US retail giant Wal-Mart is selling organic fruit and vegetables at its famously low prices, charging a 10 per cent premium over non-organic produce.
The company announced the move last April, and stock has now arrived on the shelves.
A total of 17 per cent of children and teenagers in the US are overweight, and 66 per cent of adults, of whom 32 per cent are obese.
Seventy-eight per cent of adults admit that they do not eat enough fruit and vegetables.
The Wal-Mart move is among several signs that Americans are beginning to think more seriously about what they eat. The organic and fair trade fresh produce sector, although small, is expanding by 20 per cent each year, says Joseph Mendelson of the Centre for Food Safety in Washington.
Wal-Mart is bringing premium fruits and vegetables to parts of America where they have not been readily accessible before.
Mark Winner, who writes on food and nutrition, said: “The Wal-Mart move is a very savvy business decision on their part to take advantage of what is indeed a growing market for organic food.”
