So when's Wal-Mart going to join the rush? This is from an article in the Wall Street Journal:

In a bid to capture a slice of the fast-growing organic-foods market, mainstream supermarket chains are rushing out their own store-brand lines that can cost significantly less than comparable specialty brands often found at health-food and gourmet stores. The pricing could remove a big barrier for many Americans who have wanted to try organic rice, cookies or cans of soup but have been put off by the prices. Though the store brands are less expensive, the chains say they adhere to the same federal standards for what constitutes organic as other brands.

SuperValu Inc., poised to become the nation's second-largest supermarket chain after it acquires Albertson's Inc., this month is introducing a line of 50 organic products called Nature's Best, including cereal, juice, apple sauce and pasta. By the end of June, the company will add 100 more private-label organic products, and plans to offer about 300 by mid-2007.

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2006 -- The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is calling on consumers to boycott milk brands that claim to be organic while routinely importing calves from conventional farms and raising the animals in intensive confinement, with little or no access to pasture.

"Consumers buying products labeled 'organic' do not realize that they often essentially being scammed by some of the larger companies who put pictures of happily grazing cows on their products, but in reality keep their cows confined in ways very similar to traditional factory farms. OCA is calling on consumers to boycott these bogus organic products , and give their consumer dollars to ethical producers who are upholding strict organic standards," says Ronnie Cummins, executive director of the Organic Consumers Association.

For the confused consumer trying to buy ethical organic dairy, there is a new study, Maintaining the Integrity of Organic Milk, produced by the Cornucopia Institute that rates 68 organic dairy name-brands and private labels, exposing the dubious practices of some so-called organic companies, and highlighting companies that are producing truly organic milk.

Here's an example of micro traceability technology being used by a progressive business.

When you buy a carton of organic soy milk from Organic Valley, you can enter the date of expiration on the their website, and find out who grew the soybeans that your milk was made from.

While i really like this idea, i can't help but feel a bit unsure about whether or not this is the kind of transparency that we should be looking for. I'm all for transparency, meeting the farmers etc., but doesn't this also contribute to fetishizing the commodity? If i'm going to fetishize something, i'd rather it be the very progressive and successful institution that allowed a farmer to cooperate with other farmers, act as good stewards of the land, and succeed.

On a related note:

In a great article in The New York Times it was reported that when Wal-Mart demanded they reduce their prices by 20%, Organic Valley balked, and walked away from what is probably their biggest customer.

Nobody quoted in this article seems to have a problem with the tremendous power Wal-Mart will have over farmers in expanding into the organics industry. Is public cynism so profound as to overlook such devastating consequences for farmer autonomy if Wal-Mart dictates the terms of food production? Is the desire for organic food so strong that we should be meant to overlook the social consequences? What about the tension between the ecological benefits of organics versus the industrial-model production that Wal-Mart demands All of this is rather generic, obvious critique of Wal-Mart's move. The interesting thing to note about this article is the way "sustainability" is defined as a corporate ethos and the way corporations are depicted as frontline workers in this battle. Perhaps there could be some positive unintended consequences of this Wal-Mart attack in terms of subsidizing the transition to organic for some farmers... Or introducing people to organic food who would otherwise have no access, or can't afford it. But then again, Wal-Mart is a powerful force that will fast emerge as just another Invisible Giant.

Wal-Mart's move to organics could shake up retail world, analysts say