From the Inside:
Why do People Shop at My "Health Food" Store?

It's nine A.M. on a bright Thursday morning. A few stand outside, bundled in coats with shopping carts ready. Others linger in cars humming with the motors still turned on, as they wait for Mother Earth Store House in Poughkeepsie, NY to open for the day. A twisting turn of a key and the door opens, the determined hustling in first, and many others trickling in from the parked cars. I can always tell when the store is opening, as the music must be turned down, switched to "store appropriate" stations, and the early morning orders moved aside for the customers to access the aisles. I am a health food store baker, and this is a partial story of the store where I work.
Usually I get in early before the rest of the store, while all is still dark, the bulk bins all sealed and still, no brewing of free trade coffee, and no questions about the location of flax seeds…
Yet.
Once the door opens, the people come in larger numbers than many believe to purchase the items we sell, among which are those of any food store; primarily produce, dairy, dry goods, boxed items, frozen foods, and even home good such as cleaning supplies, baby requirements and pet care items. Besides the obvious store size difference, what makes "us" any different than a common grocery store? Why do people shop here instead of those mass company stores, with better bargain prices that offer more bang for your buck? Also, who works in my store and why do I refer to it with possessively? "Us." Is this "us," the store, the goods, the people who work there, or even bigger, the ideals that lie behind the meaning of a "health food" store?
I bake all day long, creating hand made goods fresh for the day, my glove covered hands deep in bags of organic spelt flour, pouring soy milk, dicing up sulfur free dried apricots and whipping up batches of ganache with dark vegan chocolate chips and rich soy creamer. Obviously, something here is different than most stores with little delis and bakeries in the back. My breads come from my hands and scoops of fresh items, not bagged mixes. Preservative free. 90% organic. No artificial colors of flavors. All Natural. All this talk of "no this" and "no that" begins to sound like nothing that would appeal to anyone, but our sales sour. Why? To some extent I have always wondered why people shop the way they do. I'm one to peer into people's carts, using it as a way to see who the people are by what they eat. Perhaps the most obvious answer from most of our shoppers when asked why they shop at Mother Earth Storehouse is "I try to buy organic." By definition organic means "avoidance of synthetic chemical inputs (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc) and genetically modified organisms; use of farmland that has been free from chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more); keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail); maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products; undergoing periodic on-site inspections." Consumers rarely know all those details, but cite things such as wanting to have food that is free of chemicals, hormones, and pesticides at the top of the list of why they buy this way. Some just say, "Well, I've heard organic is better," without really having the concrete facts why organic is better, or even really what organic means. With many of America's main stream food producers, such as Kellogs and Nabisco, picking up on the "organic" trend and making their original products with organic ingredients, we can now swing by most grocers and pick up (now) Organic Rice Krispies. The same sugary snap, crackle, pop but now organic. Yet, there must be something more going on at my store than just organics, since you can buy regular "normal" foods made organically at a local super market. Also, there is more to "organic" than most consumers even know, and is organic really the answer to many of the problems associated with America's food production today? Our health food store does boast a large organic produce selection, and many other products that are organic, yet we are in NO way completely organic, and with good reason, that will later be discussed. What is our store offering that allures and draws loyal customers?

