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It’s possible that the supermarket concept evolved during the Great Depression. “Pile high, sell low” was the strategy of King Kullen, a famous New York grocer during the 1930s. Since that time, supermarkets have merged within our contemporary economy where they have been been both popularised and demonised. From the perspective of many consumers, supermarkets provide an essential vehicle for reliable convenience and access to organic groceries and fresh produce. Alternatively, there are traditionalists who fear the influence of large organisations and the pressures of economic rationalisation which may be exerted within the general agricultural and organic agricultural sectors. A fundamental complaint against established supermarkets...

According to an article appearing in today’s Otago Daily Times, Stu Burt and Lyn Williamson, owners of Destination Organic - an organic superstore in Queenstown New Zealand - are so confident that organic food is cheaper than conventional food that they’re stumping up their own cash to prove it. Essentially, they’re asking the people of Queenstown to try organic food for themselves so that they can realise first hand the associated taste and health benefits. They want to find two families to be an organic test case. They will track their shopping for four weeks, keeping note of their expenditure, and will then subsidise their shopping at Destination Organic by $150 a week for four weeks, to make a comparison between the costs and benefits...

This year’s Sydney Organic Expo was another great success. I hope everyone attending – organisers, exhibitors, presenters and visitors – enjoyed themselves and went away as inspired as I did. I found the Expo to be particularly beneficial. This was the first time I’ve attended the expo as a member of the Organic Guide team. While there were many familiar faces, I’d particularly like to thank those of you I hadn’t met before and who took the time to chat with me. As I said earlier, I left the expo feeling really impressed with every single one of the people I met. Everyone I talked to displayed tremendous passion for the organic products and services they were representing. You’re all wonderful! Congratulations and massive thanks...

One of the first questions I’m asked when I let people know that I prefer to consume organic food is, “How can you afford to eat organic food on your salary?” Okay, so I’m the first to admit it, my annual income only places me marginally above the official poverty line. But that isn’t to say that I don’t have priorities in my life. I have a young family – a wife and two children to be exact. And having spent quite a bit of time in the food processing industry, I know what goes on behind the scenes. And let’s just say, I’m not prepared to accept the routine shortcuts that conventional food processors are forced to take by the large supermarket chains they are subservient to. Call me nuts, but I don’t want my daughter growing...