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The Big “O”:
Organic Food Aesthetics in American everyday life
Renée Shaw Hughner, Arizona State University
Pierre McDonagh, Centre for Consumption Studies, Dublin City University, Ireland
Andrea Prothero, University College Dublin, Ireland
Clifford J. Shultz II, Arizona State University
Julie Stanton, St. Josephs University
THE SIZE OF GLOBAL ORGANIC MARKET
This working paper presents insights into the
American consumption of the Big “O”, organics. In
drawing from a dataset of video taped interviews,
‘shop withs’ and observations from consumers in
leading organic retail settings, such as Wholefoods,
Trader Joes, Wild Oats as well as from a dedicated
organic co-operative store the authors examine the
macro consequences of the organic phenomenon. Data
analyzed seems to suggest a new 4 P’s for marketers to
consider when examining this growth food: Passion,
Purity, Personal Health and Prose are notable
elements visualized in the paper.
The results are considered from both an
American and European perspective and address the
question as to whether or not the market for organics is
good evidence of the trend in risk society towards what
is called ‘Glocalization’ against a backdrop of the
alleged ‘Disneyization’ of everyday life.
This market is difficult to quantify precisely. Published
findings have produced commonalities and
contradictions and so it is difficult to say with
confidence what the size of the global organic market
actually is. It is possible, however, to make a number
of observations. First, and perhaps most importantly,
the organic market is growing; it has increased
considerably in recent years and is frequently
regarded as one of the biggest growth markets
in the food industry. The global market for organic
food was estimated at US$ 20 billion in 2002
(Fitzpatrick, 2002). In the United Kingdom,
the organic food market increased fourfold
between 1988 and 1993 and doubled again between
1996 and 1999 (DataMonitor in Murphy, 1999).
Demand for organic food was up 40 per cent in 1999
and 55 per cent in 2000 and sales reportedly
increased from £100 million in 1994 to £605
million in 2000 (Palmer, 2001). The market
likely will be worth £1.47 billion in 2005
(Boxall, 2000), thus supporting claims that
the UK organic food market can now be
classified as mainstream rather than a niche
market (Palmer, 2001). In Europe, more
broadly, it has been estimated that sales of
organic food will increase at a rate of 20 per
cent per annum.
The U.S. market has grown similarly. Sales
increased from $78 million in 1980 to approximately
$6 billion in 2000 (e.g., McDonald, 2000; Miller,
1996), with an average annual increase of 24 per cent
during the 1990s (Organic Trade Association, 2001).
These trends suggest sales in the market will
exceed $20 billion by 2005 (Organic Trade
Association, 2001; Soil Association, 2003).
Despite this global growth in consumer demand and
Keywords: organics; supermarkets; co-operatives;
marketing theory;
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Organic food is problematic in many regards not least
in its production and distribution but also in its claim
making to be better for the consumer buts its rise to
prominence globally has left an enduring research
challenge for a range of academics. This paper reflects
upon the American consumer as represented by a range
of consumers in Phoenix Arizona, and insight into
stores which serve the organic produce market
nationally across the USA; added to this the authors’
observations as American scholars from both the East
and West of the USA. are placed in contradistinction to
their European co-authors.
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sales, the organic food market is still relatively small.
Organic farming globally constitutes a very small
percentage of overall farming, as little as one per cent
of farming in most OECD countries. However, organic
farming is generally on the rise. In the United
States, while conventional farming is decreasing,
organic farming is increasing by 12 per cent annually.
Organic farmers are also beginning to receive more
government aid – a trend that is expected to increase in
the future (McDonald, 2000). Given the rapid and
accelerating growth of the organic food market, an
assessment of how organic food consumers use
organics in their everyday lives seems imperative.
DISCUSSION
We suggest the reflection here represents an important
insight into the processes of organic food consumption
and can be analysed in a number of ways. First it
underscores the global phenomenon against local
consumption experiences in Phoenix and against the
theoretical backdrop of glocalisation and disneyisation
both of which have been introduced into academia in
recent times. Roland Robertson, the Scottish
sociologist at the University of Aberdeen, main works
are Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture
and the edited volume Global Modernities. His
contributed article in the latter introduced the Japanese
business term glocalization into Western social science
discourse. According to popular belief as evidenced by
the likes of Wikipedia which is written collaboratively
by volunteers from all around the world Glocalisation
Glocalization (or glocalisation), is a portmanteau of
globalization and localization, entails one, two or three
of the following:
THE PRESENT STUDY: CONSUMERS OF
ORGANICS
In order to carry out a preliminary
macromarketing analysis, for the purpose of
investigating organics we started with the market and
consumers experiences. The data is still under analysis
but four themes recur, namely

Passion (Spirituality)
Purity (Wholesome)
Personal Health (Juicing)
Prose (Playfulness)

For this presentation consider the following data
clips to explore these.
