OK, so you love Ben & Jerry's ice cream. But did you know that Ben & Jerry's Organic is owned by food and personal care product company Unilever? And when you sip Celestial Seasonings tea did you realize you are dropping pennies into the pockets of Cargill, the giant agribusiness-chemical giant? For an eye-opening look into the Who's Who of the organic food industry, post this Organic Industry Structure Chart on your fridge.

The chart (in a pdf format), compiled by Phil Howard, PhD, illustrates companies and their--often large--parent corporations. It may change the way you shop for food.

Some welcome the major corporate investment in the natural food and organic market. Others, like Paul Glover at www.corporganics.org are concerned that control of the natural foods industry by fewer companies will force out small farms and signal the end of organic acreage and marketing.

Paul compares it to how the media/communications industry has changed over the years. "Once there were thousands of independent radio stations and daily papers, now there are a handful of TV networks and newspaper chains owned by these same corporations."

Accuse me of putting my head in the sand, but I prefer to believe that everything connected with our food--from the farm to our dinner plate--is not so dark and wilted, especially after reading Michael Ableman's book, Fields of Plenty, available at Powells.com. Michael's 3-month odyssey across the U.S. shows that "in the face of a fast-food nation, a growing community of farmers and food artisans are producing sustainable nourishment that is respectful to the land and rich in heritage, flavor, and commitment."

Positive trends and changes can also be seen in Community Supported Agriculture or CSAs. According to a summary published by the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, the number of CSAs has increased by 25 percent in 3 years (Dec 2001 to Mar 2004). As a side note, the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) was brought to the  United States by Jan VanderTuin from  Switzerland in 1984. Projects in Europe date to the 1960s, when women’s neighborhood groups approached farmers to develop direct, cooperative relationships between producers and consumers.

On the other hand, I'm not blind. We’ve become a product of convenience and are too dependent on imported food. As I state in Proposing a Sustainable Food Policy for Alaska,  "the estimated distance a conventional head of lettuce travels from farm to market is 2,500 miles. Studies also show that the more ‘food miles’ that food travels from farm to plate, the less nutritious it is. What's more, the typical American prepared meal contains, on average, ingredients from a least five countries outside the United States.

If that isn't enough, the next time you go to the grocery store, keep this in mind: The average time spent preparing evening meal in United States in 1954 was 2.5 hours. In 2004: 6.5 minutes.

I strongly believe that everyone, whether you live in an apartment, a condominium, or a 6 bedroom house in Berkeley, California should:
1) Grow at least some of your own food,
2) Buy from local farmers' markets, or
3) Participate in a Community Supported Agriculture program.

It's a responsibility we can all shoulder as a way to improve our health, and the health of the planet.

To learn more about Community Supported Agriculutre:
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) comprehensive list of selected books, reports, articles, periodicals and videos focusing on the business of CSA farming