Going Organic – Is it worth it?

Going Organic – Is it worth it?

Have you ever noticed that the fruits and vegetables in the organic section of the grocery store are often more expensive and sometime pretty sad looking? Do you ever think: Why should I pay more for something that visually pales in comparison to its nice, shiny and much bigger conventional counterpart?

In the past decade, U.S. organic sales have grown at least 20% every year. In 2004, organic food and beverage sales topped $15 billion and sales are projected to more than double by 2009.

The Real Organic

Organic certification is a detailed process for organic food producers and include standards that stretch above and beyond standard government regulations that apply to non-organic producers. Requirements vary from country to country and generally involve a set of production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping.

Organic standards can and generally include:

• Avoidance of most synthetic chemicals—fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics and food additives;
  
• No use of genetically modified organisms;
  
• Production on farmland that has been free from chemicals for at least three years;
  
• Random and periodic on-site inspections.

Conventional Farmers Use	Organic Farmers Substitute
Chemical fertilizer	Natural fertilizer
Insecticides	Insect predators and barriers
Synthetic herbicides	Crop rotation, tillage, hand weeding, cover crops and mulches

Local farms are likely your best source for organic foods. You'll feel good that you're supporting your community and you'll be assured of the freshness. In addition, you're reducing pollution by saving it a truck ride and buying it locally!

Canadian Organic

In Canada, the government has published a national organic standard, but as a guideline only—legislation is still in the works. Organic certification is however provided by private sector organizations and is identifiable by the below logo. The logo is a part of new Organic Products Regulations announced in December 2006, and will tell you whether you are purchasing products that are federally certified as organic. Following the phase-in period that ends in December 2008, it will be mandatory for all organic products to be certified for inter-provincial and international trade.

U.S. Organic

U.S. regulations divide organic labeling into four categories:

1. U.S. Organic
   
2. U.S. regulations divide organic labeling into four categories
   
3. 100% organic – products must contain only organic ingredients;
   
4. Organic – products must be at least 95 % organic by weight;
   
5. Made with organic Ingredients – processed products that contain at least 70% organic ingredients;
   
6. Processed products with less than 70% organic ingredients may list ingredients on the information panel but not on the front of the package.

In the U.S., organic certification is recognizable with this label—the seal may appear on products in the first two categories only:

International Organic

Because of the great demand and the limited capacity of local farmers, organic foods are being imported from countries like China, Sierra Leone and Brazil, where standards are difficult to monitor.

Internationally, organic equivalency negotiations are underway to establish some kind of organic standard from country to country. International councils are also being created to monitor the standards including The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA), and Ecocert. It's a work in progess and not all countries have the same standards, so exportation can be a grey area.

The Organic Dietary Debate

Pesticides

The debate over whether pesticides are harmful to humans is still a leading debate in the produce world. Because of pesticides, the average farm land yields 200% more than it did before pesticides were used 70 years ago—quite an incentive for some people to ignore the potential dangers.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) however, considers 60% of herbicides, 90% of fungicides and 30% of insecticides to be carcinogenic. Pesticides have been shown to have many negative effects on our health like: neurotoxicity, disruption of our endocrine system, and immune system suppression.

The following foods tend to have the highest levels of pesticides:

Fruits:

• Peaches
  
• Apples
  
• Strawberries
  
• Nectarines
  
• Pears
  

Vegetables:

• Spinach
  
• Bell peppers
  
• Celery
  
• Potatoes
  
• Hot peppers

The following foods tend to have lower levels of pesticides:¹

Fruits:

• Pineapples
  
• Plantains
  
• Mangoes
  
• Bananas
  
• Watermelon

Vegetables:

• Cauliflower
  
• Brussels Sprouts
  
• Asparagus
  
• Radishes
  
• Broccoli
  

Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically modified foods only began hitting grocery shelves in 1995. Now, a whopping 95% of an average person's grocery budget in the Western World is spent on processed foods, and 70% of that food has been genetically modified in some way or another. Hybrid varieties of genetically modified fruit are often appealing because they're seedless and they taste sweeter than conventional kinds—but buyer be aware that they also have lots more sugar.

To spot a genetically modified fruit or vegetable, look at the little sticker on it that shows the 'PLU code'.

• The PLU code for a conventionally grown fruit consists of four numbers—i.e. 1022
  
• The PLU code for an organically grown fruit is five numbers prefaced by the number 9—i.e. 91022
  
• The PLU code for a genetically modified fruit is five numbers prefaced by the number 8—i.e. 81022

Hormones

Over the past two decades chickens have grown 25% bigger in less time and on less food, and the average cow produces 60% more milk—all due to synthetic hormones. Producers reap big, but the cost to our health is questionable.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics, which are put in animal feed and are present in non-organic animal products, increase antibacterial resistance in humans, creating "super bugs" and major health challenges.

Nutrients

Besides being pesticide, hormone, and antibiotic free, another health benefit of organic food is that it tends to have more nutrients than conventional produce.

"On average, conventional produce has only 83 % of the nutrients of organic produces. Studies have found significantly higher levels of nutrients such as vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, and significantly less nitrates (a toxin) in organic crops." —Mercola.com

Other reasons to go organic

• Organic food tastes great!
  
• Organic farms respect water resources
  
• Organic farmers build healthy soil
  
• Organic farmers work in harmony with nature
  
• Organic farming helps keep rural communities healthy
  

When to Really Choose Organic

• When buying fruits and vegetables that normally have high pesticide levels.
  
• When buying meat, poultry, eggs and dairy. Buying these items organic greatly minimizes exposure to toxins, hormones and antibiotics.
  
• When buying baby foods. A 1995 U.S. study found more then 16 pesticides in about half of the non-organic baby food tested. Chemicals even in small quantities have a big impact on such tiny, growing bodies.
  

When Organic Doesn't Mean As Much

• Buying seafood, whether caught in the wild or farmed, can be labeled organic even if there is mercury and chemical compounds present;
  
• When buying cosmetic products. Although everything you put on your body is absorbed through your skin, due to lax laws any cosmetic product can call itself organic but still be synthetic. To evaluate the products that you're using log on to www.ewg.org and read our chapter on cosmetics.
  
• Organic milk. It's better than non-organic milk but the pasteurization can be a problem. Pasteurizaton involved when making organic milk destroys the good enzymes, reduces vitamins, dramatically reduces protein content, and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer.
  
• Organic grains. Just like regular grains, these are metabolized to simple sugars and disrupt insulin levels. There is no added benefit.
  
• There is no doubt that eating organic is better but if you don't have access to organic or if it's too expensive it's still better to eat conventional vegetable rather to avoid them altogether.

Do Your Best!

You might be thinking that going organic is too much work, that you don't have the resources, don't have the time, or don't have the money. Indeed it is a commitment to eat healthy but eating organic food is not only better for you but the way it tastes and the way it will make you feel will have you converted in no time flat. Hopefully as well, with the demand of organic foods skyrocketing, getting these foods will become easier and less expensive as time goes by. Just do your best, start changing the way you eat slowly, and feel good about it!