Green Basics: Organic Food
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.13.07
Though known colloquially as food that is grown more healthily (and is more expensive), in order for organic food to be certified as such, it must be produced under specific, legally-regulated standards and be subject to testing in order to retain certification.
In agriculture, this means that crops were grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without food additives (like chemical preservatives). When it comes to animals, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and growth hormones and fed a diet of organic foods. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.
Historically, organic produce was almost exclusively available directly from small family-run farms or at community farmer's markets. Lately, though, organic foods are becoming much more widely available; organic food sales in the United States have grown by 17 to 20 percent a year for the past few years, while sales of conventional food have grown more slowly, at about 2 to 3 percent a year. This explosion in popularity has led the way for bigger companies, like Wal-Mart, to get into the organic food business and change the way that organics are perceived and, to a certain extent, the way they're produced.
Perhaps the most important thing to understand about organic food is the relationship between legal (usually government) oversight and production of food employing earth-friendly practices. In order to be "certified," organic food -- and the farm it was grown on -- must apply for certification, pass a rigorous series of tests, and pay a fee for the process. In the US, this process is regulated by the US Department of Agriculture; as a government agency, it's subject to politicization and changing rules as different administrations and individuals assert their influence. As such, all "certified" organic food is organic, but not all organic food is certified. This, in part, has led to the increasing popularity of local food over organic food (but that's another post).
As organics have grown in popularity, more and more food items are available in organic varieties. What used to be the nearly exclusive realm of fruits and vegetables has grown to include processed foods like coffee (though its days may be numbered), ketchup and ice cream -- a veritable orgy of organic food that has come to include just about anything and everything you eat on a daily basis. The modulation of the market to include more processed foods marks a sea change in the organic industry, though, as these processed foods are increasingly coming from large conglomerates and companies producing huge amounts of canned goods, frozen vegetables, pre-prepared dishes and the like. While the ingredients are certified, this "industrialization of organic" down conveyor belts and into a carbon-intensive supply chain is a bit antithetical to organics' original purpose of creating "an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony", as defined by the USDA National Organic Standards Board.
Still, the only way to be sure that the food you're eating is organic, short of growing it yourself (or buying it from someone you trust not to have soaked it in pesticides), is looking for certification marks, like the USDA Organic Seal, pictured here. Elsewhere, similar government regulations and third-party inspectors certify that food is produced to certain standards; in Australia, it's the NASAA Organic Standards, in Japan, the JAS Standards must be met. In the United States, In the United States, the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.A. § 6501-22) required that the USDA develop national standards for organic products. The regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 205) are enforced by the USDA through the National Organic Program under this act. These laws essentially require that any product that claims to be organic must have been manufactured and handled according to specific NOP requirements. A USDA Organic seal identifies products with at least 95% organic ingredients.
Given the industrialization of organics and various attempts to water down organic standards, there are some widely agreed-upon benefits of organic farming, including things like: organic farms do not release synthetic pesticides into the environment, some of which have the potential to harm local wildlife; organic farms are better than conventional farms at sustaining diverse ecosystems, i.e., populations of plants and insects, as well as animals; and when calculated either per unit area or per unit of yield, organic farms use less energy and produce less waste, e.g., waste such as packaging materials for chemicals.
Further, a 2002 study found that "Organically grown foods consistently had about one-third as many residues as conventionally grown foods"; additionally, several studies corroborate this finding by having found that that while 77 percent of conventional food carries synthetic pesticide residues, only about 25 percent of organic food does. So, generally, organic food isn't going to have as much nasty residue on it, and that is a very good thing.
But what about taste? A 2001 study by researchers at Washington State University concluded that organic apples were sweeter. Along with taste and sweetness, the texture and firmness of the apples were also rated higher than those grown conventionally. These differences are attributed to the greater soil quality resulting from organic farming techniques compared to those of conventional farming. However, a different small study looking at processed organic foods found participants could not differentiate organic and conventional varieties of a rice cakes.
