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Podcasts Take Two
Organic food industry booms; debate on conventional growing lingers
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Dec 15, 2014
Listen • 7:46
Organic food industry booms; debate on conventional growing lingers
The organic food industry is now worth $35 billion -- triple what it was 10 years ago. But the certification process has been stretched thin.
A shopper walks by organic products in a Whole Foods Market natural and organic food store, among the first to have USDA-certified organic products on October 21, 2002 in Tustin, California. New U.S. Department of Agriculture organic label standards went into effect today to standardize regulations for foods grown without synthetic pesticides or other chemicals. Whole Foods Market is the nation's largest organic food chain.
A shopper walks by organic products in a Whole Foods Market natural and organic food store, among the first to have USDA-certified organic products on October 21, 2002 in Tustin, California.
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David McNew/Getty Images
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The organic food industry is now worth $35 billion -- triple what it was 10 years ago. But the certification process has been stretched thin.

The organic food market has tripled in size over the past 10 years – it is now worth $35 billion. 

But rapid growth has stretched the organic certification process thin, leaving some to question whether certain goods really are that much better than conventionally grown after all.

Mark Kastel is the co-founder of the Cornucopia Institute, a group that conducts research on agricultural and food issues. He joins Take Two with more.