Originally published June 8 2005
Women make up majority of organic food shoppers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Organic foods are most popular among women, recent studies suggest. Natural foods stores say women make up 75-90 percent of shoppers, and they likely do it for the health of their families. Most female shoppers are attracted to organic foods because they aren't grown using chemicals or hormones and they feel the foods are healthier and taste better. Researchers say the evidence that organically-grown foods are healthier than traditional foods is conflicting and not clear.
The 29-year-old Bridgeport woman tries to buy organic foods when she can, particularly fruits and vegetables.
Sales of organic products reached $12.7 billion in 2004, and have shown a steady growth rate of 20 percent per year over the past dozen years, according to the Organic Trade Association, a 1,600-member trade organization based in Massachusetts.
Organic products also are becoming a more common sight, not just in specialty shops like Nature's Way, but also in large chain supermarkets, such as Shaw's.
The OTA defines "organic" foods using the guidelines of the Organic Foods Production Act, established by the United States Department of Agriculture.
In general, the act defines organic foods as those produced largely without chemicals, such as pesticides and hormones.
The OTA doesn't keep track of what percentage of organic sales are to female customers, but spokeswoman Holly Givens guesses it's a large number.
"We know that women have significant influence over what comes into their homes," she said.
Women also tend to be health conscious, Givens said, and it's usually some sort of health event --- be it an allergy, an illness or even the birth of a child --- that leads people to turn to organic produce.
Nimesh Bhargava, chief clinical nutrition manager at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport said that, purely by not including pesticides, organic produce is healthier than its chemically enhanced counterparts.
Yet, both those in the organic food industry and those who buy organic food say health is the main reason women buy natural products.
For Dolores Gray, owner and founder of Nature's Way, health issues led her to do more than shop for natural foods.
She went to conferences, learned about nutrition, and opened the store, which now sells a variety of natural products, including foods.
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