what is and isn’t organic remains a heated issue. But Mr. Fromartz’s book gives us hope that organic food at an affordable price will be available for everyone, ensuring a healthier future for all of us.
If I have any complaint about this book, it’s in the length. In his efforts to show the far-reaching effects of organic farming, however, Mr. Fromartz gets a little too technical. I found myself getting bored when one part of his book got bogged down in minutiae about lawsuits, interviews and attacks from various special rights groups, resulting in a proliferation of initialed groups that looked like a collection of alphabet soup extracts. The notes in the back take up 34 pages!
But these were merely his attempts at shining a light on all aspects of food control, including the bewildering and often frustrating pull between making a profit and maintaining pure ideals. So perhaps he can’t be faulted entirely. Mr. Fromartz has done his homework and I give him high marks for that.
December 27, 2008
The story of how organic has grown from a movement to an industry has become almost cliché. Still, Sam Fromartz is able to plow fresh ground with Organic Inc. By beginning and ending the story with the Harvey case, he frames the dilemma that organic faces quite well. It is not just a matter of scale or money. It is also a question of what kind of change organic wants to create. Fromartz captures with respect the original vision of organic, and at the same time clearly explains the reasons for the corporate takeover of organic in human terms.
Being more familiar with both the East and West coasts of the US than with the heartland, the White Wave story was new to me. Steve Demos has been a mystery to me—a monastic, tragic figure who just happened to be in the right and wrong place at the same time.
The work was meticulously researched. It was remarkable to me that there were so few errors in the book. A few misspellings of proper names, and a canard repeated about sodium nitrate from another source noted on these pages as well. I also disagree with some of his premises, but agree with his conclusion. The last chapter remains to be written, and Fromartz's blog, Chewswise.com is a good place to see the firsts drafts of it.
Being more familiar with both the East and West coasts of the US than with the heartland, the White Wave story was new to me. Steve Demos has been a mystery to me—a monastic, tragic figure who just happened to be in the right and wrong place at the same time.
The work was meticulously researched. It was remarkable to me that there were so few errors in the book. A few misspellings of proper names, and a canard repeated about sodium nitrate from another source noted on these pages as well. I also disagree with some of his premises, but agree with his conclusion. The last chapter remains to be written, and Fromartz's blog, Chewswise.com is a good place to see the firsts drafts of it.
October 29, 2008
I have always given "organic" food a big thumbs up! I love it when it is priced so I feel I can afford it. I understand that it is better. I encourage the husband toward organic gardening. In short,I'm a fan.
Yet I didn't really know what it meant. More importantly, I didn't know what it meant to not be organic. I'm learning and I love it.
This book is about the business of organic farming. It has a lot of numbers. Numbers don't really work for me. But I am trying. I started reading two days ago and I'm already half-way through.
So far, I have learned that the label I want to see on my food is "grown locally and organically." One or the other isn't necessarily enough to be a good steward of the earth and its inhabitants. Even better would be "grown locally and organically using unionized labor."
Goals are great to have. I'm going to try and do my part to get closer, even if that means paying a little more for locally grown and/or organic food. Hopefully someday all our food will be organic and locally grown.
Yet I didn't really know what it meant. More importantly, I didn't know what it meant to not be organic. I'm learning and I love it.
This book is about the business of organic farming. It has a lot of numbers. Numbers don't really work for me. But I am trying. I started reading two days ago and I'm already half-way through.
So far, I have learned that the label I want to see on my food is "grown locally and organically." One or the other isn't necessarily enough to be a good steward of the earth and its inhabitants. Even better would be "grown locally and organically using unionized labor."
Goals are great to have. I'm going to try and do my part to get closer, even if that means paying a little more for locally grown and/or organic food. Hopefully someday all our food will be organic and locally grown.
December 27, 2007
Fascinating history: I was unaware that the organic movement had a founding father in Sir Albert Howard, nor that J.I. Rodale and his Prevention magazine were under constant attack from the American Medical Association.
Scary chemical tales: I'll never eat a non-organic strawberry again after discovering that (non-organic) farmers pump the equivalent of tear gas into the soil to drive away pests.
Frustrating economics: the larger story seems to be that organic production is largely incompatible with mass commerce. The last third of the book details how the profitability of "organic" products leads some interest groups to alter the rules, for example to allow sinister chemicals as a "food contact substance" (but not an ingredient, see?). Yet more proof that capitalism and morality (or just basic ecologically defensible practices) are always at odds.
Scary chemical tales: I'll never eat a non-organic strawberry again after discovering that (non-organic) farmers pump the equivalent of tear gas into the soil to drive away pests.
