Julieanne
09-02-11, 05:19 AM
By Tom Laskawy
Grist, August 30, 2011
Straight to the Source (http://www.grist.org/organic-food/2011-08-30-nestles-chairman-wants-you-to-be-scared-of-organic-food)
For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's All About Organics page (http://www.organicconsumers.org/organlink.cfm) and our Politics and Democracy page (http://www.organicconsumers.org/corplink.cfm).
In eye-opening comments to Fast Company this weekend, Nestlé's chairman and former CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe offers a lengthy disquisition on the "problems" associated with organic foods and covers all the classic anti-organic arguments, from "organic can't feed the world" to "organic isn't any better for you." He concludes by declaring that organic food sales in the U.S. and Europe have likely hit their peak. "I don't think it will grow much more," he adds.
To a large extent, this is a guy talking his book, as the financial types say. In the article, Fast Company observes that Nestlé "has made acquisitions of several premium brands that organic-loving people tend to buy: San Pellegrino water, PowerBar energy bars, and Skinny Cow ice cream." However, none of those brands are organic. And a quick glance at the organic industry structure shows us that Nestlé is barely involved. They don't own a significant stake in a single major organic brand, despite that fact that their closest candy competitors have all done so (Hershey owns Dagoba and Cadbury owns Green and Black's).
Read more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_23860.cfm (http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_23860.cfm)
Grist, August 30, 2011
Straight to the Source (http://www.grist.org/organic-food/2011-08-30-nestles-chairman-wants-you-to-be-scared-of-organic-food)
For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's All About Organics page (http://www.organicconsumers.org/organlink.cfm) and our Politics and Democracy page (http://www.organicconsumers.org/corplink.cfm).
In eye-opening comments to Fast Company this weekend, Nestlé's chairman and former CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe offers a lengthy disquisition on the "problems" associated with organic foods and covers all the classic anti-organic arguments, from "organic can't feed the world" to "organic isn't any better for you." He concludes by declaring that organic food sales in the U.S. and Europe have likely hit their peak. "I don't think it will grow much more," he adds.
To a large extent, this is a guy talking his book, as the financial types say. In the article, Fast Company observes that Nestlé "has made acquisitions of several premium brands that organic-loving people tend to buy: San Pellegrino water, PowerBar energy bars, and Skinny Cow ice cream." However, none of those brands are organic. And a quick glance at the organic industry structure shows us that Nestlé is barely involved. They don't own a significant stake in a single major organic brand, despite that fact that their closest candy competitors have all done so (Hershey owns Dagoba and Cadbury owns Green and Black's).
Read more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_23860.cfm (http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_23860.cfm)