Chemical reaction
By John Newton, Sydney Morning Herald, April 20, 2004

Rproduced from www.smh.com.au

Organic production is now the world's fastest-growing food sector.

If you thought the organic food industry was the preserve of the socks-and-sandals brigade, buying sad-looking fruit and veg in dingy shops, think again. The Australian retail market for organic food, worth between $250 million and $300 million in 2002 (the latest figures available), is expected to reach $400 million in 2005.

We are following a boom that is transforming the way people eat all over the world. Global organic production is expanding at the rate of 10 to 15 per cent a year, making it the fastest-growing food sector - production in 2002 was estimated at $US22 billion ($29.9 billion), with forecasts predicting it to hit $US40 billion by 2008.

In 2000, there were about 850 certified organic operators in Australia; by 2003, this increased to 2500, says Denise Miller, program manager for organic systems at the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC).

Catriona Macmillan, publisher of the Organics Directory, says: "Since 1997 [the first year of the directory's publication], retail and home-delivery entries have doubled. Even more importantly, existing businesses have grown and vastly improved the quality and variety of products offered. For example, there were no specialist organic butchers in 1997. Now there are seven."

The growth is being driven by people concerned about the safety of the food they're feeding their families and the increasing number of dedicated organic growers, retailers and cooks providing better and better products.

To find out what's luring these people into the chemical-free zone, we asked six different "faces" of the industry, who have made the often difficult professional choice to enter organics, what it means to them - and to us.


Nick Cleaver

If you had to picture the typical organic marketer, the last person you'd envisage would be Nick Cleaver, the English-born CEO of multinational advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach. He is also the co-owner of the retail and wholesale business Cleavers Organic Meats.

Cleaver's entry in the organic food business in 1999, was a hard-nosed business decision "plus a passion for a cause. My business partner and I saw a great opportunity - at the time, no one was specialising in organic meats. We were the first organic branded meat in Australia."

Yes, the meat costs more (usually 10 to 20 per cent). The reason, Cleaver says, is that the animals are "raised as close to nature as possible. They are allowed to roam free, but they also have to be supplied with shelter. They're not lot-fed [grain-fed in stalls]; they're not given antibiotics or growth hormones."

Does it taste better? "Yes. If you've tasted organic fruit and veg, the same thing applies to meat."

Is it better for you? "I would say yes. It's a purer product; no preservatives, no antibiotics. And for a country like Australia, with massive amounts of marginal land, sustainable farming practices are the way to go."

Why should I go organic? "The taste, the flavour, the purity - but you have to be prepared to pay a premium."

Is it a passing fad? "It's the way of the future. You've only got to walk around a supermarket in the UK to see how big it is."