Frustrating economics: the larger story seems to be that organic production is largely incompatible with mass commerce. The last third of the book details how the profitability of "organic" products leads some interest groups to alter the rules, for example to allow sinister chemicals as a "food contact substance" (but not an ingredient, see?). Yet more proof that capitalism and morality (or just basic ecologically defensible practices) are always at odds.
October 17, 2009
Very readable history of the organic food industry puts a face on some of the key people involved. Fromartz also clearly lays out the debate between organic purists and those whose primary mission is to get organics to the masses. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the issues and arrive at an informed opinion about where the industry should go from here.
August 31, 2011
Hmmm...Is this book more Schlosser-like or Pollan-esque? I'll go Pollan. It is also very "Food, Inc."-ish. Like both Pollan and Schlosser, Fromatz has a background in journalism. Fromartz interweaves personal experience and curiousity (the catalyst of the book being his growing fondness of Whole Foods) with a history of organics and personal stories of big and small players in the organic farming movement. This sort of reminded me of the 100-mile diet book, "Plenty." The chapter entitled "Mythic Manufacturing: Health, Spirituality, and Breakfast" is probably the best. I never knew that history of sugary cereal giants Kellogg and Post nor did I realize that both were vegetarian. So was Sylvester Graham (from whom the graham cracker draws its name). Graham thought that meat-eating led to masturbation and masturbation made one stupid. So was Frankenstein's monster. The Shelleys' decision not to eat meat, though, was more of a reaction against colonialism and slavery than it was about shuffling knuckles. (These stories, however, appear to be drawn from another book entitled "Cerealizing America") Fromartz's book is good and many of the stories of the growth of organic pioneers in successful businessmen (some more so and for longer durations than others) are interesting. However, I still had trouble shaking the feeling that I had read this all before.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2017
Sam Fromartz traces organics from their countercultural roots to a multi-billion-dollar industry, from noble ideals to complex regulations (and compromises).
June 30, 2019
Overall a decent book, dense at some points. Some favourite quotes:
"Wendell Berry said, "It is, of course, one of the miracles of science that the germs that used to be in our food have been replaced by poisons.""
Page 194 - "Environmental groups, which since the 1970s had pressed for clean-water and clean-air laws and stringent regulations over pesticides, raised awareness about the value of organic food. Consumer groups mobilized grassroots campaigns to protect the organic sector whenever it was threatened. Organic certifiers helped define standards. Nutritionists kept an eye on the health implications of the food; chefs popularized the organic concept; farmers grew the crops; and entrepreneurs, wholesalers, and retailers built the businesses and distribution channels to take the products to consumers. These interests did not see eye-to-eye, because they had different agendas, but that was the point. In its diversity, the organic coalition enlarged itself and avoided a stagnant monoculture."
Page 163 - "Shurtleff argued that soy could produce a third more protein per acre than any other known crop and twenty times the protein as could be raised on land given over to cattle grazing or grain growing. The forty-seven-million-ton soybean harvest of 1973 was enough to provide every person in the US with 165 pounds of pure high quality protein. "If all this protein were used directly as food - in the form of tofu, for example - it would be sufficient to fulfill the average adult protein requirement of every American for about 3 years! he wrote: Shurtleff cited Lappé's argument in Diet for a Small Planet. Since it took seven pounds of grain and soybeans to produce one pound of meat, meat production was a "protein factory in reverse."
Page 164 - "Since Americans consumed five times as much protein as those in developing countries - by eating meat, poultry, and eggs from grain-fed animals - they were in effect stealing protein from poor people's mouths. One clear way to reverse this trend and more evenly distribute the world supply of protein, the book argued, was to eat less meat. "By rediscovering the wisdom inherent in traditional dietary patterns that make use of non-protein sources, we can free millions of tons of high-quality soy and grain protein to be used directly as food," the book stated. Soy was a direct means of overcoming rampant starvation in the world - if you could get it to starving people. The book also presented tofu shops as a potential model "for decentralized enterprises using technology on a human scale" in both the developed and underdeveloped world."
