FarmVille, the latest hit in a string of crazy addictive "social network" games, is giving Facebook players the ability to take their farms in a greener direction.

 

The company behind the game, Zynga, has hooked up with organic brand Cascadian Farm to offer the week-long promotion starting July 19. According to the site Marketing Vox, Cascadian Farm will give FarmVille players such benefits as "coupon offers, organic farming and green living tips and — per the game's philosophy — the opportunity to enhance their farm."

 

“This is a great venue to have a discussion,” Tim Goldsmid, marketing manager for Cascadian Farm told the NY Times. “We hope that most FarmVille users will plant our crop. We are going for all 20 million.”

 

Taking things into the real world, FarmVille players will also receive access to $1 coupons that can be redeemed at traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

 

Personally, I find this to be a great way to educate people about organic food and sustainable farming. Sure, there's no study that shows games of this nature inspire people to plant or buy organic, but it's yet another way to get the concepts out there and encourage discussion. Hopefully, we'll see Zynga add some additional organic options in the future that are of a more permanent nature.