Lisa is a devout regular shopper and volunteer at
Gentle Strength co-operative where is does all her
shopping and also teaches yoga. She sees the cooperative as a beacon of light within the community.

Consider also the mother and daughter who buy breads
and foods that are ‘pure’ in so far as they have no
sugars or additives in Wholefoods or the woman who
juices as she is in Cancer remission.
Using electronic communications
technologies, such as the Internet, to provide
local services on a global or transregional
basis. Craigslist and Meetup are examples of
web applications that have glocalized their
approach.
The establishment of local organization
structures, working with local cultures and
needs, by businesses as they progress from
national to multinational, or global businesses.
As has been done by many organizations such
as IBM.
The creation or distribution of products or
services intended for a global or transregional
market, but customized to suit local laws or
culture.
This term glocalisation is also associated with Zymant
Bauman. It would seem the global and the local may
be regarded as two sides of the same coin. It is
suggested a place may be better understood by
recognizing the dual nature of glocalization. Very often
localization is a neglected process because
globalization presents an omnipresent veneer.
When the ‘Border Girls’ perform on stage at
Wholefoods the whole store’s aesthetic is being used to
package the ‘organic experience’ as pure and
wholesome for the consumer.
Yet, in many cases, local forces constantly strive to
attenuate the impact of global processes. These forces
are recognizable in efforts to prevent or modify the
plans for the local construction of buildings for global
corporate enterprises, such as for Wal-mart.
Look also at Irving who playfully cheats with organic
food at home but respects the knowledge base and
purposive nature of the consumers he serves in Wild
Oats.
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This follows Grossbart’s (2004) recent reminder to
macromarketing scholars
watered-down with the intent of making the subject
more pleasant and easily grasped. In the case of places,
this typically means replacing what has grown
organically over time with an idealized and touristfriendly veneer reminiscent of the "Main Street USA"
attractions at Disney theme parks.
macromarketing scholars face substantial challenges in
developing insights about the nature and implications of
globalization. These challenges are reflections of
globalization’s complexity, unfolding nature, and
potential nonuniformity. Rather than a uniform outcome
or state, globalization is a multifaceted process that may
be subject to change over time and variation across
contexts.
The French philosopher Jean Baudrillard who writes
about the nature of reality and the hyperreality has
called Disneyland the most real place in America as it
is not pretending to be anything more than it actually
is, a theme park. In his essay Simulations he wrote:
In the same issue Kilbourne remarked that
"Disneyland is presented as imaginary in order to make
us believe that the rest is real, when in fact all of Los
Angeles and the America surrounding it are no longer
real, but of the order of the hyperreal and of
simulation."
He also criticized the hidden corporate nature of the
company in his book America:
the dominant ideology of globalization referred to as
neoliberalism. It is an essential part of the DSP of
Western industrial societies and, through the process of
globalization in its many facets, is being exported to
LDCs that aspire to affluence. It has, however, been
argued here that LDCs are a diverse set of nations that
are unlikely to respond consistently to a single, unifying
philosophy.
Although
economic
growth
and
development are critical in enhancing the QOL of LDCs,
and no reasonable person would doubt this, the
argument that a single model of development will
succeed in every case is unfounded. Past experience
alone substantiates this. Rather, the path to development
will vary across countries and depends on their history,
culture, infrastructure, political structure, and
technological base. The neoliberal paradigm that has
become dominant fails to consider these differences,
treating all LDCs as undifferentiated markets. Because
the prevailing paradigm under which globalization is
unfolding does not consider the social consequences of
market behavior, and this is the professed interest of
macromarketing (Fisk 1981), an expanded model of
macromarketing research is necessary
"The whole Walt Disney philosophy eats out of your
hand with these pretty little sentimental creatures in
grey fur coats. For my own part, I believe that behind
these smiling eyes there lurks a cold, ferocious beast
fearfully stalking us."
RISK , UNCERTAINTY AND FOOD
Food as a human necessity is globally unique and
it sis a truism to say the species cannot survive without
sustenance. What makes it’s an interesting research site
is the ritualistic use of food, the symbolic, the pleasure
and sharing of bread with family and friends amidst the
anxieties that it lets us all focus upon in our everyday
lives. For many people what we place in our mouths is
one of the last arenas of personal resistance
(McDonagh and Prothero 2005:1)
Disneyisation as representative such an expansion
would on the other hand have us believe that
Disneyfication or Disneyization, (also rendered
"McDisneyization") are neologisms, taken from the
name of The Walt Disney Company, to describe what
some see as the way principles of Disney theme parks
are spreading throughout society. Sharon Zukin (1996)
uses the former term in her book The Cultures of
Cities, as do other social scientists writing about urban
transformation. The later term was popularized by Alan
Bryman, Professor of Organisational and Social
Research at the University of Leicester in a 2004 book,
The Disneyization of Society.
