Wal-Mart pledged to make affordable organic food available to its shoppers, and the organic industry gulped. Now, according to the Des Moines Register, the largest food retailer in the United States plans to double the amount of locally grown food it sells and ensure that all the food going past its cash registers is “produced in sustainable ways” by setting standards for the energy and natural resources impacts of food production.
The retail giant is still working on those sustainability standards for domestically produced food. Improving soil quality and conserving water and fossil fuels are key. Prototype standards are being developed for orange juice, wheat breakfast cereal and strawberry yogurt.