The biggest criticism of organic food, though, is the price premium. According to the Journal of Food Science, organic products typically cost 10 to 40% more than similar, conventionally-produced products. Prices tend to be higher because organic produce is produced on a smaller scale, and may need to be milled or processed separately; some of the price premium is likely to decrease as organic produce continues to scale up. Organic foods also tend to include more of the environmental costs that conventional agriculture tends to externalize. So, you're paying more for what's not in your food (pesticides, hormones, etc.) and you're paying more of the actual cost of food production, because things like pesticides aren't being passed along to the environment where friendly fuzzy bunnies and clear-running spring water pay for them.
For more information on organics, see Wikipedia's organic food entry, along with their organic farming entry. Local Harvest has more info on the different "shades" of organic you're likely to find at your local farmer's markets, while the USDA's National Organic Program and Alternative Farming Information Center will provide all the facts and definitions for organics (and give you some idea of the government's role in all of this).
Here at TreeHugger, we've written a lot about organics; we think organic milk is healthier, know that organics make the supply chain healthier, like to support new organic farms, take note when Wal-Mart and Safeway start incorporating organics, and believe that organic ketchup helps prevent cancer -- really! Read more in our How to Green Your Meals guide, or just type "organic" into our search engine and go nuts!
The Green Basics series of posts appears on Thursdays here at TreeHugger; we're writing them to provide basic information about important ideas, materials and technologies for new greenies, or for those who just need a quick refresher.
I really dig that TH is into organics - but would really like to see you not incorporating information thats put out by the Organic Consumers Union, who is pretty radical and puts a considerable amount of negative press out there regarding organic. Yes - the feds run the game - and that makes things difficult. However - it does keep the playing field for organic certifiers somewhat equal - which is way different prior to October 22, 2002 when the law went into effect. Before then - the rules of what is "organic" for consumers was completely open game. Check out the Rodale institute and the Organic Center for some really good down to earth info on the organic industry.
But... since organics are so popular now, the majority of organic foods are now produced by the big agriculture firms - ConAgra, etc - and that means the food is still traveling long distanaces, and are NOT making the supply chian "greener". Do we really want organic food from China sold by WalMart and grown on huge corporate farms that displace thousands of people from their land?
Don't just buy organic, buy LOCAL organic. and don't be fooled by the "organic" label. Whole Foods for example wants you to feel all warm and fuzzy about buying organic - but they are causing a LOT of CO2 emissoins by purchasing organic foods from South America and New Zealand.... that's not "green".
Sounds like certification needs to be made more stringent, not less.
The concept of "organic" is deeply flawed because it looks at only half the situation.
It may exclude the future application of pesticides, herbicides, etc. from agricultural fields; however, a field that has been saturated with persistent synthetic toxic chemicals for decades magically becomes "organic" after a short rest period of no further applications.
The minerals mined out of the ground by decades of past crops are not required to be replaced.
The bacteria, molds, fungi, worms, insects, and countless thousands of other living species that are absolutely necessary to build a healthy soil have been killed and can not return to the still-contaminated earth.
So, ignoring what one should do, and narrowly focusing only on what should NOT be done, simply ignores the ugly reality that food produced by "organic" standards are still highly inferior; taht is why they tend to tasteless.
If you want to see some really cool certified organic check this out
and pass it along-you can purchase online
www.angeleyesproduce.com
www.theorganicdifference.com
Organic isn't always more expensive. I grow organic fruits and vegetables which I sell in a small farmer's market that charges a very small fee. Also, I am not certified since I can't afford it, so I can charge less. I grow in just 1/3 of an acre. I sell less than $5,000 a year so I can say I am organic. Anyone is welcomed to check out my microfarm since it's 1/4 mile from the market. Word of warning not everyone who says they are organic really are. In relation to the comment that certification should be more stingent, sorry that only makes it even more expensive for small growers. Large growers can get "better" treatment from the people who do the certifying. The certification is not free, the growers pay the certifying agent.
Organics are just a marketing system which makes money.
Small local farmers cannot afford to obtain the certificate, even they grow perfect organic plants.
