Organic food

Organic food is, in general, food produced without the use of artificial pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and in many definitions genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Farms that grow organically, often do so in a sustainable, environmentally sound, manner, and more often than not, are small family-run farms. These qualities of organic farming, among others, are in stark contrast to the more common industrial farm.

Once only available in small stores or farmers' markets, organic foods are becoming much more widely available. Organic food sales within the US have enjoyed 17 to 20 percent growth for the past few years while sales of conventional food - while still larger in size - have grown at only about 2 to 3 percent a year. This large growth is predicted to continue, and many companies are jumping into the market.Warner, Melanie. "What Is Organic? Powerful Players Want a Say". New York Times: Nov. 1, 2005.

Types of organic food

See also: Organic farming for information on the production of organic food.

Organic foods can be either fresh or processed, based on production methods, availability and consumer perception.

Fresh food

Fresh food is seasonal and perishable. Vegetables and fruits are the most available type of organic, fresh food, and are closely associated with organic farming. They are often purchased directly from growers, at farmers' markets, from on-farm stands, supermarkets, through speciality food stores, and through community-supported agriculture (CSA) projects. Unprocessed animal products — organic meat, eggs, dairy — are less commonly available.

For fresh food, "organic" usually means produced without extensive use of synthetic chemicals (eg: fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones), in the USA substantially free of genetically modified organisms, and often, but not necessarily, locally grown.

Processed food

Processed food accounts for most of the items in a supermarket. Often, within the same store, both organic and conventional versions of products are available, and the price of the organic version is usually higher (see modern developments). Most processed organic food 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.

Processed organic food usually contains only (or at least a certain specified percentage of) organic ingredients and no artificial food additives, and is often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions (eg: no chemical ripening, no food irradiation). However, a recent amendment to the US organic legislation has allowed some synthetic processing agents to be classified as "organic", so the exact composition of certified organic processed food may vary according to regional regulations .

Identifying organic food

See also: Organic certification for formal and legal definitions

At first, organic food comprised mainly fresh vegetables. Early consumers interested in organic food would look for chemical-free, fresh or minimally processed food. They also had to buy directly from growers, "Know your farmer, know your food" was the motto. At that time personal definitions of what constituted "organic" were developed through first-hand experience by talking to farmers, seeing 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.

Consumer demand for organic foods continues to increase, and high volume sales through mass outlets, like supermarkets, is rapidly replacing the direct farmer connection. For supermarket consumers, food production is not easily observable, and product labelling, like "certified organic", is relied on. Government regulations and third-party inspectors are looked to for assurance.

Most food industry research of the last 50 years has focused on developing chemical agriculture and modern food processing -- less has been done to investigate side effects of conventional agriculture. In response, organics is 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 blurred.

With widespread distribution of organic food, processed food has also become dominant over fresh food, confusing the issue of "What is organic?" further. Modern food processing is complicated. Commercial preparation methods, the use of additives, the effects of packaging and storage, for instance, are outside the first-hand experience of most people, including organic farmers. Traditional, minimally processed products, like baked goods, canned, frozen, and pickled fruits and vegetables, are 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 and cooked breakfast cereals, ingredients and methods are quite a mystery to most consumers. A "certified organic" label is usually the only way for consumers to know that a processed product is "organic".

Legal definition

In the United States, agricultural 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 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, as defined by the National Organic Program.

Benefits of organic agriculture

Defining the benefits of organic food has largely been left to word of mouth, occaisional media coverage, and the promotional efforts of organic advocates. Even though many large food and beverage corporations, like Kraft Foods, have rapidly moved to acquire significant stake in both fresh and processed organic products"Corporate Industry Structure: 2005", by Phil Howard, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, University of California, Santa Cruz., the specific sales points of "organics" go largely unmentioned on product packaging and in advertising.

This is not the case in conventional food marketing where terms like "low fat", "low sodium", and "whole grain" are often used to signify health benefits. Meanwhile, the "certified organic" label is generally left to stand on its own as self-explanatory, assisted only by general terms like "natural". Here described are the reasons and motivations for organics.

For the environment

Some critics complain that organic farms have lower yield than conventional farms. Yet, studies comparing yields have had mixed results with some showing less yield and others showing roughly equal yield. However, studies are consistent in showing that organic farms are more energy efficient. One study, for example, that found a 20% smaller yield from organic farms, found that they had used 50% less fertilizer and 97% less pesticide. That organic farms are more energy efficient makes it easier for them to be sustainable.

In addition, because organic farms don't use toxic pesticides, there is more biodiversity in the soil. Besides higher soil quality - more life in the soil allows for higher water retention. This helps increase yields for organic farms in drought years - during which organic farms have been found to have yields 20-40% higher than conventional farms.

For producers

For those who work on farms, there have been many studies on the health effects of pesticide exposure. Even when pesticides are used correctly, they still end up in the air and bodies of farm workers. Through these studies, organophosphate pesticides have become associated with acute health problems such as abdominal pain, dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, as well as skin and eye problems.Ecobichon DJ. 1996. Toxic effects of pesticides. In: Casarett and Doull's Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons (Klaassen CD, Doull J, eds). 5th ed. New York:MacMillan, 643–689. In addition, there have been many other studies that have found pesticide exposure is associated with more severe health problems such as respiratory problems, memory disorders, dermatologic conditions, cancer, depression, neurologic deficits, miscarriages, and birth defects.

Summaries of peer-reviewed research have examined the link between pesticide exposure and neurological outcomes and cancer in organophosphate-exposed workers.

