'''Organic food''' is, in general, food that is produced without the use of artificial pesticides, herbicides, and
genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In everyday conversation,
organic is a broad reference, that can apply equally to store-bought food, to food originating in a home garden where no synthetic inputs are used, or even to food gathered (or hunted) in the wild. By contrast,
certified organic food is produced according to strict production criteria, within an, often governmental, regulatory framework. In an increasing number of countries, including the US,
Japan and in the
European Union, organic certification is a matter of law, and it is illegal to use the term
organic (at least, commercially) without following the prescribed rules of organic production. Therefore, confusion and debate can arise between different answers to, "What is organic?"
Types of organic food
Organic foods, like food in general, can be grouped into two categories,
fresh and
processed, based on production methods, availability and consumer perception.
Fresh food is seasonal and highly perishable. Fresh
produce — vegetables and fruits — is the most available type of organic food, and closely associated with
organic farming. It is often purchased directly from the growers, at
farmers' markets, from on-farm stands, through specialty food stores, and through
community-supported agriculture (CSA) projects.
Unprocessed animal products — organic
meat,
eggs,
dairy — are less common. Prices are significantly higher than for conventional food, and availability is lower. They are still premium priced items.
For fresh food, "organic" usually means:
Processed food accounts for most of the items in a
supermarket. Little of it is organic, and organic prices are often high. In spite of this, organic processed products are now primarily purchased from supermarkets. The majority of processed organics comes from large food conglomerates, as producing and marketing products like canned goods, frozen vegetables, prepared dishes and other
convenience foods is beyond the scope of small organic producers.
For
processed organic food, the general definition is:
- contains only (or at least a certain specified percentage of) organic ingredients
- contains no artificial food additives
- processed without artificial methods, materials and conditions (eg: no chemical ripening, no food irradiation)
Identifying organic food
Definitions of organic food vary. Organics can be difficult to explain by empirical measurement and reference to "scientific fact". For one thing, the majority of food industry research of the last 100 years has been focussed solely on developing chemical agriculture and modern food processing -- almost nothing has been done to formally investigate side effects of conventional agriculture that are not immediately obvious. Also, organics is an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" proposition, concerned in large part with what NOT to do -- "as much as possible, let Nature do its thing" -- rather than in devising precise formulas for organic production. A strictly rules-based definition of organic farming and organic food, consisting of approved inputs and practices, created and maintained by regulatory agencies, is inevitably subject to "exceptions" and to special interest pressures to modify the rules. As organics become "whatever the rules say it is", the line between organic and conventional food can get blurry.
Early organic consumers were essentially looking for chemical-free, fresh or minimally processed food, and they had to buy directly from growers:
Know your farmer, know your food was a practical reality. Organic food at first comprised mainly fresh vegetables. Personal definitions of what exactly constituted "organic" could be developed and verified through first-hand experience: talking to farmers and directly observing farm conditions and farming activities. Small farms could grow vegetables (and raise livestock) using
organic farming practices, with or without certification, and this was more or less something the individual consumer could monitor.
As consumer demand for organic foods continues to increase, high volume sales through mass outlets, typically supermarkets, is rapidly replacing the direct farmer connection. For supermarket consumers, food production is not easily observable. Product labelling, like "certified organic", is relied on. Government regulations and third-party inspectors are looked to for assurance.
With widespread distribution of organic food, processed food has also become dominant over fresh, confusing the issue further. Modern food processing is complex and complicated. Commercial preparation methods, the use of food additives, the effects of packaging and storage, and the like are outside the first-hand experience of most people (including organic farmers). Traditional and minimally processed products, baked goods; and
canned, frozen, and
pickled fruits and vegetables, are somewhat easier for consumers to understand by comparison with home preparation methods, although home and mass-production techniques are quite different. For convenience foods, like frozen prepared foods, cooked breakfast cereals, and so forth, ingredients and methods are quite a mystery to most consumers. A "certified organic" label is usually the only way for consumers to trust that a processed product is "organic".
Legal definition in the United States
rightAgricultural products that claim to be "organic" must adhere to the requirements of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (found in 7 U.S.C.A. § 6501-22) and the regulations (found in 7 C.F.R. Part 205) promulgated by the USDA through the
National Organic Program ("NOP") under this act. These laws essential require that any product that claims to be organic must have been manufactured and handled according to specific NOP requirements.
A USDA Oragnic seal means that the food product is at least 95% organic as defined by the
National Organic Program.
Organic food and preservatives
Unfortunately, there are no natural models for preserving food the way it's found in supermarkets. Today, food with a long
shelf life is the cornerstone of the food industry, providing most of the
revenue and
profits. In
wealthier locales, an impressive array of technologies is used to make food "last" longer: home
refrigerators and freezers at the consumer end, and industrial and chemical practices applied along the food production chain, from seed to field to fridge or table.
In general, organic standards cover in detail this entire process, specifying what is an "organic" ingredient or practice. However, since there is little natural reference for preparing, for example, a precooked, frozen dinner, a "certified organic" label on such an item may be hard to understand. The main ingredients are one thing, the processes and additives used to assemble and preserve them are quite another.
