Situation and Outlook of the U.S. Organic Produce and Foods

미국의 유기농식품 -현황과 전망

This paper aims to provide quite recent information on the organic industry in the U.S. Major focuses are on the development of cultivation and marketing of fresh and processed organic produce and foods, newly enforced certification program, consumers' purchasing behaviors toward organic foods, and social survey results administered to the organic farmers in the U.S. The U.S. recorded 8 billion dollars' sale of organic foods in 2000, which was the largest in the world and showed 23% growth compared to the previous year. Yet the organic industry is still a niche market, occupying merely 1.5% of total food sale amount. The natural foods markets have not been so concentrated in the U.S., but it is changing and a few wholesale mart such as Whole Foods is emerging. Recent introduction of new certification program provide unified and sole standard at the federal level to which every certifier needs to adjust itself in order to be acceredited by the government. According to a social survey, consumers purchase organic foods because they concern about health, they stick to their own modes of life favoring natural foods, and so on. Another social survey shows that most organic farmers sell their produces to wholesalers, distributers, or producer coop, and direct sale to visitors at their own farm comprises of about 8 percent of their organic land.