Page 174 - "By the late 1960s, food scientists at Cornell University had come up with a method to neutralize the dreaded lipoxygenase enzyme by heating the milk in a precise fashion. The Cornell method was applied first in Asia, where soy milk began to be mass produced after WWII. Vitasoy, the top brand, even overtook Coca-Cola to become the bestselling beverage in Hong Kong at one time and still ranks among its top-ten food products. One reason soy milk is so popular in Asia is that lactose intolerance - the inability to digest milk sugars, or lactose - approaches 100 percent. This is actually the norm for the human race, with rates reaching about 75 percent globally. The lactose-digesting enzyme, lactase, peaks after birth, then declines between age two and five, the exception being northern Europeans who evolved the ability to digest milk throughout life because they were dependent on dairy for protein. If you lack the enzyme, the reactions differ. Some people can digest a bowl of ice cream, others get bloated and uncomfortable. A cup of milk may be fine for some but not for others. (Cheese doesn't produce the effect, since it contains little lactose.) For those with the condition, numbering thirty million to fifty million people in the US, a milk alternative makes sense."
Page 192 (I think) - "Modern culture - city life; having a home, a job, and commuting to work; relying on food grown in distant places, all of which divorced people from nature - would need to change to prevent this degradation. "Nowhere that I know is there a market for a hen or a bucket of cream or a few dozen eggs. Those markets were done away with in the name of sanitation," he said. It is, of course, one of the miracles of science that the germs that used to be in our food have been replaced by poisons." In a culture premised on mass production and consumption, knowledge of how to work with nature, and of nature itself, was lost. And this loss would spell humanity's doom."
"Wendell Berry said, "It is, of course, one of the miracles of science that the germs that used to be in our food have been replaced by poisons.""
Page 194 - "Environmental groups, which since the 1970s had pressed for clean-water and clean-air laws and stringent regulations over pesticides, raised awareness about the value of organic food. Consumer groups mobilized grassroots campaigns to protect the organic sector whenever it was threatened. Organic certifiers helped define standards. Nutritionists kept an eye on the health implications of the food; chefs popularized the organic concept; farmers grew the crops; and entrepreneurs, wholesalers, and retailers built the businesses and distribution channels to take the products to consumers. These interests did not see eye-to-eye, because they had different agendas, but that was the point. In its diversity, the organic coalition enlarged itself and avoided a stagnant monoculture."
Page 163 - "Shurtleff argued that soy could produce a third more protein per acre than any other known crop and twenty times the protein as could be raised on land given over to cattle grazing or grain growing. The forty-seven-million-ton soybean harvest of 1973 was enough to provide every person in the US with 165 pounds of pure high quality protein. "If all this protein were used directly as food - in the form of tofu, for example - it would be sufficient to fulfill the average adult protein requirement of every American for about 3 years! he wrote: Shurtleff cited Lappé's argument in Diet for a Small Planet. Since it took seven pounds of grain and soybeans to produce one pound of meat, meat production was a "protein factory in reverse."
Page 164 - "Since Americans consumed five times as much protein as those in developing countries - by eating meat, poultry, and eggs from grain-fed animals - they were in effect stealing protein from poor people's mouths. One clear way to reverse this trend and more evenly distribute the world supply of protein, the book argued, was to eat less meat. "By rediscovering the wisdom inherent in traditional dietary patterns that make use of non-protein sources, we can free millions of tons of high-quality soy and grain protein to be used directly as food," the book stated. Soy was a direct means of overcoming rampant starvation in the world - if you could get it to starving people. The book also presented tofu shops as a potential model "for decentralized enterprises using technology on a human scale" in both the developed and underdeveloped world."
Page 174 - "By the late 1960s, food scientists at Cornell University had come up with a method to neutralize the dreaded lipoxygenase enzyme by heating the milk in a precise fashion. The Cornell method was applied first in Asia, where soy milk began to be mass produced after WWII. Vitasoy, the top brand, even overtook Coca-Cola to become the bestselling beverage in Hong Kong at one time and still ranks among its top-ten food products. One reason soy milk is so popular in Asia is that lactose intolerance - the inability to digest milk sugars, or lactose - approaches 100 percent. This is actually the norm for the human race, with rates reaching about 75 percent globally. The lactose-digesting enzyme, lactase, peaks after birth, then declines between age two and five, the exception being northern Europeans who evolved the ability to digest milk throughout life because they were dependent on dairy for protein. If you lack the enzyme, the reactions differ. Some people can digest a bowl of ice cream, others get bloated and uncomfortable. A cup of milk may be fine for some but not for others. (Cheese doesn't produce the effect, since it contains little lactose.) For those with the condition, numbering thirty million to fifty million people in the US, a milk alternative makes sense."
Page 192 (I think) - "Modern culture - city life; having a home, a job, and commuting to work; relying on food grown in distant places, all of which divorced people from nature - would need to change to prevent this degradation. "Nowhere that I know is there a market for a hen or a bucket of cream or a few dozen eggs. Those markets were done away with in the name of sanitation," he said. It is, of course, one of the miracles of science that the germs that used to be in our food have been replaced by poisons." In a culture premised on mass production and consumption, knowledge of how to work with nature, and of nature itself, was lost. And this loss would spell humanity's doom."
