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Whenever I tell people about what I do for a living, I seem to get the same question again and again: What exactly is “organic”? It used to be I would give a general overview of the requirements, including no pesticides for fruits and vegetables, and no hormones or antibiotics for meat. Sometimes I’d get into what I knew about the conversion process, certifying agencies…

Now, I just tell people to think about what the word “organic” means, and they’ve got the basic idea.

That’s boiling things way down, of course, especially given the proliferation of organic products over the years. But it gets to the essence of the ideal. People, I think, are convinced that “organic” as a standard is more complicated than it really is — something that only foodies and that crunchy relative who went to Woodstock would take the time to understand. A recently released report that came across my desk validates this point: According to marketing agency BBMG’s Conscious Consumer Report, nearly half of all shoppers have a strongly favorable response to eco claims like locally grown, biodegradable and cruelty free, while only 26% voiced approval of the USDA’s organic label.

Do they know that organic encompasses a lot of these same eco claims that consumers supposedly prefer? That it’s, essentially, devoted to simpler forms of production and agriculture? I don’t think they do. Organic is mysterious. Organic, with its official seal and marketplace buildup, hints at way more than meets the eye.

Which is true, in a way. Certifying food and getting it to the store shelf is always complex equation. But in the end, organic is just….organic.

There’s been a bunch of stories crossing the wires this past week about the growing number of consumers food shopping for home consumption. No big surprise, right? The economy’s wallowing, gas prices are sky high and job security is tenuous. It’s not exactly a great time to be splurging at restaurants.

We noted a few entries back that sales of Spam luncheon meat grew 10%, as are sales of frozen and canned foods. The Food Marketing Institute noted in a recent report that 83% of consumers are eating home-cooked meals at least three times a week. And this includes wealthier households, which the survey found more likely than less-affluent households to buy food for home consumption.

In a specific example of retailer activity, Publix has cranked up its already-successful Aprons Simple Meals program by posting more than 500 recipes to its website. The promotion notes many of the dishes can be made in as little as 15 minutes — a direct appeal to time-starved households looking to get dinner on the table quickly after a long day at work because it’s too expensive to go out and eat.

Then there’s news that consumers are surfing the web more often to get coupon savings. According to Hitwise, an online measurement firm quoted in The Wall Street Journal, online coupon hunting as increased 56% for the week endng June 6, compared with the same week in 2007. Coupons.com, CouponMountain.com and Eversave.com were some of the most popular coupon destinations, according to the article.

So, what’s it all mean? It’s a promising time to be in the supermarket business. But it’s also more than that. It’s an ideal opportunity to reconnect with shoppers by offering true solutions — not just in terms of food budget solutions, but overall lifestyle. Remember, people are still trying to stay healthy so they avoid those high insurance premiums and co-pays. Stay the course on wellness merchandising. If you need to, tweak the sets and selection, play with pricing — but make sure you keep whole health a focus. Your preoccupied, worried customers will thank you when this weird period of our history is over.

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out Sam Fromartz’s interview with Whole Foods CEO John Mackey on Fromartz’s Chews Wise blog. It’s divided into two parts — the first focusing on financials and the current economy, the second on ethics, standards and some of the top trends that are influencing the business.

As always, Mackey is as brazen as he is insightful. Right off the bat, he said that if he could go back in time he wouldn’t do the Wild Oats deal because of the regulatory sparring it caused with the Federal Trade Commission. The ordeal has cost Whole Foods millions of dollars in legal fees, not to mention the unearthing of Mackey’s embarrassing online alter ego, “rahodeb”. Given where things stand, though, Mackey wants to see the former Oats stores and its employees through a full transition.

Mackey’s regret may have made for a quote of the day, but it was his discussion about humane certification that proved most interesting from a trade perspective. This summer, he said, Whole Foods will start to employ a third-party rating system for its meat products. Based on a one-through-five scale (one being the lowest, five being the highest), the program looks to award high marks to manufacturers that practice the ethical ideal for their market. That means, as Mackey implies, that the “free-range” chicken that actually roam on pasture will be rated noticeably higher than the “free-range” chicken that is confined to a barn and just have access to pasture.

This is yet another step for the in-store rating system movement (Hannaford’s Guiding Stars, Topco’s ONQI), which seeks to hold manufacturers to higher standards and, in Whole Foods case, cut down on the wriggle room within such label claims as free range and organic. Mackey also said he and Whole Foods officials want to expand their sustainable seafood initiatives, though how exactly they’ll go about this seems to be something they struggle with.

