Organic foods quickly earning mainstream popularity; one store manager says sales have increase three fold in six months

• "We sold only about a third of the organic products six months ago that we are selling now," said the store's manager, Neil Tally.
• And, since Rays is the only full-size grocery store in Rogue River, health and environmentally conscious customers appreciate not having to drive all the way into Grants Pass or Medford for organic.
• Tally said the word is from the supermarket chain's headquarters that the amount of organic items on the Rogue River store's and other stores in this Oregon and Northern California chain will continue to increase.
• And now customers no longer have to read individual labels on cans and packages to find organic and natural because Ray's has added "organic" and "natural" signs on the shelves.
• Customers are also seeing more sets of organics on the shelves, such as in the soup section, a big increase over a lone flavor of organic soup seen a few months ago.
• Reasons cited for buying organic foods were they are better for the environment (58 percent), better for their health (54 percent), and better for supporting small and local farmers (57 percent).
• For example, Horizon Organic, the leading organic food brand and one found on Ray's shelves, supports the National Organic Standards belief that all organically managed poultry should have access to the outdoors.
• Seven in ten Americans express some concerns about the health risks of pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals used in food production, according to a national consumer opinion poll conducted by Roper Public Affairs on behalf of Organic Valley Family of Farms.
• A reason often heard for not buying organic is the cost, which can be up to 200 percent higher - but often, an organic items costs the same or just a few cents more than its pesticide laden, conventional counterpart.