As the baker, and one of these loyal customers, I can't help but include myself in this discussion. I'm a baker and caterer who has a passion for food and have always known that potatoes come from the earth, tomatoes come from vines in the summer, and that blackberries grow plump in bunches, dark and juicy, sitting in thorny bushes that grow thick and deep. In modern day America, I have witnessed the disconnect of many people with the food they eat, hearing stories of inner city children who grow up thinking that a potato is a long thin golden brown item, with no clue that is was once in the dirt at a farm, and had to grow there until it could be dug up, shipped, and fried into the little sticks they are familiar with. In Empty Pastures by Terence J. Centner, much of the focus on how small farms are disappearing rapidly as big business and factory farming takes over production for purposes of efficiency, profit and sheer increase in quantity. Nature is being turned into a commodity, that can be put into assemble lines, timed, controlled, and manufactured into exactly what the company desires, and thus provides to the consumers. Centner makes the argument that though this appears to be a great method for the booming economy of America with millions needing food daily, our environment, health, and overall welfare as human beings is being damaged and how these changes in agriculture production has contributed to many of today's public issues. To produce food in this way, modern practices of "bioengineered genes, weedsprays, insecticides, antibiotics, and liquid waste lagoons" are used and are creating huge problems for our environment. How does all this talk of small farms and chemical laden production habits relate to the people waiting outside my store's door at nine A.M. on that Wednesday morning? Though not everyone lives on a farm, or seeing first hand how food is produced, they do watch, read, and listen to the news almost daily. These issues of pesticides and chemicals covering produce, and antibiotics and hormones in meat have been reported on by many news associations. Today's society is more focused on "health" than ever before, and when they read their health magazines, or watch their news programs, all this information has begun to stew a fear in many modern consumers. This is one reason the organics movement has become so huge, and thus people come to my store to buy organic vegetables, citing the all encompassing answer that "it's better," "it's healthier," or "it's just better for you overall."
"Organic" does not answer the problems Centner discusses as even organics can be factory produced in single plant farms that have no biodiversity, and still function in many ways as non-organic farming, just now within the "organic" guidelines mentioned above. With organics costing more than conventional* items, why do people still buy them, or do they only buy certain ones? One customer, and mother of a fellow employee, said, "I don't like the hormones. Those might be added. I buy organic milk and meat…spinach, carrots," she said listening specific items off and precisely counting them off on her fingers. Like many of our customers, they fear the hormones they have heard about in dairy and the antibiotics in many meats, so they associate "organic" with pure and healthy. ("Healthy" is another word I have problems with as it is all relative to the person using it, and really cannot be defined in any one way.) With 26.6 million pounds of antibiotics being administered to domestic livestock each year, these consumers do have a valid reason and right to be concerned. At the least we can say that our customers are relatively conscious of what they are buying as they choose to seek out our products that are free of these harmful chemicals, pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. "Natural" companies love to put large labels on their items to highlight these differences, and draw the consumers to this hot new selling point. We have many dedicated followers to the organic movement, and in the bakery I have been asked many times, are the ingredients you bake with organic? This is where a large divide is seen within my store. Many items come from suppliers that are seen as more "natural" companies, and do produce some organics, but also produce conventional options. For example, Bobs Red Mill is a well known "natural" company selling many grains, hard to find starches, cereals, bake mixes, and many other items such as flaxseed meal, and xantham gum. We sell bags of both organic and conventional flaxseed meal. We sell two varieties of walnuts, almonds, oatmeal, soy milks, and many other items. Even different varieties of meat products, some "free range," some "grass fed," some "certified organic," and still some others that might be all three, or none of the three and just locally produced. Here again another hot bed issue for our store and the consumers comes into play.
Mother Earth Store House is a locally owned company with four separate stores, all offering differing items, yet overall, are the same general "health food store." Some are smaller with more limited selections, and others are larger including delis, bakery items, and larger supplement departments. However, we get shipments in everyday from different suppliers who we order items from. The supplier may carry a number of companies and a wide selection of goods, and from a huge spiral bound book, divided by suppliers, and then subdivided by categories of goods, we can electronically scan barcodes and place our "order" for the next shipment. These large trucks come on Tuesdays and Fridays, bringing the majority of our items, yet there are also local individuals who come to bring their products. In this sense, we also carry many locally produced goods, mostly seen in dairy, eggs, select breads, and other random things such as maple syrup, biscotti, granolas, and jarred sauces, to name a few. Oddly enough, it is correct to say the majority of our produce is not local. Going for the "organic" label means we have berries coming