It’s nice to see Mackey talking — and blogging — again. He’s one of the most interesting minds in the business, and though he may have a tendency to spout off and get himself into trouble, he can also be refreshingly honest and on target.

About a year ago we had the opportunity to cover the building tension between government regulators and raw milk drinkers. We spoke to Mark McAfee, who operates perhaps the largest raw-milk dairy in the country (in California). One of the first points he made concerned the term “raw.” He prefers “living whole foods” in describing unpasteurized dairy: “The word ‘raw’ has too much of a roadkill connotation to it,” he told me.

We also checked in with Sally Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, which runs the national Campaign for Real Milk She described the lengths some people will go to in order to get raw milk. They’ve developed some pretty interesting ways of skirting state and federal law. Some farmers allow people to buy “shares” of an actual cow, and as a part owner, these folks are entitled to the, er, proceeds.

Practices like this may be coming to an end. The Associated Press picked up the story this week, noting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether McAfee’s dairy illegally shipped raw milk over state lines. In Pennsylvania, authorities raided two farms allegedly selling raw milk, the AP update noted.

Raw milk fans say pasteurization of dairy products kills the nutrients that humans need to build healthy immune systems, and that raw milk is a powerful health beverage that cures a number of conditions. Government regulators say raw milk can contain dangerous bacteria, including E. coli.

Some 22 states ban raw milk sales, while the rest allow sales and consumption. California is one of the latter, and Whole Foods Market has gone on record as supporting raw milk, and even sells it in some stores.

Good for them. Education is a foundation of the entire wellness movement, which prides itself on its vigilant self-policing. Unscrupulous suppliers are rooted out and exposed. It’s no different in this case. Consumers of raw milk very likely understand the potential risks when they make their first purchase, because retailers selling legal product in their stores have signs and pamphlets and their own quality control protocols (note that 2 deaths have been attributed to raw milk consumption between 1998 and 2005). Along with farmers themselves, retailers are ideally suited to perform the role of educator and gatekeeper. It’s a role no one relishes, but it’s the only way if you’re going to sell raw milk.

The government’s role here should be confined to creating educational materials and setting up a mechanism for quality control. Instead, it’s yet again stifling consumer choice.

I’ll come right out and say it: I hate High Fructose Corn Syrup.

I am not obese or diabetic, and I have all my teeth. So, what’s the matter? I hate HFCS because it’s in packaged bread! Week after week in the supermarket, I read the labels of all the whole wheat and fiber-rich breads on the shelf, and every one of them lists HFCS as an ingredient. I have to go to a specialty store to get honest-to-goodness whole wheat bread that doesn’t have HFCS and won’t rip and ball up into a wad of moist dough whenever I try to smear peanut butter on it.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association just issued a science policy paper on high fructose corn syrup that summarized findings from a number of sources. One could guess that the effort comes in response the news earlier this year that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not consider the sweetener a natural ingredient based on its current policy regarding the term “natural.”

One contribution is from a scientific review panel convened by the University of Maryland. Experts there conducted a review of available literature, added some original analysis, and concluded that “HFCS does not appear to contribute to overweight and obesity any different than any other energy sources.”

In other words, HFCS is not, in and of itself, creating fat Americans. The GMA report noted that the key to addressing obesity health problems is to “continue to emphasize that consumers should burn more calories through physical activity, than they consume from the foods and beverages they eat.”

No argument there, but there’s one line of questioning the report neglected to follow: CPG companies are the biggest, most consistent users of HFCS on the planet. It’s cheap, plentiful and makes manufacturing foods a lot easier. And so, it goes into more and more products, and the American palette adjusts to higher levels of sweetness… until we get to the point where we don’t mind it in our bread.

Sure, we need to take responsibility for our diets and eat the right foods, in the proper amounts, as suggested by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. But until this substance is highlighted and pointed out on packaging, American consumers can’t take all the blame.

What will the economy do to organic sales? That’s a question I’ve been seeing a lot lately. According to recent data from Nielsen, the answer so far is: Not much. Organic dairy sales over the past year are up 20%, organic dry grocery sales are up by 29%, and organic produce has seen a 27% increase.

