Eating Quality Food

Should a new term be introduced to define a class of foods of higher quality than “organic”? Some growers say “authentic food” would eliminate undue corporate influence over food production. “Idealistic market gardeners came first, but of course large corporations have dominated the U.S. supply of organic food for years. The federal government’s much-negotiated definition of “organic,” when it came into force in 2002, was strong evidence of the big money to be made. At first, the small-scale growers were worried that it would be hard to compete,” writes Edward Behr at Slate.com. “Authentic food”, though the term does not yet exist as a marketable category, is food sold directly to the consumer from the grower.