This leads to a possibility that may seem startling and impractical in developed nations: most of what is found in supermarkets today can
never be called "organic", in the broadest, "all-natural", fresh or minimally processed sense. The idea is not new, and whole foods have long been part of the health food
diet. But if demand for organics intensifies, one may conclude that agribusiness interests dictate taking as much control as possible of the definition of "organic food", particularly by including production practices that facilitate food preservation, in order to maintain the existing industry infrastructure.
Is organic food "better"?
The bottom line consumer question is: "Is organic food significantly
better than regular supermarket food?" If not, less attention needs be paid to understanding organic vs. conventional food. If so, consumers have to educate themselves, or risk being misled. This area is a hotbed of controversy, and there are no conclusive answers.
The basic claims for the superiority of organic food are:
- non-toxic: Organic proponents point to evidence showing that pesticides and herbicides behave like hormones when inside a person, and that this is significant even at the tiny levels that the average person is exposed to. The US government contends that these chemicals are safe when used correctly, but opponents are quick to point out that these testing for a chemical's safety is only done on heathly adults - when in fact it is children or the fetus inside a pregnant woman who are most at risk to even the tiniest ammount of these chemicals. This is the principle of hormesis, an emerging outlook on the extreme low level effects of substances, that might suggest that exposure to minute quantities of toxic residues on foods may have as specific effects on humans.
:
PAN Pesticides Database is a good source of information on pesticides.
- better for the environment: Every food purchase supports the system that delivers it. If large-scale chemical production methods are damaging to the environment, then the purchase of these foods supports to the problem. A recent UK study concluded that local food is best for the environment, and recommended food produced within a few miles radius as being the most advantageious. Insofar as organic food is often imported from long distances, local organics would seem environmentally to be the better bet.
- tastier: Organic advocates claim organic food tastes better because of the way it is produced, and because there is generally a greater variety to choose from.
- more nutritious: Food produced under organic conditions are somehow structurally different from chemically-raised and processed products. This pro-organic claim is so far beyond the scope of modern science to prove or disprove. The complex make-up of food, the effect of growing and processing methods, and the internal interactions between people and their nutrients are largely unknown. Measurements of some food components — protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals, and so on — only account for the most obvious factors that have been identified so far, and research is minimal. However, there are scientific indications that, by favoring certain aspects of a plant's development, other aspects may be retarded, resulting in less nutritious food. A study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2004, entitled Changes in USDA Food Composition Data for 43 Garden Crops, 1950 to 1999, compared nutritional analysis of vegetables done in 1950 and in 1999, and found substantial decreases in six of 13 nutrients examined. Percentage reductions included 6% of protein and 38% of riboflavin. Reductions in calcium, phosphorus, iron and ascorbic acid were also found. The study, conducted at the Biochemical Institute, University of Texas, concluded that the most likely cause was the breeding of crops to maximize yield. Although not on the surface a strictly organic issue, plant breeding objectives for commercial production is completely integrated with industrialized, chemical-based farming.
Many of these claims are contentious. The most important issue seems to be effect of pesticides and herbicides on people, animals, and the environment. This is still being debated by experts in
toxicology. Although, on whole, it seems to be difficult to make the argument that
foods grown with pesticides/herbicides are better than those without. There are research reports, expert opinions, and
anecdotal evidence both supporting and rebutting them. Learning more about these debates leads to clearer understanding of organic food, and its potential value.
To the consumer looking for self-education, a basic awareness of recent food history provides a useful context. Chemical agriculture and mass production of supermarket food have only been big business for about 50 years. During that period, radical changes in the way food is produced have been justified by quoting scientific studies and conducting large-scale advertising and publicity campaigns. In recent years, the negative longer-term effects of many chemical agriculture practices have become increasingly hard to deny, however, the lack of balanced agricultural and food research is still overwhelming. It is unlikely that anything near definitive scientific conclusions will be drawn for years, possibly decades. In the meantime, consumers have to either trust the existing standards and claims, or come to their own
common sense conclusions.
Radical organic
Faced with inconclusive research, conflicting marketing messages, and an overall avalanche of information, some food producers and consumers who want to act now are implementing radical approaches to defining and buying organic food.
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is one such approach, that cuts out all the middlemen by having consumers partner with local farmers. CSA members prepurchase "shares" in a season's harvest, and pick up their weekly portions from distribution sites. Thus, consumers provide direct financing for farms, participate in the risks and rewards of annual growing conditions, and participate with farmers in distribution networks.
Various alternative organic standards are also emerging. They generally bypass formal certification, and provide their own definition of organic food. One such, the Authentic Food standard, proposed by leading US organic farmer
Eliot Coleman, includes criteria that are incompatible with current agribusiness:
- All foods are produced by the growers who sell them.
- Fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs and meat products are produced within a 50-mile radius of their place of their final sale.
- The seed and storage crops (grains, beans, nuts, potatoes, etc.) are produced within a 300-mile radius of their final sale.
- Only traditional processed foods such as cheese, wine, bread and lactofermented products may claim, "Made with Authentic ingredients."http://fourseasonfarm.com/main/authentic/authentic.html
Particularly in developed nations, it is difficult to imagine not having the majority of products found in today's supermarkets. On the other hand, most of those products did not exist 100 years ago, and many of them are only a few decades old.
Facts and statistics
While organic food accounts for 1–2% of total food sales worldwide, the organic food market is growing rapidly, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations.
External links
Category:Food and drink
Category:Organic food