The economy’s downward spiral has yet to hit bottom, it seems, so there’s no telling where things will end up. That’s why health and wellness managers need to focus on more than just organics if they want to weather the hard times still to come.

Luckily, the opportunities are abundant. The market for local products, for example, is looking better and better these days. A just-released study from Ohio State University shows that the average consumer is willing to pay more for locally produced food than the conventional alternative. Retail shoppers will pay $0.48 more for a $3 quart of local strawberries, while those who frequent farmers markets will pay an additional $0.92, researchers found. Asked to choose between berries from “Fred’s” and “Berries Inc.” (both fictional companies), retail shoppers said they would pay $0.17 more for Fred’s, the smaller operation.

There’s also an ever-increasing market for special-needs diets. Packaged Facts projects that products related to food allergies and intolerances will reach $3.9 billion in sales this year. Nationally, there are around 12 million people with food allergies and 2 million with celiac disease. For reasons the medical community isn’t quite sure of, these numbers are growing.

Retailers also shouldn’t forget about natural and other middle-ground selections, which appeal to consumers who might eat with health and ethics in mind, but don’t want to pay the premium price.

The food industry knows better than to just sit back and cross its fingers, of course. All the talk right now is about consumers trading down, making fewer shopping trips, and making health and wellness less of a priority. It’s easy to lose confidence in the healthful side of the business.

Retailers: Don’t buy into it. The game plan may have changed, but people’s desire to live smart and eat smart hasn’t.

Have sales of maple syrup been on the high side? Running out of Red Bull? Reordering eggs more often? If you answered yes to any of those questions, chances are at least some of your customers are on one of those celebrity diets that pop up in magazines, or on the internet and television.

I mention this because it might be worthwhile to have the company dietitian or someone involved in health and wellness to keep track of these faddish trends. For instance, one of the current hot diets is the Red Bull Diet, attributed to Paris Hilton (I guess she was between treatments when she was photographed quaffing this bottle of Coke).

To make media monitoring easier, a weight management company called Medifast has formed www.skinnymyths.com, a website devoted to exposing fad programs, most of which are tied to a particular celebrity. Here are the Top 10 diets (and their celebrity representatives) that made the website’s “Celebu-Diet Myth-o-Meter” for May:

1. Red Bull Diet (Paris Hilton)
2. Protein Separation Diet (Maria Carey)
3. Coffee Boost Diet (Olsen Twins)
4. British Facial Analysis Diet (Kate Winslet)
5. Adderall Diet (Britney Spears)
6. White Food Diet (John Cusack)
7. Martha’s Vineyard Detox (Robin Quivers)
8. Boiled Egg Diet (Renee Zellweger)
9. Tea Diet (Rachel Ray)
10. Master Cleanse Diet (Beyonce Knowles)

All kidding aside, it’s helpful to remember that we live in an age in which everyone yearns for convenience and a quick fix. One look at the svelte stars in the magazines and it’s easy to understand why these diets are so appealing. What people don’t realize is these stars have much more than a diet at their disposal. They have personal trainers, plastic surgeons and agents who can just tell everyone their star’s weight gain is part of some research for a new role.

Many of these diets get debunked fairly quickly, but that doesn’t stop everyone from trying them. Some plans, if not most, are down right ludicrous; a few can be dangerous if taken to the extreme. It would be great if supermarkets could somehow mention these diets in talking to shoppers. It would be one more reason for consumers to trust their local retailer over what’s in the centerfold of this week’s Hollywood weekly.

Many people love the taste of artificially sweetened drinks, guzzling down ten Diet Cokes a day. For others, it’s too much of a compromise. Sure, the calorie count is microscopic, and there’s even that hint of indulgence. But there’s also aspartame, saccharin and other clinical-sounding sweeteners that can’t completely win over their taste buds.

This compromise may soon be over, courtesy of a centuries-old South American herb. Stevia, or Sweet Leaf, is said to be 300 times as sweet as conventional sugar and with a fraction of the calories. It’s gaining momentum throughout the world, and manufacturers in America are definitely interested: Last year, Coca Cola and Cargill developed their own stevia-derived sweetener, which they’ve called Rebiana.

There’s a catch, however. The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t cleared stevia to be sold anywhere beyond the dietary supplement aisle. Companies have pushed hard to change this, and as foodnavigator.com reported yesterday, the country’s largest supplier of stevia, Wisdom Natural Brands, has decided to bestow the GRAS status on its own. That means tabletop stevia sweeteners could be on shelves within weeks. If the FDA decides to crack the whip, however, that could bode poorly for Wisdom and affiliated retailers. Coke and Cargill, meanwhile, are offering their sweetener in countries that have already ok’d stevia, like Japan and Brazil.

