U.S. Teens Want More Organic Food Choices

If you’ve ever questioned the future of our nation, listen up: kids are making better food choices than generations past. While that doesn’t say much for other problems that plague our country, we can at least be encouraged that new generations are beginning to understand the importance of clean food.

In a recent report by Organic Connections of a study by Piper Jaffay & Co., it was found that 39 percent of U.S. teens are choosing organic foods. The study also found that 35 percent of teenagers are consuming more organic options than one year ago.

“They’re much more aware than any generation before them,” said Marci Zaroff, a board member of the Organic Trade Association. “A lot of these kids nationwide have grown up seeing organic food sections in Safeway, Publix, Walmart and all the mainstream stores. Or for others, Whole Foods Market is where their parents shop, so they don’t really know life without organics; it has become more of an expectation for them. This is opposed to what our generation or our parents’ generation went through; organic was something we had to seek out.”

Zaroff posits that the Internet also plays a role in teen organic choices — with the wealth of information out there about the dangers of non-organic food (and the benefits of organic foods) available to tech-savvy teens, it’s no wonder.

Here’s to a new crop of U.S. buyers paving a path of demand for organic foods! With any luck, these numbers will keep on growing and conventional, GMO, pesticide-covered foods will become a thing of the past for our future generations.

 Image source: Tim Psych / Flickr