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The Wal-Martization of organics: will they ever be the same?

organic curly kaleOrganics are in the news. Over the weekend, consumers were paying attention to whether major organic milk producers are really honoring the spirit of organic foods, and last week, media outlets were buzzing about how just about every mainstream grocery store is launching its own organic foods line, from Safeway to SuperValu. Organics are getting cheaper, and the move by huge retailers to expand organic offerings may mean that the demand for pesticide-free goods will change the way farmers in the U.S., and elsewhere, operate.

Nowhere is the presence of organic products more incongruous than on Wal-Mart shelves. Wal-Mart is doubling the amount of organic produce in its grocery shelves for its shoppers "convenience" (and, one would imagine, to allow the retailer the ability to charge more -- and pocket higher margins as a result). The chain is also offering organic cotton clothing and organic baby formula. And while a few customers are surely happy, it seems, the larger response is... oh, no.

I feel your pain, oh ye people who are committed to organics. And I have to ask: is Wal-Mart, by trying to do good, actually doing bad?

Continue reading The Wal-Martization of organics: will they ever be the same?

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