For consumers

A study published by the National Research Council in 1993 determined that for infants and children, the major source of exposure to pesticides is through diet. A recent study in 2006 measured the levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure in 23 school children before and after replacing their diet with organic food. In this study it was found that levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure dropped dramatically and immediately when the children switched to an organic diet.

Many conventionally grown foods contain pesticides and herbicide residues. These residues include herbicides like Atrazine which have been shown, even at concentrations as low as 0.1 part per billion, to emasculate male frogs by causing their gonads to produce eggs - effectively turning males into hermaphrodites. But until a chemical has been directly linked to illness in people, it will continue to be used. Unfortunately, finding a direct link is difficult, because it requires chemical testing on humans that scientists are reluctant to perform for ethical reasons.

History

It should be noted that "conventional" agriculture, utilizing large amounts of artificial chemical inputs, monocultures, and intensive farming methods, is a recent phenomenon, dating to the Green Revolution of the mid-20th century. Indeed, almost the entire history of agriculture consists of what would be now termed "organic farming".

Rising consumer awareness of "organic" methods began in the 1950s with the promotion of organic gardening. In the 1960s and 1970s, one effect of a growing grassroots concern with environmental issues was the appearance of more elaborate approaches to organic food, including food-buying co-ops and dedicated organic producers. In the 1970s and 1980s, private sector organic certification and development of regulations at the governmental level began around the world. In the 1990s, formal organic certification began to be legislated in various countries, and this trend continues to today. During the same period, the organic food market experienced a sustained surge in growth, expanding at around 20% a year (exceeding the rest of the food industry by a factor of at least 10). The first years of the 21st century saw multinational food corporations taking major stakes in the organic market, and this has dramatically increased the variety, availability and falling cost of processed organic food.

Modern developments

The prices for organic food has been, and continues to be, higher than their conventional counterparts. This is because farmers who grow organic food have to meet stricter quality standards to have their products certified organic. More labor is required to achieve this, bringing up the cost.

Since the 80s there is an increasing number of supermarkets that carry large volumes of organic food. This includes Whole Foods Market in the US, and Waitrose in the UK. With large volume sales, these retailers have been bringing the price of organic food down.

In the United States the pressure to bring the cost down will vastly increase soon because in 2006, Wal-Mart, the largest grocery retailer, announced plans to increase the amount of organic food available in its stores. Both conventionally grown and organic versions of certain products will be available, but Wal-Mart intends to keep the price of the organic versions to no more than 10% over the price of the conventionally grown counterparts.

Because of Wal-Mart's size and business practices, their move into selling organic food has some people worried. Specifically, the increase in demand for organic food will require that more organic produce be imported. Secondly, the push to lower prices "would virtually guarantee that Wal-Mart's version of cheap organic food is not sustainable".

Related movements

Various alternative organic standards are emerging. They generally bypass formal certification, which can be expensive and cumbersome, 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.""Authentic Food - Authentic Farming", by Eliot Coleman, Mother Earth News.

Some are also implementing new approaches to defining and buying 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.

CSA is one example of "buying locally," which is often valued by both the organic food consumer and producer. Generally speaking, locally-grown seasonal food can be brought to market more quickly than food that has to be transported long distances, and therefore can be better tasting and to some degree more nutritious by virtue of its freshness. Additionally, the act of buying foods that are locally-grown benefits local farmers and other employers. This local food approach is seen as a direct investment in one's own community and a way to reduce economic dependence.

Organic food is also often linked with the fair trade movement, based on the principle that social and environmental sustainability are inextricably interdependent.

Facts and statistics

Japan
Germany
Australia

Organic Seals

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.

World organic food sales were US $23 billion in 2002.
The world organic market has been growing by 20% a year since the early 1990s, with future growth estimates ranging from 10-50% annually depending on the country.

In the United States, where organic food is federally regulated by the National Organic Program:'''

"Organic products are now available in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and 73 % of conventional grocery stores, and account for approximately 1-2 % of total food sales in the U.S." — Feb 2003
Two thirds of organic milk and cream and half of organic cheese and yogurt are sold through conventional supermarkets.

In the European Union, organic food is regulated by the EU-Eco-regulation

Germany:

Baby food is almost exclusively organic, and over 30% of bread baked in Munich is organic.^*

Italy:

Existing legislation calls for all school lunches to be organic by 2005.

Austria:

The government has created incentives so that within the next few years, 10 % of its food will comprise locally grown organic foods.

UK:

By January 2005, 686,100 ha of land was managed to organic standards. Organic food sales increased from just over £100 million in 1993/94 to £1.21 billion in 2004 (an 11% increase on 2003). ^*

In Cuba:

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, the government converted the entire country to organic agriculture, and currently only organic agriculture is permitted by law.

References

External links

A Revolution in Sustainable Agriculture - from Big Picture TV
Brief Introduction to Organics
The British Library
Eat Well Guide Listing of farms, restaurants and grocers that sell organic foods
First World Congress on Organic Food from National Food Safety and Toxicology Center
Mounting Evidence that Organic Food is Healthier
Organic Foods Store Locator
Organic Food Australia Information, search, Community Food Systems and much more.
Organic Food Corner
Organic Food News
Organic Volunteers - Non profit to coordinate internships on organic farms.
Why Certified Organic Food Is Better Food - from the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

Pesticides and food

Extensive Press Release on Pesticides from the Ontario College of Family Physicians
Pesticide and Food from Nutrition.gov
Pesticides in Food from the Northeast Organic Farming Association