SHOPPING FOR HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES 

Domestic organic food sales increase 
faster in Czech Republic than elsewhere in Europe 

Traditional Czech fare such as fried cheese, goulash, dumplings and potato pancakes are generally not considered health foods. But despite a longstanding love affair between Czechs and fatty meats and deep fryers, sales of organic foods are on the rise. 
A recent report from the Green Marketing Agency, a Czech agency that provides consultancy services for organic businesses in Central and East European countries, showed domestic sales of organic foods shot up 17 percent last year, compared with an average annual growth rate of 15 percent across Europe. 
According to a 2004 report published by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, Germany has the largest organic food market in Europe, valued at $3 billion annually. The Czech Republic, determined to be a major player in the industry, has converted more than 5 percent of its agricultural land to organic management, giving it the highest percentage of organic agricultural land in Europe, almost twice the percentage of Germany. 
Organic-labeled products must meet specific standards to ensure they're free of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. In addition to the environmental benefits of organic agriculture, many organic food enthusiasts, public interest groups -- such as the Organic Consumers Association and the Cancer Prevention Coalition -- and members of the medical community actively promote the purported health benefits of organic foods including reducing the risk of cancer. 

Growing industry 
Hana Zemanova, manager of Prague-based Albio organic restaurant and stores, said the number of customers at both the restaurant and their three organic food stores has grown in the year and a half since opening. "At lunch we were always full in the restaurant, but we had a harder time convincing Czech people that they could enjoy organic food in the context of a nice dinner with wine and dessert. They thought we would just be serving them grains," Zemanova said. "At first our dinner clients were mostly foreigners, but now the Czechs are catching on." 
Business in the retail store adjacent to the restaurant, which also includes Prague's first organic, yeast-free bakery, has also increased. "In one and a half years, business in the bakery and store has grown from 100 customers a day to 500 customers a day," Zemanova said. 
"We have seen an increase in customers since we opened seven months ago," said Martin Entlich, 28, an employee at the MATA organic food store located inside the Mustek metro station. "We have two kinds of people who shop here: those who are already into health food and those who are just trying it out. The second group keeps getting larger." 
Despite the gains, organic food amounts to less than 1/10th of 1 percent of food consumed in the country last year, according to the Oct. 25 issue of Hospodarske noviny. At the same time, revenue from the sale of organic products was 180 million Kc ($7.2 million). 
After 14 years in the industry, Otakar Jiranek, director of Country Life restaurant and wholesalers, is the country's veteran organic food restaurateur and wholesaler. Interest in healthier foods is definitely on the rise, especially since accession to the European Union in May increased the variety of organic products available, he said. 
"Before May 1, we only sold one brand of soy milk," Jiranek said. "Now there are five or six brands of soy milk on the market, but our sales of the first kind have not diminished." 
The arrival of organic foods in supermarkets in the late 1990s helped increase business interest in the products. "Carrefour was the first supermarket to carry bio foods here, which helped the industry a lot," Jiranek said. "More newcomers are opening stores because they can see the business potential." 

Price of quality 
While consumer interest is growing, organic foods still make up only a sliver of the domestic food market. Those in the industry say the combination of higher prices and a lack of marketing are keeping people from fully embracing the organic movement. "I don't think the boom has fully hit here yet," Jiranek said. "I think it's because people are not informed and they don't have a good trust relationship with printed materials." 
Once people are informed about the potential health and environmental benefits of organic foods, they will choose to spend a little more at the grocery store, especially as domestic buying power increases, Jiranek said. 
Zemanova agreed that informed Czechs are willing to pay a little extra for organic foods. "At first it was hard for us to get Czech clients into the restaurant. They thought nothing about paying 100 Kc for a McDonald's burger but considered 130 Kc for an organic meal to be too much," Zemanova said. "But things have changed. We have enough clients now who appreciate the quality and can accept the increased price." 
Helena Lintnerova, a 22-year-old customer at the Country Life store, said she had been buying organic products for about five years and was willing to pay more for the health benefits. "Yes, of course I am willing to pay more or I wouldn't be shopping in here," she said.

