Consumption of bio and natural produces in Lebanon on the rise

L’Orient le Jour published an article yesterday on the global patterns of natural products consumption and highlighted a new concept introduced in the 2007 edition of US Oxford Dictionary namely that of “locavore” and which refers to an increasingly popular pattern in the West which encourages the consumption of products planted within 100 kilometers from one’s residence. This concept also emphasizes the direct relation between producers and consumers. According to the newspaper, consumption of natural products in Lebanon is on the rise especially following the nutrition scandal unmasked recently by the Ministry of health and which led to the current food safety campaign. According to the director of IMC, consumption of natural products has increased by 20% in Lebanon. The newspaper refers to a number of merchants offering natural products namely ‘Souk al Tayeb’ and the Organic Food Baskets. Reference is also made to the ‘Potager Bio’ label which was created in 2011 and operated by Rudy and Zeina Daood who market natural produces originating from their farm located in Western Beqaa. Their shop has 5 employees and distributes hundreds of organic baskets weekly. These include naturally planted and harvested legumes such as for instance spinach, lettuce, parsley, onions, potatoes and other at a cost of USD 20 per basket. The newspaper notes that this is a reasonable price compared to that of other natural products. The newspaper also refers to the Bioland shop founded by Henry Obeid in 2013 to market the products of his farm in Ashrafieh. The shop offers a variety of legumes, fruits and greens via an outlet on Ashrafieh which also markets other organic products, comprises a restaurant and provides a delivery service. (L’Orient Le Jour, 21 April 2015)