Recession has driven consumers to cut costs, slowing sales of organic food in the U.S., Britain, France, and Germany, Reuters reports.

In the U.S., typical growth rates of 20 percent to 30 percent for organic food sales eased in the second half of 2008. Sales in December were up 5.6 percent, but growth was paltry compared with the 25.6 percent rise a year earlier.

In Germany, organic food sales in 2008 grew 10 percent to 5.8 million euros, the German organic food industry association BOLW estimates. But that’s a slowdown compared with 14 percent growth booked in 2007.

Growth in sales of organic products slowed dramatically in Britain, to an annual rate of about 2 percent from 16 percent, according to Nielsen data for the year to early November 2008.