From The March 2002 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Just the Organic Facts

Several organizations and agencies track statistics related to the organic products industry. Here's a collection from recent reports:

• Retail organic products sales were $5.5 billion in 1998, up from $1 billion in 1990.
  
• About 33 percent of the U.S. population buys organically grown food.
  
• 36 percent of purchasers are between the ages of 45 and 54.
  
• Worldwide, more than 7 million hectares are cultivated to produce organic food and fiber—an area the size of South Carolina.
  
• Just 0.2 percent of all farmland in the United States is used for organic crop production.