If stevia does get the FDA’s blessing, there may be no stopping it. Indeed, even the sweetener’s main Achilles’ heel — a licorice-like aftertaste — is being tweaked by food scientists. All of this could turn into great news for retailers, who have enjoyed ever-increasing sales of healthy beverages. As always, though, they need to take care not to get ahead of good science and regulation.

Doing that might truly leave a bad taste in their mouths.

The entire sustainability movement will receive its greatest validation to date with the debut of Planet Green, the new Discovery network launching this Wednesday at 6 p.m. EDT.

This isn’t a weekly series, like “The Green,” on the Sundance Channel, or “Living with Ed” (as in actor and activist Ed Begley) on HGTV. This is an entire channel devoted to green living (and eating and shopping and whatever else you need to fill up a 24-hour schedule). Look for celebrities like Adrian Grenier of “Entourage” fame, and newsman Tom Brokaw. Singer Tommy Lee gets a chance to promote himself as a Green Channel “ecomaniac.” Emeril Lagasse will have “Emeril Green,” a new series airing in July.

And it doesn’t get any more mainstream than Tom Bergeron, who, in between his stints on “Dancing With the Stars” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” manages to host green dinner parties where the food is prepared by celebrity chefs and eaten by celebrity guests. Eat Tom, eat! Too much hosting, too much talking!

Planet Green isn’t exactly new. It’s replacing the Discovery Home Channel, according to execs. The idea took shape after the Discovery Channel aired its “Planet Earth” series (which touched on many of the issues featured on the new channel). Viewers wrote and called requesting more programming, and they’ll get it: Series include “Greenovate,” in which homeowners make eco-improvements to their dwellings; “Greensburg,” a profile of the town in Kansas demolished last May by an F5 tornado, as it rebuilds with an emphasis on sustainability; and “Hollywood Green with Maria Menounos,” which is pretty self-explanatory.

Acknowledging our growing interest in ecology and the environment by creating an entire television channel is pure American ingenuity at work. Think of it: Education can be pretty boring. But spice it up with some entertainment and — BAM! — you have viewers’ attention and advertisers knocking on the door. This is likely going to help supermarket sales in the cleaner and detergent aisles, in HBC and other nonfood areas of the store where health and wellness have been slow to grow. The people watching the Green Channel are going to be everyday channel surfers — and everyday shoppers.

At any rate, it’s no longer enough to be “on” the air. The Green Channel is going to help show us what’s in it, and hopefully, how to improve it.

Retail clinics have both their advocates and their detractors. All in all, it’s something of a sticky issue, burdened with arguments over safety, security and insurance costs.

Supermarkets, however, have made their position clear: They intend to increase their investment in in-store clinics. Just yesterday, Kroger announced a “significant investment” in The Little Clinic, a Nashville, Tennessee-based company that operates walk-in clinics in seven states, and currently has 26 locations inside Kroger stores. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Kroger indicated that it would include a “substantial clinic rollout.”

“More and more, our customers are becoming proactive about managing their health and wellness,” said Donald Becker, executive vice president of merchandising for Kroger, in a statement.

Kroger isn’t the only one meeting this consumer need. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart announced a partnership with the St. Vincent Health System, hoping to operate 400 co-branded clinics by 2010. Other big chains will likely follow.

Consumer support is certainly there. A Harris Interactive/Wall Street Journal poll released last week showed that the majority of people are somewhat or very satisfied with the cost (86%), convenience (93%) and medical staff (88%) that retail clinics provide. In addition, the survey found that 78% somewhat or strongly agreed that these clinics provide cost effective care for those who might not be able to afford other healthcare options.

It’s not a perfect system, of course: When to visit a walk-in clinic and when to visit a traditional physician? The choice can sometimes be a blurry one. Sixty five percent of the survey’s respondents said they doubted clinics could accurately diagnose a serious condition. It’s also unclear if and how a patient’s medical information could be passed through the system.

But in a nation where nearly 20% of people are without health insurance, clinics like this are a good start. Retailers like Kroger need to make sure that they advance the issue by balancing the need to expand with the need to provide quality — and innovative — healthcare.