July 29, 2022
While a lot has changed in the almost two decades since this book was published, it is an enlightening read especially if you're not well-versed on the topic. The overarching themes are still incredibly relevant. With Whole Foods' overarching presence throughout the book in relation to the gateway to organic, I'm curious what the author's commentary would be regarding Whole Foods' not so recent acquisition by Amazon.
The most compelling piece for me was the push and pull balance between the ideals of the Organic Movement and the ambition to grow the industry.
1) How lenient do you make the rules, do we allow any synthetic substances? If we do does that dilute the standards too much? If we don't, that completely bars the eligibility of processed organic foods...
2) What is more important: to maximize organic acreage or to prioritize small, independent farmers?
The latter continuing to be one the most impactful issues in this day and age. The Movement began with pioneer agronomists dedicated to creating a sustainable food system that paid fair prices to growers and prioritized small, independent farmers. With the entry of organic into the mainstream, as the conglomerates have entered the space we've seen a significant diminishing in the viability of smaller operations to thrive.
We need a sequel!
The most compelling piece for me was the push and pull balance between the ideals of the Organic Movement and the ambition to grow the industry.
1) How lenient do you make the rules, do we allow any synthetic substances? If we do does that dilute the standards too much? If we don't, that completely bars the eligibility of processed organic foods...
2) What is more important: to maximize organic acreage or to prioritize small, independent farmers?
The latter continuing to be one the most impactful issues in this day and age. The Movement began with pioneer agronomists dedicated to creating a sustainable food system that paid fair prices to growers and prioritized small, independent farmers. With the entry of organic into the mainstream, as the conglomerates have entered the space we've seen a significant diminishing in the viability of smaller operations to thrive.
We need a sequel!
June 21, 2018
This book focused primarily on the culture and personalities of the people that made organic food trendy in the 1970s, but was light on the science separating organic food from non-organic. I was less interested in the characters and specific company names than in the broad trends in what we eat. Is our diet getting better or are there misteps in the food supply that are contributing to the massive shift to an unhealthy populace that is currently proceeding? I didn't expect this book to answer that question in it's totality, but I was hoping for a bit more insight specifically into the organic vs. conventional aspect. Instead, I got an exhaustive coverage of the tension between the ideological but inefficient small farmer and the efficient but agnostic large-scale organic farm.
November 26, 2011
Yay, I'm finally finished this one after a cycle of reading some and then re-shelving it!
Fromartz pursues the topic with painstaking efforts to remain unbiased and detail-oriented. His work confirms my premonitions about the nebulous policy-making and the elusive customers surrounding the organic industry. But at the same time, Organic Inc. serves as an education for those of us not only interested in the hard-earned history and personal successes at the core of the industry, but the forces at work on the periphery of the movement (large, capital-driven operations) as well.
In conclusion, Fromartz offers that it is possible, if not essential, that all of the various pieces of the industry exist in balance to maintain the whole. Understanding this, to me, seems neccessary in understanding what organic really means.
Fromartz pursues the topic with painstaking efforts to remain unbiased and detail-oriented. His work confirms my premonitions about the nebulous policy-making and the elusive customers surrounding the organic industry. But at the same time, Organic Inc. serves as an education for those of us not only interested in the hard-earned history and personal successes at the core of the industry, but the forces at work on the periphery of the movement (large, capital-driven operations) as well.
In conclusion, Fromartz offers that it is possible, if not essential, that all of the various pieces of the industry exist in balance to maintain the whole. Understanding this, to me, seems neccessary in understanding what organic really means.
September 27, 2011
Loved learning about the origins of Earthbound Organic (and bagged salad in general) and soy milk and a bit about Whole Foods.
Lost a star for the sections on regulations and various organic governing bodies which totally lost me - there were too many acronyms that were too similar and it was all super uninteresting and hard to read.
Would love an overall update because I'm sure things have changed quite a bit since 2005 (and 2007, when the author wrote an updated afterword for the paper release).
Lost a star for the sections on regulations and various organic governing bodies which totally lost me - there were too many acronyms that were too similar and it was all super uninteresting and hard to read.
Would love an overall update because I'm sure things have changed quite a bit since 2005 (and 2007, when the author wrote an updated afterword for the paper release).
March 9, 2010
I found this book fascinating. I loved the narrative framework and the ocean of information. Fromartz is a pretty brilliant writer. On a personal note, I wasn't anticipating my own conflict over the food I buy. Neither did I ever consider the political, moral, historical or enviromental implications of my ingredient choices. I found this book surprisingly thought-provoking and, fittingly, very fresh. I'd like to reread it with Ben sometime.
