Internet Apply a Specific Portion Material Covered

¶ … Internet apply a specific portion material covered textbook. The articles Organic Demand The article that I have chosen to summarize for this assignment is called "Gap Growing Between Supply and Demand for Organic Foods." The crux of this article is the fact that there is an imbalance between the supply and demand for organic foods in the United States. Specifically, the demand for organic foods is substantially greater than the supply for such foods in the U.S.

Because of this fact, those looking to produce organic foods have to turn to importing some of the key materials in this process -- such as organic soybeans and organic corn -- from overseas markets in various parts of Asia. As a result, consumers in the U.S.

may doubt the authenticity of the organic food here since it is not entirely grown with local products, despite the fact that the demand for organic market "grew over the past five years by 35% -- nearly three times the pace of the food industry as a whole -- to $29 billion" (Wall Street). This article was selected for this assignment because it deals directly with the laws of supply and demand which we have been studying for this particular educational unit.

For the most part, the article is in accordance with the information that was provided in the text regarding this subject. One of the basic tenets of the supply and demand concept is that when there is greater demand than supply, prices rise accordingly. This fact is readily confirmed in the article as it states that "organic retail prices can only climb so high" (Wall Street).

Another key facet of the reality that prices rise during times of high demand is that these prices even impact the farmers attempting to grow organic foods. Specifically, the dearth of organic materials in the U.S. means that dairy prices rise accordingly for those attempting to farm organically, which also reduces their profit margins. Works Cited The Wall Street Journal. "Gap Growing Between Supply and Demand for Organic Foods." www.foxnews.com. 2013. Web.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/07/15/gap-growing-between-demand-and-supply-for-organic-foods/ The Farm Belt isn't going organic fast enough to keep up with surging consumer demand, forcing makers of organic foods from milk to deli meats to look abroad for key commodities while struggling to recruit skeptical farmers at home. The U.S. is the world's largest producer and exporter of corn and soybeans, but organic supplies, which are used largely as animal feed for production of organic meat and dairy, are hard to come by here.

Federal data show organic food producers are turning to China and India for organic soybeans, as total U.S. imports of those kinds of beans doubled last year and could surpass $100 million in value this year. Food companies say fewer corn and soybeans farmers are adding organic acres, with some even returning to pesticides and processed fertilizer after trying organic production. "We are not keeping up.

You have seen a slowdown in the transition of acres," said George Siemon, chief executive of Organic Valley, the largest cooperative of organic farmers in the U.S. Limited new supplies, he added, mean its dairies pay higher prices for feed, making producers less profitable as organic retail prices can only climb so high.

Besides hurting returns for dairies, a lack of new acres for organic row crops, which lag behind fruits and vegetables in new production, could restrict growth for other organic foods that rely on feed, such as poultry, the Organic Trade Association says. Some food makers also fear imports could turn off consumers who equate organic with locally grown food. Federal data show the organic crop makes up a sliver of the 175 million acres of corn and soybeans planted this spring, though the organic data lag behind.