Burt’s Bees lip balm was originally sold at independently owned health food stores but now it is owned by Clorox, the bleach company, a huge corporation that has historically cared very little about the environment.
Tom’s of Maine is owned by Colgate-Palmolive, a massive company with a revenue of approximately $11.4 billion.
Danone, the French conglomerate which also owns Brown Cow, has acquired a majority holding in Stoneyfield. It is the same Danone that had to recall large quantities of its yogurt in 2007 after it was found to contain unsafe levels of dioxins.
Horizon Organic milk was bought out by the largest dairy company in the U.S., Dean Foods, in 2005.
Odwalla is now owned by Coca-Cola. Almost as soon as Coca-Cola bought the company, it stopped selling the fresh-squeezed OJ that had made Odwalla famous and popular. With its massive distribution system, fresh squeezed wouldn’t last the days and weeks the juices are in transit or on the shelf. Pepsi bought Naked Juice in 2006, in order to compete with Odwalla. Smuckers grabbed several juice mainstays from the health food store shelves: After The Fall, R.W. Knudsen and Santa Cruz Organic.
Glaceau is owned by Coca-Cola. Glaceau, the company once known for its “fresh new approach to bottled water that is inspired by nature and enhanced by science.” Glaceau is the maker of Vitamin Water, Fruit Water, Smart Water and Vitamin Energy — all bottled waters that are adorably marketed and loaded with sugar. It’s no wonder Coca-Cola was slapped with a lawsuit in 2006 for making deceptive and unsubstantiated health claims in its Vitamin Water marketing strategies; they are selling glorified sugar water.
Kashi cereals was bought in July 2000 by Kellogg’s, the 12th-largest company in North American food sales (but if you look at a box of Kashi’s “Go Lean Crunch”, for example, there is no mention that Kellogg’s owns them.)
Kraft Foods bought the natural cereal maker Back to Nature. Kraft is a subsidiary of Altria, which also owns Philip Morris, one of the world’s largest producers of cigarettes.
General Mills owns Cascadian Farm. Barbara’s Bakery is owned by Weetabix, the leading British cereal company. Health Valley and Arrowhead Mills are owned by Hain Celestial Group, a natural food company traded on the NASDAQ, with H.J. Heinz owning 16 percent of the company.
Green and Black’s organic chocolate was taken over in 2005 by Schweppes, the 10th-largest company in North American packaged-food sales. Dagoba Chocolate is actually owned by Hershey Foods.
Sad but true that organic brands are a rapidly growing portion of the consumer dollar, and that every major food corporation has invested deeply in buying these established brands. Marketing strategies have been fooling the public to trust that the niche brands continue to be small, environmentally conscious businesses that combine ecologically sound practices with a political agenda to put products out on the market under a business model of “the Greater Good.”
Source: AlterNet March 18, 2009
Chapter: Food :: 28 April 2009
