Resource Guide: Organic Foods Industry

8/14/2019 Resource Guide: Organic Foods Industry

1/7

Resource Guide: Organic Foods Industry

Robbin Zirkle

Blair, R., 1933-. (2012). Organic production and food quality : A down to earth analysis . Ames,

Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell.

This print text is useful for industry analysis in that it contextualizes the emergence of

organic food production and analyzes the characteristics of food production that have

propagated the organic food shift. While this text is not necessarily as authoritative as are

other items on this list, it provides a broad and scholarly exploration of the field that

students have elected to examine.

Dimitri, C., & Oberholtzer, L. (2009). Marketing U.S. organic foods: Recent trends from farms to

consumers. (Economic Information Bulletin No. EIB-58).United States Departure of

Agriculture.

The USDAs Bulletin is useful in that it analyzes marketing trends within the organic foods

industry. It provides an historical analysis of the field beginning in 1997 and will aid

students in making future projections for growth within the industry. The document itself

is a study that was conducted using federal funding, implying reasonable reliability. The

resource itself is freely available to any individual who has an internet connection, as it is a

government-funded report.

Electronic code of federal regulations. (2013). Retrieved January 30, 2013, from

http://www.ecfr.gov/

cgi-bin/text-

idx?c=ecfr&sid=3f34f4c22f9aa8e6d9864cc2683cea02&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title07/
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=3f34f4c22f9aa8e6d9864cc2683cea02&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title07/7cfr205_main_02.tplhttp://www.ecfr.gov/http://www.ecfr.gov/http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=3f34f4c22f9aa8e6d9864cc2683cea02&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title07/7cfr205_main_02.tpl


2/7

2

7cfr205_main_02.tpl.

This resource provides access to the U.S. Government Printing Offices regulations for the

National Organic Program. This document delineates the actual legal obligations for

organic producers and would be useful to a student completing an industry analysis if he or

she was interested in the ease and requirements of producing such a specific product. The

resource itself is freely available to any individual who has an internet connection, as it is a

government-funded report.

Graves, T. (2012). Foods & nonalcoholic beverages: Industry trends. (Industry Profile). Standard

and Poor's.

Available through NetAdvantage, the Foods & Nonalcoholic Beverages Industry Profile is

only available to users whose libraries have a subscription to NetAdvantage. This resource

is helpful in that it focuses on the entire foods industry, how it is restructuring, major

brands, acquisitions, and the financial implications for different facets of the industry. It

also addresses genetically modified organisms as well as natural foods (a near-synonym for

organic foods) explicitly.

Green goods and services industries by NAICS code. (2010). Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reference guide for NAICS codes is essential for any student

completing an industry analysis. It provides the opportunity to break down the organic

foods and services industry to help users identify relevant NAICS codes for searching.

Having NAICS codes that are specific to various aspects of the industry will aid students in

completing a robust analysis of the organic foods industry. The resource itself is freely


3/7

3

available to any individual who has an internet connection, as it is produced by the

federally funded Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Jaenicke, E., Dimitri, C., & Oberholtzer, L. (2011). Retailer decisions about organic imports and

organic private labels. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 93 (2), 597-603.

Available through a paid subscription to Oxford University Press, this journal article

discusses the issues that impact the integrity of organic products, which are so-named as a

result of particular cultivating practices. The most useful part of this particular article is its

analysis of the supply and demand issues for the organic industry and how this impacts

various levels of the supply chain. Users with access to an academic librarys online

subscriptions will find this article worthwhile.

Jose, E. (2013). Specialty food stores in the US. (Industry Report No. 44529). IBISWorld.

This is an industry report available through a subscription to IBISWorld Industry Reports,

making it a viable option for students and faculty on college campuses. This specific report

analyzes specialty foods and how they will be limited by grocery stores. The resource

analyzes the supply chain as well as the industrys activities, related industries, relevant

resources, industry jargon, and a glossary. Retail locations selling exclusively organic

and/or natural foods fall into this category, making it a useful, if unconventional option for

researchers.

Kriwy, P., & Mecking, R. (2012). Health and environmental consciousness, costs of behaviour

and the purchase of organic food. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 36 (1), 30-37.

This paper helps readers to contextualize and understand the psychological motivations for

consumers who elect to purchase organic products. While it is not traditionally in the


4/7

4

business realm, it dedicates a large section of the paper to the influence of these factors

on individual spending for organic products. The International Journal of Consumer Studies

is available through the Wiley Online Library and the Wiley-Blackwell vendor.

