Organic Industry Watchdog Challenges Ethics and Accuracy of Bread Marketing Claims
The Cornucopia Institute has written to the CEOs of Sara Lee and National Public Radio to express its concerns with the marketing campaign for Sara Lee’s EarthGrains® products. In its February 22, 2010, letter, the institute refers to a study it made of the claims and calls for Sara Lee to “immediately suspend promotional activities until your organization can complete its own analysis of our findings.” Institute co-director Mark Kastel stated, “Even though they’ve done a countrywide media rollout, including underwriting spots on National Public Radio, Sara Lee is, in essence, playing a shell game. . . . If advertising executives could be charged with malpractice, this would be a major felony.”
According to the institute, Sara Lee claims that its EarthGrains® bread contains, “Eco-Grain™,” an ingredient that “is more sustainable than organic grain.” The institute calls this a “crass and exploitive marketing ploy” that has angered the organic community because the grain represents 20 percent of all the ingredients in one EarthGrains® product only, Sara Lee’s “100% Natural” EarthGrains® 24-ounce bread loaves. With 80 percent conventional wheat, the bread purportedly reduces synthetic fertilizer use 3 percent only, when compared to a 100 percent reduction for a loaf of certified organic bread. The company’s other breads allegedly contain no Eco Grain™. The institute also faults Sara Lee for using genetically engineered ingredients and chemical solvents in its products.
Sara Lee has issued a response, noting that it never claimed the grain was organic. In a statement, the company reportedly said, “We’ve been completely transparent about the environmental benefits . . . At the moment, there is 20 percent Eco-Grain in our bread. We are looking to increase that percentage as more farmers are identified to grow the crop. We feel that by commercializing innovative farming practices like precision farming, which has a number of benefits for both the consumer and environment, EarthGrains can help to lead the bread industry in the right direction.” The “precision agriculture” to which it refers apparently relies on satellite imaging to pinpoint fertilizer requirements in different parts of the field, thus reducing fertilizer usage and emissions while increasing yields. See Cornucopia News, February 22, 2010; Bakerandsnacks.com, February 26, 2010.
