America's new healthy eaters find an unlikely ally: Wal-Mart

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1805811,00.html

For the organic grape tomatoes to land in Tara Smoot's shopping trolley required a tremendous act of will. First she renounced all junk food, banishing fried chicken and chocolate milk from her children's menu, and the pasta, crisps and sweets she and her husband had enjoyed. Then she prepared herself for a higher grocery bill. "It's a lot cheaper to eat unhealthily than healthily," she says. And there is temptation every step of the way. To reach the fresh produce section in this Wal-Mart super centre Ms Smoot had to push her trolley past jumbo bags of peanuts and "sugar-free" chocolate cream pies - still 220 calories a slice. Ahead lie the ubiquitous chocolate bars at the checkout counter.

Families like the Smoots were part of Wal-Mart's calculation when the world's largest retailer announced last April that it would begin selling organic food at its famously low prices, charging a 10% premium over non-organic. Organic food for the masses has arrived, and at a time when America as a nation has never been fatter or eaten so badly. Seventeen per cent of children and teenagers are overweight, and 66% of adults, of whom 32% are obese. Seventy-eight per cent of adults admit they do not eat enough fruit or vegetables.

The Wal-Mart move is among several signs that Americans are beginning to think more seriously about what they eat. In a grocery market stagnant for many years, the organic and fair trade sector - though small - is expanding 20% every year, says Joseph Mendelson of the Centre for Food Safety in Washington. Demand for organic milk regularly outstrips supply, and each year more farm acreage is used for organics.

Amid the concern about diet, some researchers believe America's obesity epidemic has reached a tipping point. Across the country, the prevalence of obesity among women has stabilised - though it is still on the way up for men.