plenty Issue 20 Feb/Mar 2008 | Page 38

business current Organic to Go’s rickshaw delivery fleet (below) and San Diego Federal Courthouse location (right). Organic, Supersized As Americans work up an appetite for Brown, with a menu designed by cookbook certification and encompasses breakfast and healthier meals, organic food sales have author and former regional Slow Food–move- lunch. Delivery and catering via rickshaw or risen sharply—up 21 percent annually in ment leader Greg Atkinkson, the chain of ca- hybrid van is also offered. recent years to nearly $17 billion in 2006, fés opened in the Seattle area in 2005. It has according to the Organic Trade Associa- quickly grown to more than 100 grab-and-go percent over the previous year, so Organic tion. One restaurant and catering chain, kiosks and restaurants on street corners, col- to Go’s dining future looks bright. And a Organic to Go, is looking to cash in on lege campuses, and airports up and down the recent survey by market research firm the intersection of the multibillion-dollar West Coast. “We’re a very simple company,” Harris Interactive found that more than 70 quick-service restaurant industry and the Brown stresses. “We make delicious food that percent of the public believes organic food burgeoning organic food trend. happens to be organic and natural.” is healthier and safer for the environment. Organic to Go feeds students, travelers, Revenues in 2007 are up more than 60 Organic to Go’s menu features Thai veggie With only 7 percent of respondents saying and suits looking for a quick bite that’s a wraps, yogurt parfaits with fruit and honey-gra- they mostly buy organic, Organic to Go has step above cheeseburgers on the nutrition nola, and more made-from-scratch entrées. barely gotten past the appetizers. pyramid. Founded by startup veteran Jason The selection of food carries the USDA-organic —Steven K Lee Kernel Truths The increase in the price of oil to nearly $100 per barrel has inspired a boom in ethanol production, leading to both a rise in the price of corn and an oversupply of this biofuel. (The price of ethanol dropped from a high of about $3.50 a gallon in 2006 to just under $2 by the end of 2007.) Even with more ethanol than we need at the moment, the Senate is looking to increase production of alternative fuels to 36 billion gallons by 2022 (at press time), some of which would come from corn-based ethanol, a biofuel that is heavily dependent on pesticides and energy for production. Ethanol advocates are hoping to increase the amount of the biofuel that can be blended into our gasoline from the current standard of 10 percent to 20 or 30 percent. In theory it sounds nice, but most engines are not certified operable at blends above 10 percent. That could lead to a feeling of running on empty more often than drivers would like. Yearly US Ethanol Production (in billions of gallons): Number of Ethanol Plants (end of year): Average Price of Corn in the US ($ per bushel): 10 150 4.0 9 125 3.5 8 3.0 7 100 75 6 2.5 5 2.0 4 50 1.5 3 1.0 2 25 .5 1 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 36 | february-march 2008 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007