It does seem like many companies are guilty of greenwashing, which is a term used to refer to the false marketing of environmentally friendly foods, products and services. These companies are turning organics into something it's not. There are companies out there, who are genuinely working towards helping to better the environment, while working with farmers to provide real quality organic/all natural foods. Pizza Fusion leads by example, delivering their organic and vegan friendly pizzas in hybrid cars. Also they have a close relationship with Lady Moon Farms, Applegate Farms and Bob's Red Mill who all carry certified organic and all natural products. Check out PizzaFusion.com, if more businesses emulated their practices we could restore the postive outlook we all once had on organic and green business
http://www.organicassistant.com/
Some notes of interest I have put together over the last 6 years I have been doing research on all things organic. These are not exact figures.
Organic Grocery sales in the UK = £2 billion.
This is 2% of the £100 billion Grocery market.
80% of all organic is sold by the supermarkets.
20% by the independents.
20% of organic is sourced in the UK.
80% is imported.
Organic is growing world wide at 20% 'ish per annum.
Organic in the UK is growing exponentially, certainly at 20% per annum.
Question.
Supply and demand - can it keep up?
I have found a company that offers internationally certified organic skin, hair, body, cosmetic, oral and nutritional products. You can become a preferred customer or sign up for the business opportunity.
http://meyers.mionegroup.com
Re the comments about soil magically becoming "organic" overnight (9/14 comment), you should look at biodynamic agriculture. Its founder, Rudolph Steiner, talked about "healing" the soil. Now I understand why biodynamic tastes even better than organic.
Lynn
http://www.organicmania.com
With all this talk about everybody wanting organic sounds like all of these big growers should wise up and just go all organic. They don't realize they might just make more money. (That's all they care about anyway). With more people becoming aware of what they are doing to our food supply, hopefully soon everybody will be forced to grow organic.
The higher cost of organic food becomes relative, once you factor in the farmer's market opportunity. That is our #1 source for organic produce, and other items.
Obviously, most people cannot do 100% of their food shopping at a farmer's market, and not everyone has access to one.
But we find the balance between those sources (especially when the farmer's market is within walking distance - we have 2 of those!) allows us to offset some of the cost of a Whole Foods shopping trip.
Very comprehensive and informative article - twas a good 5min read.
Organic: Chemically based on or derived from hydrocarbons.
Nearly all if not all pesticides are made up of organic compounds.
I resent the hijacking of the word "organic."
All food is organic...
I think it is great TH is covering the topics related to organic foods, and also how it is no longer limited to the little guys. If organic consumption increases, eventually virtually every company will have to go organic.
Although many organic growers do not sell their products online there is a company I know of called Holy Food Imports and they are a small company which sells organic food grown in Israel.
Their website is is at www.holyfoodimports.com however their site is scheduled to be down until May first.
I think the best way to go organic is to get your produce from local farmers markets or neighbors who grow veggies in thier yard or better yet grow you own. a simple container garden can produce a good amount of food for a family even with minimal space. Growing food does not take a great time commitment so even those who are not home during the day can tend to thier garden. my family and I are working toward more independence from stores. with proper planning you dont need to "buy" your greens. Just another option that is out there for those disgusted with the price of organics and confused by the labels or annoyed with the distances these "green" veggies have to travel
This Great Organic Debate will still be here for our grandchildren to discuss if everybody doesn't get on board soon. Farms that are organic lie next to farms that aren't, so whats to stop winds or a high water mark from push chemicals back on to organic farms, nothing! Our 'must have it now' culture has paved the way for this need to guarantee excess stock of food for the developed world while the rest go hungry. People have forgotten about the seasonality of foods, nobody is excited by food anymore because you can get what you want when you want. Organic farming will reintroduce this natural cycle back.
We are working on a new program called Project Organics.The Program would take 10% of pre tax profits and donate it to non profit agencies that help the homeless. The money would be used towards leasing land,tractors, seeds, and a decent hourly wage for the homeless to grow organic crops.Planting more crops locally through donations will help the homeless,the local community, and would increase the supply of local organic foods.At harvest time, the local restaurants would buy as much of the produce from the homeless agency.as needed.The balance would be used in the local food bank and sold at local market.All profits would then be used towards housing,food,and other things badly needed by our homeless community.We have already formed an alliance with two churches in Florida and hope to start the program in July.
Community leaders can take note.There are many ways to help the local community if the effort is made.The organic industry continues to grow at record rates even in todays economy.Help your community to be locally sustainable and self supporting.