Mitchell, R. (2011). A natural and organic odyssey. Refrigerated & Frozen Foods Retailer, 9 (1), 8-

11. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=59805617

&site=bsi-live.

Mitchells article examines a report produced by SPINS Inc that projects growth for organic

and natural food items. It addresses merchandising guidelines, sale breakdowns, and

psychological analysis of industry jargon and pricing. The focus report is available through

a subscription to Business Source Complete, which is a favorite of many academic

institutions and is often part of an agreement with EBSCOHost.

Oates, L., Cohen, M., & Braun, L. (2012). Characteristics and consumption patterns of Australian

organic consumers. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 92 (14), 2782-2787. doi:

10.1002/jsfa.5664

This article analyzes a number of surveys of consumers who elect to purchase organic

foods in Australia. It is a full-scale study with correlated data for lifestyle, weight, gender,

and proportion of diet labeled as organic. Such an analysis is useful for students in

business who are interested in expanding the potential market for the organic food

industry. The Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture is available through the Wiley

Online Library through the vendor Wiley-Blackwell.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=59805617&site=bsi-livehttp://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=59805617http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=59805617http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=59805617&site=bsi-live


5/7

5

Organic food industry profile: United states. (2010). MarketLine, a Datamonitor business.

Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=58767906&site=bsi-

live.

This industry profile was produced for Kroger Co., one of the largest grocery retailers in the

United States. It aggregates company filings with competitors to provide a brief overview

of the organic food industry in the United States as of the end of 2010. The profile itself

was produced by Datamonitor, so it is available through a subscription to EBSCOHost. It

will provide a useful example of industry analysis as well as excellent reference to related

profiles, associations, and other relevant data.

Osteen, C., Gottlieb, J., Vasavada, U., Aillery, M., Ball, E., Beckman, J., Wang, S. L. (2012).

Agricultural resources and environmental indicators, 2012. (Economic Information Bulletin

No. EIB-98). United States Department of Agriculture.

Produced in August 2012, this recently updated report describes trends within the multiple

facets of the organic food industry. It tracks resources and production, and is indexed by

major areas of interest within the industry: farm resources and land use, productivity and

knowledge resources, agricultural production management, and conservation policies. The

overview of current trend is highly relevant for students who are trying to create their own

industry analysis and will provide them with up-to-date data. The report was produced by

the USDAs Economic Research Service, thus it is available freely on the Internet to anyone

with a connection.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=58767906&site=bsi-livehttp://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=58767906&site=bsi-live


6/7

6

Revised (adjusted) estimates of monthly sales, Inventories/Sales ratios of merchant

wholesalesalers, except manufacturers' sale branches and offices. (Trade Report). United

States Census Bureau.

This document provides historic data for different industries as broken down by NAICS

code. The data is adjusted for inflation and provides a look into monthly sales. While it

does not provide a snapshot of organic food specifically, it provides an overview of sales as

a whole for comparative purposes. Data goes back as far as January 1992. Because this is

funded (and updated) by the USCB, it is available freely on the Internet to anyone with a

connection.

White, L. (2012). The healthy have it. Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, 101 (9), 48.

Published in September 2012, this article reports on the growth of the organic foods

industry in the United States. It focuses on the growth of healthy eating and makes

projections for the future of the industry and what precisely consumers are looking for

when considering purchases. While it errs on the side of popular literature, it provides

interesting insights that students will find useful when building their own industry profiles.

Snack Food & Whole Sale Bakery is a journal made available through a subscription to the

MasterFILE Complete database, a likely holding by academic and some special libraries.

Zanoli, R., Gambelli, D., & Vairo, D. (2012). Scenarios of the organic food market in Europe.

Food Policy, 37 (1), 41-57. doi: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2011.10.003.

This resource is a scenario analysis of the development of the organic food industry in

Europe. While most students will likely be interested in the United STates, this article

analyzes the forces behind different challenges in the industry and outlines future trends in


7/7

7

organic farming. This serves as an excellent example for anyone seeking to perform a

scenario analysis of the organic food industry, but also provides excellent data related to

the European market. Food Policy is an Elsevier Ltd. journal, and is available through

subscription.

Resource Guide: Organic Foods Industry

Documents

Transcript of Resource Guide: Organic Foods Industry