Organic Food

The massive new Whole Foods Market on Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena represents the height of one-upmanship in Southern California's increasingly competitive grocery store trade. I'll see your three brands of soy milk, it says cockily to Fresh & Easy, and raise you two. But the store is even more striking for what it says about the similar discontents plaguing the organic food and green architecture movements.

The precooked beef patties with the fake charcoal lines won't be on the menu at Castle View High School this fall. Instead, students will dine on freshly grilled hamburgers from grass-fed, hormone- and antibiotic-free cattle -- what is often described as natural or organic meat -- raised on the plains of eastern Colorado.

The rotten economy is eating into sales of organic foods as fewer Americans put these often costly groceries on their plates. Retired school administrator John Frantz recently lost his appetite for organic fruits and vegetables after watching the value of his 401(k) plummet to its lowest level in two years. "I'm probably spending 10% to 15% less on groceries than six months ago," said Frantz, 58, of Chicago. Likewise, Julie Hennessey of West Bloomfield, Mich.

When he first started frying up what he touts as all-natural doughnuts a dozen years ago, Mark Isreal had a tough time getting people to bite. After all, who checks the ingredients before grabbing a jelly-filled with their morning cup of hot joe? "It doesn't matter how delicious it is. Some people are so narrow-minded," said Isreal, owner of the Doughnut Plant in New York. These days, Isreal supplies everyone from upscale grocery stores to "dive coffee shops" around the city.

Cracking the baby food market isn't child's play. Dominated by industry behemoth Gerber Products Co., sales of food such as smashed peas and blended bananas for little eaters have been largely flat for several years. The news is better for premium organic or natural offerings, including those from Los Angeles start-up Nummy Nums.

IT has been a remarkable year for books on eating: Marion Nestle's "What to Eat," Peter Singer's "The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter," Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma," Thomas McNamee's "Alice Waters and Chez Panisse" and Eric Schlosser's book for teens, "Chew on This." All share a distinctly here-are-the-facts-now-you-decide tone, analyzing what we eat through political, sensual, practical, economic and historical lenses. All show how marketing has distorted our choices.

With the "USDA organic" seal stamped on its label, Anheuser-Busch calls its Wild Hop Lager "the perfect organic experience." "In today's world of artificial flavors, preservatives and factory farming, knowing what goes into what you eat and drink can just about drive you crazy," the Wild Hop website says. "That's why we have decided to go back to basics and do things the way they were meant to be ... naturally."

It comes as no surprise to anyone that the number of organic farms is booming to meet consumer demand for healthy food. In Washington, a state known more for its apples than any other crop, there are 45 organic dairies. Five years ago, there were just two. The challenge has been feeding all of those cows. Acreage of organic forage, such as hay and alfalfa, has grown 40% in the last two years, yet isn't keeping pace with demand.

Anheuser-Busch's organic beers have become fully organic -- at least for now. The nation's largest brewer said Wednesday that because of inaction on proposed regulations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it had started using 100% organic hops in its two beers that carry the "USDA Organic" seal. Previously, less than 10% of the beers' hops were organic.

Britain's culinary reputation has always been locked in the infamy of mashed peas and gray roast beef. But it is no secret that Londoners, for all their pretensions to blandness, are foodies. Forget the gastro-pubs -- just go shopping in London for Sunday dinner. At the Borough Market, a cook can find a nice feathered pheasant and redolent disks of Double Gloucester cheese.