Fast food, slow food, convenience food, genetically
modified food, organic food, ethnic food, traditional
food, carb-free food, additive and preservative free food,
low calorie food, vegetarian food, halal food; the list is
endless; food, and our study of it in the twenty-first
century is filled with paradoxes, confusion, and
dilemmas. Indeed food is now part of what has been
called risk society, the production and consumption of
risks, as well as wealth and/or health. This is evidenced
with global problems of obesity in adult and young
populations in the West (Critser 2003; Ruppel Shell
2003;Schlosser 2002); indeed the United Nations has
cited obesity as one of the world’s biggest problems to
be faced in the twenty-first century. Ironically, at the
same time the UN also stresses that the other major
health issue facing the world is malnutrition and under
nutrition, thus highlighting the paradoxes surrounding
food consumption in modern times. Our newspapers and
popular magazines are filled with news stories
It is a generally pejorative term and the primary
components of which are theming, de-differentiation of
consumption; merchandising; and emotional labour. It
can be used more broadly to describe the processes of
stripping a real place or event of its original character
and repackaging it in a sanitized format. References to
anything negative are removed, and the facts are
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surrounding food consumption; be it a focus on anorexia
nervosa; stories of the illness new variant CJD, directly
linked to the consumption of diseased cows; or
discussions of the latest celebrity to try the Atkins Diet;
food as we know it is big news. Today thereis
widespread angst about what food to consume, how best
to consume it; if you have the luxury to chose what to
eat on a regular basis, which, as the example above
illustrates clearly doesn’t apply to everyone in the
world; and how to display this consumption to the
outside world. What was once simple is now complex
and food through all of this is celebrated, ritualised,
speeded up, slowed down or more recently berated.
revisit their inclusion in the production processes and
recent macromarketing scholarship is also highlighting
other significant areas for considerations (see for
example work related to mercury levels in fish
Hughner 2007 and Charlebois’ 2007 work which
considers a political economy framework of analysis to
food safety and mad cow disease.
MACRO IMPLICATIONS
Given all this, it would appear a macromarketing
analysis is helpful here. Whilst various parties need to
be consulted to understand what it is that constitutes
organic food and how it is used in everyday
circumstances the voice of the consumer clearly
provides some synergy as to what is happening locally.
Furthermore macromarketers need to talk with
shoppers, retailers, managers, producers the consumer
associations, the media, government and regulators and
any other organisation involved in order to get a
systemic understanding of the macro implications. This
works has started that process. In terms of the macro
theory development Figure 1 starts the process below:
in an otherwise highly rationalised society. As Beck
wrote some time ago modern society has reached a
stage where we not longer produce and distribute
wealth but also risk, in terms of chemicals, pesticide
residues and toxic substances. For instance the ‘jury is
still out’ on the adverse effects of cell phones and now
mobile broadband internet services which many herald
as technological innovations. In the food sector it is
only relatively recently that public knowledge of the
adverse consequences of hydrogenated fats has lead
producers of cereal bars and margarine spreads to
FIGURE1:
THEORISING ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCTION & CONSUMPTION
Any representation of Organic within the US, whether its through a food label that has been certified
or in a local store which has developed the trust of its customers as a respected supplier of organic
produce can be considered in this figure. The process is complex and contested and the
representation of the food is clearly staged, similar to the ideas behind the Disneyisation thesis,
Furthermore the organic is only defined in contradistinction to ‘normal’ food which permits a Hegelian
analysis to be applied here (See Desmond, McDonagh & O’Donohoe 2000)
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ABRIDGED REFERENCES
Belk, R. 1988. Possessions and the Extended Self,
Journal of Consumer Research 15(2): 139-68.
Bryman, Alan E. 2004. The Disneyization of Society.
London and New York: Sage Publications.
Desmond, John McDonagh, Pierre and O’Donohoe,
Stephanie 2000. Counter-Culture and Consumer
Society, Consumption, Markets and Culture 4(3):
241-280
Grossbart, Sandford 2004. In this Issue. Journal of
Macromarketing 24 (2) 88-91
Kilbourne, William E. 2004. Globalization and
development: An Expanded macromarketing
View. Journal of Macromarketing 24 (2) 88-91
Hughner, Renee Shaw, McDonagh, Pierre Prothero,
Andrea, Shultz II, Cliff. J. Stanton, J. 2007. Who
are organic consumers? A compilation and review
of why people purchase organic food Journal of
Consumer Behaviour, 6: 1-17
McDonagh P, Prothero A. 2005. Food, markets and
culture: the representation of food in everyday
life. Consumption, Markets, and Culture 8(1):
1–5.
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