In an article in the most recent Mother Jones magazine [full article unavaialble on the web], there’s a table which delineates some of the recent acquisitions of organic and natural food producers by some of the biggest conglomerates. It seems that the big food producers have seen the light, and realized that at least some of their customers are interested in natural or organic or meatless foods. So, instead of attempting to build a brand synonymous with trust and purity, they’ve simply bought the companies.
While I’m not a big fan of the corporate world, I’m also not one to believe that corporations are inherently evil. Still, I wish it was easier to find out where your food dollars are going. I love Boca Burgers, but I’m going to have a hard time buying them now, knowing that they’re owned by Kraft, which is in turn owned by Philip Morris.
Since Mother Jones didn’t include the table on their website, I’ve adapted it and posted it here.
| From Co-op to Conglomerate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| COMPANY | WHICH MAKES | NOW OWNED BY | WHICH PRODUCES |
| Odwalla, Samantha | Fresh and organic juices | Coca-Cola | Minute Maid, Sprite, Dasani, Hi-C |
| Balance Bar | Energy bars | Kraft (subsidiary of Philip Morris) | Kraft: Oscar Mayer, Velveeta, Jell-O, Miracle Whip Philip Morris: Marlboro, Benson & Hedges, Virginia Slims |
| Boca Burger | Natural and organic soy burgers | Kraft (subsidiary of Philip Morris) | See above. |
| Cascadian Farm | Organic foods | General Mills | Pillsbury products, Hamburger Helper, Cheerios, Chex |
| Muir Glen | Organic tomato sauces | General Mills | See above. |
| Ben & Jerry’s | All-natural ice cream | Unilever | Slimfast, Lipton, Dove soap, Skippy, “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” |
| Stonyfield Farm | Natural and organic yogurt | Groupe Danone | Dannon yogurt, Evian water |
| Lightlife | Tofu dogs and “meats” | ConAgra | Jiffy Pop, Reddi-wip, Swiss Miss, Hebrew National |
| Earth’s Best | Organic baby food | Hain Celestial Group (20% owned by H.J. Heinz) | Hain Celestial: Celestial Seasonigs, Westsoy, Health Valley H.J. Heinz: 9-Lives cat food, Weight Watchers, Star-Kist |
| White Wave | Soy milk | Dean Foods | Borden, Land O’ Lakes, Verifine |
| PowerBar | Energy bars | Nestle | Alpo, Stouffer’s, Carnation products |
| Worthington, Morningstar Farms | Vegetarian foods | Kellogg’s | Pop-Tarts, Corn Flakes, Eggo |
| Kashi | Whole-grain cereals | Kellogg’s | See above. |
| Mother’s Natural Foods | Whole-grain cereals | Quaker Oats (subsidiary of PepsiCo) | Quaker Oats: Rice-A-Roni, Cap’n Crunch, Gatorade PepsiCo: Frito-Lay, Tropicana, Pepsi |
| Near East | Rice pilaf and couscous | Quaker Oats (subsidiary of PepsiCo) | See above. |
| After the Fall, Santa Cruz Natural, R.W. Knudsen | Juices | J.M. Smucker | Smucker’s Preserves, Jif, Crisco |
| This table is adapted from the January/February 2003 issue of Mother Jones magazine. | |||