from Mexico, and nectarines from Chile in January. New York State cannot grow raspberries in January. Neither can most of the United States, as raspberries are not in season here. Yet, as Americans we desire what we want, when we want it, and thus find a place that grows what we want, and organically to boot, and have grown, packaged, and shipped to us to provide to our consumers. The produce manager and myself have had many a back room discussion on why we source organics from all over the world, yet do not sell more local items due solely to the fact they might not have been grown organically, or just have not met the complicated and long requirements to obtain the "USDA Certified Organic" label yet. Hopefully the organics trend will grow into a hot "Local Foods Movement" which can already be seen in many green-restaurants, local markets, and mainstream news articles on shop racks in every corner store. Even this month's TIME has a huge apple on the cover with a sticker saying "Forget Organics: Buy Local." Our customers are obvious products of marketing, news, and information, as seen when we look at the fact we carry local dairy farms' milks, cheeses, and yogurts, but many people still buy the mainstream organic brands such as Stonyfield Farms, or Organic Valley. Both, or at least one, of these can be found in a good number of regular supermarkets now with the consumer desire for "organics." A major theme among consumers is that many shop by what they see in advertisements. Few have time to research each and every thing they consume, as to where it is from, what labor went into it, who is supplying it, etc., etc. In today's fast paced world, consumers want something they can trust for taste and satiety, and many times people will buy something solely because they have heard of it. Many of our customers buy organics because they have heard the term and trust that if it's marked organic, it is ok, and thus purchase it without much more thought. I see "NON GMO" marked on a good deal of products on our shelves, yet only a few of our customers really know what GMOs and car whether they are in the items or not. Without legislation requiring everything to be labeled if it contains GMO's, I can only know for sure these items are non-GMO because their manufacturer has made a point to label their item as being free of GMOs. This labeling is required in European countries, and Dave Toke noted that "the organic movement [in Europe] has provided much of the activist support for the opposition to GM food and crops in the USA." Perhaps we will see the same association in the USA, as the support for organics I see in my health food store can already be seen as a, though unconscious, opposition to GM foods.
Crouching down in the cooking oil section one afternoon, a man with a young son, asked me to help him find new oil options after he decided to quit buying canola oil due to the unrest of the food politics around it. A few customers do cite political reasons behind their choices, yet again we see many who do not care either way as to if its non-GMO, politically sound in the realm of food production, or if it is organic. Many are bargain shoppers who only buy by coupons and sales, yet do not go to the bargain supermarkets right around the corner. These customers have other reasons behind their purchases such as "health" as they define it. We carry many products that are considered healthy and thus attract a following of oatmeal and berry eating, green tea drinking, tofu grilling, and multivitamin popping customers. They want high fiber, high antioxidant, minimal processing, whole grains, no added oils, no added refined sugars, and many other things that they eat or do not eat to improve health. This could be based on myriad reasons, from current health issues, food allergies, wanting to prolong life, disease prevention, or even to lose weight and tone up from the inside out. As stated before, most people associate "organic" with "healthy," and thus many organics do end up in these health conscious consumers' baskets and carts. Other health conscious shoppers must purchase their special items as not only their wellbeing, but life depends on it, with some having serious food allergies, such as wheat, dairy, and nut allergies, or Celiacs Disease, a condition where one cannot digest gluten.
Walking up and down the aisles of my store, you realize the obvious allure of natural, minimally processed, safe to eat or "healthy" foods for today's consumers. Not only do I work there supporting the store and all it stands for by being there to keep it running, but I'm also a loyal customer who shops there for local items, whole grains, and other items that support my primarily vegetarian lifestyle. I appreciate local eggs, and enjoy having the ability to buy free range meats from small farms in upstate New York. The option to buy thing in bulk at better prices also appeals to me as fresh tasting walnuts are always better than month old boxes that taste rancid in days. As a local store, I want to give my money to support its business and future, as it does encompass many of things that could save our country from the horrors of genetically "messed up" foods, and environmental damage done by factory farms. Though many customers are not as aware or conscious as I might be as a fellow customer, many do have very specific reasons why they shop at Mother Earth Storehouse. They might not even have a full knowledge of what their reasons really mean or stand for, but they are making a conscious decision to buy from our store. Even if the only reason is "I like organics" that is enough to say that our customers are relatively aware of what is in the items they buy and then eat, versus regular supermarket shoppers who will buy things regardless of type, ingredients, or production. I can only hope that more and more people begin to really stop, and question what they eat and feed to their families, as our customers have who now shop with us.

With the media jumping on the local foods movement, this hope might not be far away.