To Choose or Not To Choose Organic Foods – Just What Is Organic?

What are organic foods? More and more we hear the word organic and most people know it means “healthy” because it is heard when someone is talking about “health food stores”.

Today, much of what we buy and cook and eat has been bathed in synthetic chemicals at every stage of it’s existence, all the way from the seed to the table. These chemicals fall into three groups:

• Chemicals that kill things which are pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides

• Chemicals that make things grow fast and big which are fertilizers, growth hormones, and antibiotics

• Chemicals that make things look better than they normally would and last longer than they should, which are artificial colors and flavors, preservatives, and other additives.

Since the early part of the last century, efforts have been under way to find easy ways to kill insects and slow weeds. After World war II, the petro-chemical companies realized that a lot of chemicals developed for the war could be used to kill insects and weeds.

Pesticides include insecticides (bugs), herbicides (weeds), and fungicides (fungus and mold). There are three basic classes of pesticides: chlorinated hydrocarbons, organophosphates, and chemical elements. Chlorinated hydrocarbons - the most notorious which is DDT - persist in the environment for decades, possibly longer.

They don’t break down; instead, they cycle through the food chain. DDT was banned in 1973, but more than three decades later it’s still being found in human beings. Organophosphates are less persistent but potentially more toxic to humans, having been found to cause nervous system disruption.

Finally, certain basic chemical elements (lead, arsenic, mercury, copper) have been used as pesticides for more than a century! This sounds like all these chemicals could be one of the causes of all the cancer that people are tragically having to deal with. The federal government sets limits on the amount of any of these chemicals that can be in the food we eat. It claims these levels are safe. But there are lots of vegetables and fruits in grocery stores that can exceed these levels because there is no rigorous system for checking.

Our meat staples – beef, pork, and chicken – aren’t really raised on farms anymore. They don’t graze contentedly in fields or pecking for seeds in the grassy farmyard. Today, they’re raised in factories: massive, crowded filthy feedlots. Crowded living conditions lead to sickness. They are fed antibiotics to keep them well, and those drugs end up in your body. They are also fed growth hormones to make them mature faster and get to the slaughterhouse.

Less than 100 years ago, all farming was organic farming, thus producing organic fruits and vegetables. Farmers used manures and nitrogen-building cover crops to increase fertility, rotated their crops to give fields a rest, tilled the soil along each row to cut down on weeds, used manual labor and beneficial insects to keep down pests, grazed their animals in the meadows, and sold their products pretty much locally.

The development of inorganic fertilizers (principally ammonium nitrate) as well as insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides after World War II transformed agriculture worldwide. Along with advances in seed varieties and livestock breeding, they mad possible what was known as the “Green Revolution.” There is no question that, especially in the most desperately poor parts of the world, it brought food to millions.

But as we’ve seen, it was anything but green. But not all farmers bought in to this “new revolution”. There have always been those who stayed committed to organic farming, producing organic foods. In 1990 the Organic Foods Production Act was passed. The act recognized the benefits of organic farming and established national standards for both farm and product labeling.

And a farmer can’t just claim his products are organic. First he has to spend at least three years turning his pesticide-laden soils into ground where the soil is both free of chemicals and full of good microorganisms and natural fertility. Then the farm has to be formally certified by independent state or private organizations, following the USDA rules. Finally, every year, inspectors look at the farm’s fields and processing facilities, examine the records organic farmers must keep, and test both the soil and water.

Let’s take a look at why organic food is healthier. We know that if food is grown without pesticides and chemicals is healthier for us. But what is in it that helps us? In some studies, researchers have found that organic food contains higher levels of essential nutrients than conventionally produced foods.

Organic foods also contain more cancer-fighting antioxidants. Antioxidants fight disease, and plenty of them are in organic foods. When plants are challenged by pests, they produce antioxidants. If you kill the pests with pesticides, the plants don’t produce those antioxidants. If you want antioxidants in your diet to help ward off disease, stick with organic products. They’re already prepared to fight on your behalf. Survey after survey shows that shoppers understand organic foods are better for them and their families. But organic foods cost more than conventional grown foods. Why? It’s more expensive for farmers to produce. Organic seeds cost more. Without cheap chemical fertilizers and pesticides, farmers have to hire a lot more manual labor.

The demand for organic products has outstripped the supply. That raises the cost. There just aren’t enough people growing and producing organic ingredients. So how can you get these wonderful benefits of organic and still stay on your food budget? Here are some ideas:

1. Buy Smart - Between 2000 and 2004, the USDA and FDA did some 43,000 tests for pesticides in fresh produce. When the Environmental Working Group analyzed the results it found that you could reduce your pesticide intake by 90% if you ate organic versions of only these twelve foods:

Peaches – apples – sweet bell peppers – celery – nectarines – strawberries – cherries – pears – imported grapes – spinach – lettuce – and potatoes. If all you did was buy these foods organically, you’d be making a huge contribution to your family’s health.

Shop Around – So many different retail outlets are selling organic products these days that there are bargains available if you take the time to look.

3. Buy Local – Buying locally grown vegetables, fruits, and meats is easier than ever. Many supermarkets feature them in season and there are more and more farmers’ markets every year. Foods in season tend to be cheaper, because they’re abundant. Most locally sourced foods are organic – but you should always ask what fertilizers and pesticides were used to produce them. Also, for meats, ask what antibiotics and hormones were used.

4. Clip Coupons – Many of the name-brand food companies now offer organic products along with their conventional line. Watch for their coupons in the mail and in supermarket circulars and take advantage of them!