California: The Land of Organic Milk and Honey

by Cameron Scott · 2010-02-04 17:27:00 UTC
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The USDA's first — yes, first — large-scale study of organic food reveals just how good Californians have it when it comes to eating well: In 2008, almost 20 percent of all organic producers in the nation were in California, and the state accounted for 36 percent of all sales of organic foods.

A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that organic producers had higher profit margins than their conventional counterparts.

44 percent of organic sales took place within 100 miles from the farm. But, the lion's share of those sales were to wholesalers. Just over 10 percent of sales went to retailers, including supermarkets, and a mere 7 percent of sales were direct farmer-consumer transactions.

Photo credit: hajhouse

Cameron Scott writes The Thin Green Line blog at SFGate (San Francisco Chronicle).
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