Organic Production at Earthbound Farm, California (USA)

13.5 million servings of organic salads are sent across each week by Earthbound Farm’s plant in California. Earthbound is the largest grower and shipper of organic produce in the country, with a huge processing plant in San Juan Bautista, California, and further locations in other states and one in New Zealand. It was founded in 1984 by Drew and Myra Goodmann; today 26,000 acres are farmed organically. Te products are transported to each of the 50 states and Canada. To help offset the environmental effects of those trucks, the company has planted 400,000 trees to consume the extra carbon monoxide. The owner can tell how much chemical fertilizer – 4,200 tons – and pesticides – 135 tons – their operation keeps out of the environment every year. As Mr. Goodmann says, they are competing with Dole, Fresh Express and Sunkist.

But there is also criticism for this kind of production, reports Star-Telegram.com. Michael Pollan, a University of California-Berkeley journalism professor, takes a look at “industrial organic” and remarks that in his opinion organic is not quite what people think at this point. Stores like Safeway and Wal-Mart fill their shelves with organic products, but the consumers will determine what organic will look like in the future. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s green organic seal means an organic certification – but sceptics of large-scale organics say that the original idea to help small farmers is not being followed through this.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/living/food/14599485.htm
www.earthboundfarm.com (Fact Sheet)