January 11, 2010
I thought this would have been written by a die-hard organic food enthusiast. But Samuel Fromartz is a lot like me -- he wants to do the right thing to support farmers, the environment, and his health, but he's to going to cook every meal with food hand-selected at the farmer's market. Overall, a well-researched, thorough look at the organic food industry.
###
###
October 27, 2008
Ethicurean post: Organic, Inc. - A Cheeto by Any Other Name
Chronicling the growth of a cultural movement from its genesis as an ideal vision of farming, food and health to a multibillion-dollar industry. A tale of what happens when ideals meet the marketplace.
Chronicling the growth of a cultural movement from its genesis as an ideal vision of farming, food and health to a multibillion-dollar industry. A tale of what happens when ideals meet the marketplace.
May 12, 2009
A fairly good overview of the history and factors in the growth of the movement around organic food including various controversies. He even manages to get in some slight discussion of class issues. He does a decent job of maintaining a neutral perspective, and depicting the disagreements between the business perspective and the small farm/locovore one as well.
November 5, 2009
This was a very enjoyable book to read about the Organics industry and how it started, boomed and ended up in Wal-Mart. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the organics movement, food or industry. Most interesting was how the author chronicled how the movement became an industry, and challenged the reader to wonder (or at least contemplate) if that is all bad.
January 15, 2010
After reading this book I feel I am now a more informed organic consumer. Before reading this book I had my thoughts on what organic is: local, sustainable, fresh, pesticide/antibiotic free food. I now also understand the basics of the history of the organic movement and the struggles that it still faces.
March 19, 2012
I basically read this book on a plane on my way back from France, w/ like 2 chapters left. It was really good, it talked about everything relating to organic, the standards & how it became to be what it is. The whole process, what it really means & what farmers have to go through. It was pretty damn interesting to see some of the things they threw out there, like organic twinkies. Silly.
November 5, 2012
It's always a pleasure to read a well-written book about something dear to my heart. If I were teaching a seminar on contemporary American agriculture and the way our society eats, this would be at the top of the reading list along with Pollan, Kingsolver, and "Righteous Porkchop." Not exactly a revelation, but informative and interesting, as well as a quick read.
October 25, 2015
I rarely give a book 5 stars, but this one was really informative. At times it was slow moving, because of all the heavy concepts and history, but it really did break down when and how organic farming started and gave me a whole new appreciation for the Farmer's who grow our food! If you like to hear the story behind products, love organic food or Farmer's Markets you need to read this!
October 1, 2016
This is not a book about the merits of organic farming or food. Well, maybe a little, but the author's goal is not to preach the organic gospel. Instead, he lays out the history and market forces that created the organic industry while giving us a deep look into the inner workings of the farming and food packaging industries and their tangled relationships with government regulation.
February 14, 2008
alice waters used to think 'organic' read 'healthy,' i.e. gross and resisted the label on her cooking.
mesclun mix is french !
some farmers cannot resist the temptation to get huge. others cannot stand it.
i like food gossip. this book is full of it. full !
mesclun mix is french !
some farmers cannot resist the temptation to get huge. others cannot stand it.
i like food gossip. this book is full of it. full !
November 11, 2008
I usually read about organic from the radical movement perspective, so it was refreshing to learn about the business aspect of big organic.
Informative, but I couldn't help thinking that I had read this all somewhere else before.
Informative, but I couldn't help thinking that I had read this all somewhere else before.
January 20, 2013
B+ I was surprised at how much I ended up liking this book. He is truly interested (and makes truly interesting) how organic foods and the industry grew from something so small to such a huge thing…really fascinating stuff in here. A good read for anyone interested in organic and natural foods.
August 31, 2014
As someone who tries to eat a healthy diet, I found this book filled with lots of interesting tidbits about how the organic food industry got started. I got it from the library, but I kinda wish I had bought it, since it's a book I could see myself referring back to for information.
May 28, 2007
Has several good insights on the Organic food industry but is in a very hard to read format.
December 8, 2008
I've been "reading" this book for 5 months now, I just can't finish it. If anyone is more inspired by the organic movement, its all yours.
April 20, 2008
Although not as compelling as Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma," this book has stayed in my head. It really makes you wonder what happened to America's farms.
Read
June 13, 2008A very eye-opening read. Ideally, we should all support our CSAs and buy local food, but since that is extremely difficult in today's world, buying organic is our best bet.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews