Demand for organic food outstrips supply in U.S.

WASHINGTON - No almonds. Big problem. The makers of the high-energy, eat-and-run Clif Bar needed 85,000 pounds of almonds, and they had to be organic. But the nation's organic almond crop was spoken for.

Eventually, Clif Bar found the almonds - in Spain. But more shortages have popped up: apricots and blueberries, cashews and hazelnuts, brown rice syrup and oats.

America's appetite for organic food is so strong that supply just can't keep up with demand. Organic means food is grown without pesticides, fertilizer, hormones, antibiotics or biotechnology.
"We're doing a lot of scrambling," said Sheryl O'Loughlin, CEO of Clif Bar Inc.

Organic products still have only a tiny slice, about 2.5 percent, of the nation's food market. But the slice is expanding at a fast pace. Growth in sales of organic food has been 15 percent to 21 percent each year, compared with 2 percent to 4 percent for total food sales.

Mainstream supermarkets, eyeing the success of organic retailers such as Whole Foods, have rushed to meet demand. The Kroger Co. and SuperValu Inc., which owns Albertson's LLC, are among those selling their own organic brands. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said earlier this year that it would double its organic offerings.