They’re starting to, and the food companies are starting to notice, Nestle says.
Marion Nestle: I think lots of people are increasingly concerned about what they’re eating for a very good reason, particularly because of all the food safety scares that we’ve had in the last few years. It’s become a much more immediate problem to a lot of people. I think a lot of people really care about how animals are raised. I think a lot of people care that there not be pesticides on their vegetables, particularly on the pesticides (vegetables, rather) that they’re feeding their children. They don’t want artificial hormones being given to cows, and they don’t want those hormones in their kids’ milk. These issues are more and more coming into public discussion, and you can see the evidence for public interest in that in the rise and sales of organic products, which are just booming; in the number of farmers’ markets just booming; in the focus of locally grown foods also just booming. And so we’re seeing the results in the marketplace, and believe me the food companies know about it.