Sticker shock in the organic aisle and green fatigue

Luis links to an article in the NYT with a headline "Sticker shock in the organic aisle" and asks what the industry thinks about the issue in the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group. The group continues to add members and is becoming more and more active. Luis also links to a chart that shows the diverging stock values of Whole Foods and Wal-Mart.

There was an article in the KC Star today about "green fatigue" - gnawing worries that big companies may just be saying something is green but not really backing it up. Or even if they are backing it up, consumers not buying in. From the story:

Maybe it was bound to happen. Thirty-eight years after U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin kicked off the first Earth Day in the United States, the nation’s desire and effort to save Mother Earth has never been greater.
Yet among some people it has also created an unintended backlash, what some term “green fatigue.”
As companies respond to Earth’s crisis by sending a tsunami of “green” products into stores (an estimated 328 new products in 2007 alone), a growing segment of the public finds itself looking at the trend with jaundiced eyes.

Can a big company like Wal-Mart ever have "green" cred? Here is another Fox news story about the personal toll of worrying about all things green. From the story:

Experts say discussions about the environment — a growing favorite topic in the media — often focus on worst-case scenarios and ever-dwindling resources. So it's no surprise that all that bad news is taking a toll on some psyches.
Edwards suffers from eco-anxiety, the growing angst experienced by those who can't handle the thought that they — or anyone — are in some way contributing to global warming, species extinction and dwindling natural resources.
She recently launched a blog called "Eco-Anxiety" because she believes environmental dangers should be taken seriously. "This is severely disturbing," she says.