Organic tobacco finds a niche in the US

摘要

The market for organic products is a particularly health-conscious one. Consumers willing to pay a premium for foods and other goods produced without chemical fertilisers and pesticides seem unlikely tobacco users - but all the same, organic tobacco is fast developing as a niche market in the US and beyond. Given the health concerns surrounding tobacco use and recent legislation around the world seeking to limit public smoking, the whole concept of organic tobacco can be seen as something of an oxymoron. There are certainly sections of the organic movement which are hostile to the concept - those who feel that certifying tobacco, like certifying alcoholic drinks such as wine or beer, lends them a spurious "respectability", or misleads consumers about the health risks associated with such products, organic or not. "I feel that anything that deleterious should not be certified," angry Pennsylvania farmer Bud Glendenning told the Organic Foods Production Association of North America, back in the mid-90s. "As an organic farmer, I feel that my certification is diminished when a product like tobacco can be certified."