Americans tend to think that eating organic food is healthier, but few think it's worth the cost.
Target, the second-largest discount retailer in the US, has just introduced a new organic brand called "Simply Balanced", alongside its other in-house grocery brands, Archer Farms and Market Pantry. Businesses like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are already doing quite well in the organic niche, with Trader Joe's revenue in 2011 at 8.5 billion, and Whole Foods on the books for 9 billion in 2010.
According to the latest YouGov research many people do think that organic food is better for your health, with 46% of Americans thinking that it is good for you. There is a divide along gender lines, however, with women being 12% more likely to believe that organic food is better for your health than men.
Most people think that organic food is more expensive than non-organic food, but 50% - the largest group - do not think it is worth the extra. Democrats are 12% more likely than Republicans to think that organic food is worth the expenditure, but even here 45% of Democrats say that it isn't worth the cost compared to 29% who think that it is.
At the other end of the food chain are GM foods, which are foods that have been genetically altered by scientists. Our polls showed evidence that a large number of people (36%) just don't know very much about GM Foods and their consequences, while a similar number of Americans (37%) say that they are bad for your health. Only 4% think that GM food is actually better for your health. Interestingly, there is a notable gender divide again, with men (30%) being much less likely than women (43%) to think that GM foods are unhealthy.
