How to Start your Own Baby Food Business Part #5: Fresh, Organic, and Local

Of course, you don't have to make fresh, organic, and local underlining values of your baby food business. Perhaps these attributes are not as important to parents in your area. However, as I have already shown you, the market for products that have these qualities is growing rapidly. And the fact that your baby food is fresh, organic, and local is unlikely to turn people off. But you may loose potential customers if your food doesn't have at least one of these attributes.

Why Organic Foods For Babies?

-Existing regulations on the amount of pesticide residues that non-organic foods may contain are based on 'acceptable' levels for adult consumption. Babies and young children are at greater risk because the immaturity of their body systems makes them more vulnerable to toxins.
-Because children's diet is often restricted to just a few types of less processed food- like apples, potatoes, carrots ' they may receive higher exposure to toxins.
-From conception until one year of age, children are at their most vulnerable. During this critical stage of development cells are multiplying at their peak, yet the body has limited diet to draw upon.
-A baby's digestive system is also more efficient that that of an adult at absorbing foods, enabling nutrients to be used more quickly, but also making the body more vulnerable to toxins. Immature kidneys are not as proficient at excreting harmful substances, so they may circulate in the body for a longer period of time.
-No one knows what effect genetic engineering may have on food products and the health of those who consume them. So the best way to protect yourself and your baby from possible problems is to choose organic. Organic baby foods are produced without genetically modified ingredients.

Why Local Foods For Babies?

-Eating local means more for the local economy. According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy. When businesses are not owned locally, money leaves the community at every transaction.
-Locally grown produce is fresher. While produce that is purchased in the supermarket or a big-box store has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks, produce that you purchase at your local farmer's market has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase. This freshness not only affects the taste of your food, but the nutritional value which declines with time.
-Locally grown fruits and vegetables have longer to ripen. Because the produce will be handled less, locally grown fruit does not have to be "rugged" or to stand up to the rigors of shipping. This means that you are going to be getting peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them, figs that would have been smashed to bits if they were sold using traditional methods and melons that were allowed to ripen until the last possible minute on the vine.
-Eating local is better for air quality and pollution than eating organic. In a March 2005 study by the journal Food Policy, it was found that the miles that organic food often travels to our plate creates environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic.
-Eating local protects us from bio-terrorism. Food with less distance to travel from farm to plate has less susceptibility to harmful contamination.
-Supporting local providers supports responsible land development. When you buy local, you give those with local open space - farms and pastures - an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped.

Sources:
-Trading places: the local economic impact of street produce and farmer's markets, New Economics Foundation, November 2005.
-Farm costs and food miles: An assessment of the full cost of the weekly food basket, Food Policy, Volume 30, Issue 1, February 2005, Pages 1-19.
-"New Rules to Beat Food Terrorism", Associated Press, Dec 6, 2004.