TASTE
Understanding organic
By Joan Brunskill
Associated Press
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"Organic" is a hot topic in the food world, as in other areas of life, and myriad products bear the term on their labels. But it's not always as simple as the word may lead one to believe.
During the 1990s, organic farming became one of the fastest-growing segments of U.S. agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says. By 2004, organic farming was being practiced on 3.7 million acres in North America.
The Organic Trade Association's figures for 2005 showed that sales of organic foods and beverages, amounting to about $13.8 billion, represented 2.5 percent of total U.S. food sales, an increase from about 0.8 percent in 1997. (The association is a membership-based business association that says it "protects the integrity of organic standards and works to promote organic products in the marketplace.")
Organic is a wholesome-sounding word. But the buzz around it can be confusing. Many questions about organics, including their purported benefits, remain unanswered.
Here are some of the basics, a guide to questions you should ask and a sampling of opinions to help you make informed choices as you shop for food.
WHAT'S 'ORGANIC'?
Dictionary definition for the adjective "organic":
"Having the characteristics of, or derived from, living organisms. Grown with only animal or vegetable fertilizers, as manure, bone meal, compost, etc." (Webster's New World).
There's now a government definition. In 2002, the Department of Agriculture put in place a set of national standards that food labeled "organic" must meet, whether it is grown in the U.S. or imported from other countries.
The USDA explanation of organic food:
"Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation."
Before a product can be labeled "organic," a government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is produced to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.
The USDA doesn't claim that organically produced food is safer or more nutritious than conventionally produced food — just that it's different from conventionally produced food in the way it is grown, handled and processed.
LABELING RULES
Along with the national organic standards, the USDA developed strict labeling rules to help consumers know the exact organic content of the food they buy.
The USDA Organic seal tells you that a product is at least 95 percent organic.
Remember:
"Other truthful claims, such as free-range, hormone-free, and natural, can still appear on food labels," the USDA says. "However, don't confuse these terms with 'organic.' Only food labeled 'organic' has been certified as meeting USDA organic standards."
Information on USDA organic standards available on its Web site, www.ams.usda.gov/nop. Also, the National Organic Program, (202) 720-3252, Room 4008 S. Bldg., Ag Stop 0268, 1400 Independence, SW, Washington, DC 20250.
BUY ORGANIC OR NOT?
Opinions vary widely.
Using organic foods has health benefits for us personally and for the environment as a whole, says Paul McRandle, senior research editor for The Green Guide, published by The Green Guide Institute, a nonprofit clearinghouse on eco-friendly consumer information.
"A big selling point for organics is that, yes, you should eat your seven to nine servings of vegetables a day — but preferably organic vegetables, meaning at the least you are not ingesting poisons and toxic substances whose accumulation can do you harm," he said at a recent interview.
This applies especially to children, he added. A study published in February and supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency involved a group of children in the Seattle area. This research showed that organic diets can significantly lower children's dietary exposure to pesticides often used in agriculture — and lower the health risks that may be associated with these exposures.
Opposite views on pesticides in general, from organizations including the Hudson Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, maintain that amounts of approved chemicals ingested are too insignificant to be harmful.
As for the environment, McRandle says there's concern about the way pesticides, such as those used in big amounts in the cultivation of corn, tend to run off into waterways. They've been shown to cause deformities in amphibians, for example, he says. "Fertilizers, nitrogen-based, also end up in waterways, so you get the algae blooms and dead zones in oceans we see — there are now some 117 dead zones on record."
Advocates of buying local and supporting local producers make a point: Organic produce imported from far-off places may not be exactly friendly to the environment. In a special report on organics in EatingWell magazine, health and science writer Peter Jaret comments on such imported items he saw in his market: "Fresh from the garden they weren't. And whatever pesticides were spared in growing them were more than made up for by the petrochemicals used to get them here."
Groups such as Chefs Collaborative support sustainable agriculture — which emphasizes ways to keep from depleting soil of its nutrients — and buying local produce in season. Chefs Collaborative is a national network of more than 1,000 members of the food community that says it promotes "sustainable cuisine by celebrating the joys of local, seasonal and artisanal cooking."
These chefs carry out these principles in running their businesses, and consumers can take notice of their practices. By buying locally, you can get close to the producers, talk to the people who sell and ask how their foods are produced, even what pesticides they use, if any.
Several organizations and publications offer lists to help you decide when and if it's worth choosing organic over conventionally grown produce, mostly based on how much pesticides different items absorb and retain.
Conventionally grown fruit and vegetables can contain the residues of as many as 51 different pesticides, while organic has two-thirds less, says The Green Guide.
Organic food is more and more widely available, but it can cost more. Whether a food is grown locally or by a small farmer also can affect prices.
THE BIG PICTURE
In her latest book, "What To Eat" (North Point Press, 2006, $30) Marion Nestle, a respected nutritionist at New York University, deals clearly with points made for and against organic foods, and indicates the political bias in these differing opinions.
"It would be nice to know more about the comparative safety of organic and conventional produce, but research on this question is minimal," she writes. She also points out that "Studies of comparative nutrition are hard to do, expensive and difficult to interpret."
But she quotes with approval Joan Gussow, former head of the nutrition department at Columbia University, who asks why we shouldn't hope people will choose organic food on grounds more reliable than whether they contain a little more carotene or zinc.
"Isn't the most important story that organic production conserves natural resources, solves rather than creates environmental problems, and reduces the pollution of air, water, soil ... and food?" Gussow says.
Nestle applauds the way Gussow keeps attention on critically important environmental issues. "My guess is that researchers will eventually be able to prove organic foods marginally more nutritious than those grown conventionally, and that such findings will make it easier to sell organic foods to a much larger number of people," Nestle writes.
