Last year’s 11 percent increase in organic farmland in the U.S. sounds like a big win for sustainable agriculture. Except it isn’t.
Of the 915 million acres of farmland across the U.S., 4.1 million acres are devoted to pesticide-free, sustainable growing, less than 0.5 percent of American farmland.
Organic food sales grew to $43.3 billion in 2015. But a recent study found that 85 percent of the top food retailers aren’t meeting consumer demands for product and transparency.
General Mills — one of the largest food producers in the U.S. and a top-five organic product buyer — wants to reach $1 billion in organic food sales by 2019.
It’s partnering with Organic Valley to expand organic dairy acreage over the next three years.