Vanessa Bulkacz

FARMERS' PROFITS LEFT ROTTING IN THE FIELD  

Cheap imports hurting domestic growers 

Farmers are finding it difficult to compete against less-expensive vegetables imported from Poland and other European Union neighbors. While farmers accuse the government of doing too little to protect the domestic market against imports, the Agriculture Ministry has said it won't pass measures that would restrict free trade. This year has been especially bad. A surplus of vegetables has caused a glut on the European market, resulting in a flood of cheap imports into Czech groceries. Unable to compete with the imports, many domestic farmers have plowed under their crops instead of incurring the cost of harvesting them. Due to low prices, farmers do not plan to store vegetables, and will plow under everything they fail to sell immediately.
Farmer Jiri Marianko, who grows cauliflower, cabbage and potatoes on 29 acres (11.6 hectares) near Litomerice, north Bohemia, was one of the unlucky ones. The market price was below what it would have cost Marianko to harvest his fields. He's already plowed under seven acres of cauliflower and cabbage. 
Farmers have called on the government to do more to block the cheap import of vegetables. "Our government is to blame for the situation because of the agreement it reached with the EU," said Jirina Malirova, head of sales for the independent growers cooperative Litozel. "Farmers in other countries get subsidies if they export their production. We don't get any subsidies." 
While Czech growers receive some government subsidies, they are far less than foreign producers. Domestic farmers are eligible for subsidies under the government's Single Area Payment Scheme (SAPS) program, which pays them about 4,400 Kc ($176) for each acre they plant, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Growers are also eligible for subsidies under the EU's structural funds to help them update their storage facilities and purchase new farm equipment. 
Karel Holik, secretary of the Union of Czech and Moravian Vegetable Growers said: "Czech and Polish farmers both start from the same point, but while the Poles can run naturally, Czechs have their legs tied." 
While other countries have set minimum prices for farmers, vegetable prices are unregulated here. "Our government did not set a minimum price like the German government did," Malirova said. 
Farmers are headed for big problems in the near future if the government doesn't intervene to protect domestic producers, Kratky said. "Many farmers will run out of business." 
Hugo Roldan of the Agriculture Ministry said the government is aware of the farmers' plight but that it would not take any special steps to give domestic producers an advantage over foreign farmers. "The ministry cannot deal with this problem without discriminating against other producers," he said. "We cannot restrict imports of vegetables from other EU countries, the same as they cannot restrict our exports." Vegetable imports grew from 322,000 tons in 2000 to 426,000 tons in 2003. The amount of land allotted for vegetable farming has been reduced from 79,000 acres in 2000 to 41,000 acres. 

Katya Zapletnyuk 

CLEANING UP IN THE KITCHEN 

Room to improve remains in the food service industry 

Restaurants became more expensive, but also cleaner this year as a result of the country joining the European Union. 
In order to meet new hygiene requirements set forth by Brussels, many restaurants have upgraded the cleanliness of their kitchens. Proper food handling has come at a cost to diners, though. Many restaurants have invested heavily to upgrade storage units and other equipment and that has pushed prices up as much as 15 percent in some cases, said Helena Martinkova, an inspector with the Prague Sanitary Board, the state body that monitors hygiene in restaurants. 
The improvements, especially in how food is handled before and after it is prepared, mean that diners can be better assured the meal they eat tonight won't come back to haunt them tomorrow. 
"In the past, food that should be kept in the fridge was often left out, and warm meals were cooled at room temperature instead of in a special facility," Martinkova said. 
That investment has been out of reach of many small restaurants and pubs. The result has been either a change in the menu at many restaurants or the cessation of food service all together in smaller establishments. 
Traditional Czech fare has been the first to suffer. Meals such as goulash, pork with sauerkraut, and dumplings have started disappearing from menus. Czech restaurants often pre-cook lunch and dinner staples and serve them throughout the day. New EU standards requiring food be served within four hours of cooking discourage that practice. Instead restaurant owners have turned to pizza and pasta and other made-to-order meals. 
Zdenek Kopka, who runs several restaurants and heads Unihost Ostrava, an umbrella organization of about 700 restaurant owners in north Moravia, said the universal standards are making life harder for restaurateurs. "Restaurant owners often lack the money to buy expensive cooling systems," he said. "As a result, traditional Czech meals are disappearing from the market." 
According to a poll conducted by Prague City Hall, one of the biggest complaints among tourists was being overcharged in restaurants. City officials reacted to the poll by saying that improvements in the industry were still needed. 

Frantisek Bouc