Anne Faika's company operates 14 markets a week selling organic food in the German city of Hamburg, after starting in 1990 with one market, REPORTED REUTERS. She is in the front line of a global industry which achieved sales of about $39 billion in 2006 from $33 billion in 2005. "Demand for organic food is excellent," Faika said. "People have lost trust in industrial agriculture." "They want to do something good for themselves by buying food without poisonous chemicals in it." This boom was clear to see at Europe's largest organic food trade BioFach, which attracted 2,455 exhibitors from 80 countries to Nuremberg's giant exhibition centre this week. Slick presentations from marketing professionals in business suits are changing the image of alternative growers. "Organic food is not about people with beards and sandals any more," European Union Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said in a speech opening the fair, adding that it was now serious business. Organic food has moved from niche markets to mainstream supermarkets in Europe and the U.S., which has dramatically increased volumes on sale. "The current boom is caused by a combination of loss of trust in conventional farming and the dramatic increase in availability of organic products in the leading supermarket chains," said Swiss organic marketing consultant Toralf Richter. "In Europe, especially Germany, there have been a series of reports and scandals over recent years about chemical content in food." "At the same time availability has increased hugely and organic food is available in most supermarkets." "Following a long period of purely stressing food price, consumers want more quality." "If people are offered organic carrots next to conventional carrots many will buy the organic. Organic food is becoming a normal part of life, it is not particularly special any more." German marketing consultant Carsten Schmidt agreed: "The more people hear about conventional farming the less they like it," he said. "The availability of organic food is also becoming so much easier." "People can make the choice routinely in their supermarkets every week, they do not have to search out special organic shops.
