I just finished doing a lot of research for an interview on organic food. I have always had a general understanding about the importance of organic food, but I also think that a person should not feel like they MUST buy organic to be healthy. I wanted to inform you on some of the things I learned as I have a slightly different perspective after reviewing the facts.
In order for a food to labeled “organic” it must have been grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. If it is an animal product, it may not be given hormones, antibiotics or drugs to promote rapid growth. Organic foods are also not genetically modified, did not undergo irradiation and must be inspected and certified by an official organization.
Organic labeling comes in different levels:
100% Organic: Contains only organically produced ingredients and processing aids (excluding water and salt).
Organic: Consists of at least 95% organically produced ingredients. The other 5% are non-organic agricultural products that are not available in organic form.
Made with Organic Ingredients: Contains at least 70% organic ingredients. The USDA seal cannot be used on the packaging.
Products containing less than 70% organic ingredients: Cannot use the word “organic” on the packaging but may list individual organic ingredients on the food label.
The folowing terms are NOT regulated: “No drugs or growth hormones used”; “Free Range”; “Sustainably harvested”; and “Natural”; Therefore, all these words can mean whatever the manufacturer wants them to mean. Now usually they do mean that safe or more humaine practices were used. But don’t just take their word for it. You could be paying more than you need to.
Benefits of Organics
Organic food is thought to have the following benefits.
- Less pesticide residues and higher nutrient content: The FDA considers pesticides to be safe to humans and acceptable to use. Pesticides help protect crops from pests that destroy them and hinder our food supply. In the grand scheme of things, they are a good idea. The negative side of pesticides is that they could potentially cause damage to the human body when ingested. In addition, it is thought that if a plant does not need to develop it’s own defense system (because the chemicals are doing that job for them), then the nutrient content will be less. Plants contain phytochemicals, many of which are antioxidants, that protect the plant from harm in the environment and benefit us when we eat them. The debate is ongoing on whether organic foods contain a higher nutrient content (meaning more vitamins and minerals). There is research that suggests it does and it doesn’t. This is partly due to the fact that organic farming research is difficult to maintain purity. Nutrient content is also dependent on the quality of the soil. So if the soil is better to begin with, the produce will have more nutrients.
- No animal antibiotics or growth hormones: Antibiotics are used in animals to help prevent them from getting sick or a disease. Again, the big idea is a good one. There is the possibility, however, that humans can develop resistance to the antibiotics used on cattle and livestock. This would not be good if you had an infection that would not respond to a particular type of antibiotic.
- More intense (appealing) flavor: The flavor debate is pretty subjective since people self-report their feelings about it. The possible scientific answer to this is that organic produce may have more nutrients for the same reasons mentioned above. Ripeness also has a big influence on flavor. The longer an item is left “on the vine,” the more the flavor develops. So if a piece of produce was picked way too early, stored in a warehouse for mass distribution and then “ripened” using a chemical, it is likely to going to have less flavor than produce that was allowed to fully ripened and transported more quickly. This is not to say that all organic produce is fully allowed to ripen on the vine and quickly transported. We just kind of know that most non-organic produce is not.
I think we are going to see a lot more research become available on these benefits of organics. At this time I really think it’s up to the consumer to decide what is more important to them. If you feel organic food is important, then it is worth your money. The bottom line is still eat healthier, period, by choosing more fruits and vegetables (whatever kind), higher fiber, healthy fats, etc.
