On my way home from the gym today, I walked past my corner bodega and glimpsed something in the window that made my brain stop whatever it was doing (not much) and go whooooa. Kellogg's ORGANIC Raisin Bran?! I could not believe my eyes.
Sure enough, shortly after launching Toasteds Organic Harvest Wheat Crackers in June of last year, Kellogg's came out with a line of organic versions of three of their more popular breakfast cereals. If I wasn't convinced of the usurping of the word "organic" by Big Food before, this is pretty much the nail in the coffin. As far as I can tell, the effort by Kellogg's was the result of Wal-Mart's decision to claim their piece of the organics market, and, as Melanie Warner said in the New York Times, "because of its size and power, Wal-Mart usually gets what it wants."
Yuck.
Mark Morford of the SF Gate almost perfectly sums up how I feel, if with a little more snark:
Did you know? Did you already understand the real definition? Because that's what "organic" was really supposed to mean, way back when: local, sustainable, ethical, connected to source, pesticide- and hormone-free. But the vast majority of organic product now flooding the market only gloms on to that last aspect (and sometimes, barely even that), to meet the USDA's impotent organic guidelines. Ah, government. There's just nothing like it to make you want to smack yourself in the skull with a brick.
SF Gate: The Sad Death of Organic
New York Times: Wal-Mart Eyes Organic Foods (registration required)
