Organic - Or Not?

ORGANIC – OR NOT?


The growing presence of and demand for organic food, in the form of produce, meat, dairy and even processed foods, is causing consumers some difficulties in understanding what the designation means and what they are getting for their money.
Let’s take a look at this as it applies to produce and try to understand some of these issues.

To start with, in the chemical world, organic means any compound containing carbon, regardless of its origin. As applied to food, if you were to ask a non-technical person, they might say that it means a food has more nutritional value, that it contains less pesticide residue, or that its production is better for the environment. All of these are at best only partly true, and often wrong.

Our local supermarkets have sections labelled “Certified Organic”, and our first reaction is that the produce sometimes doesn’t look as good as in the other section, and is often priced higher. First, let’s look at certification. Some producers call themselves organic without any form of verification. Others prefer to be audited, and earn the right to call themselves organic, by a body such as the OCPP (Organic Crop Producers and Processors), the FVO (Farm Verified Organic), or the CCOF (California Certified Organic Farm). At our local supermarket you will find designations such as QAI, ECO Certified, IMO Control, and USDA Organic. As you can see there are many qualifying organisations and sorting them out requires some research. To qualify for these designations, producers have to meet a set of standards related to pest (insect and weed) management, fertilizer use, irrigation and runoff management to name a few. The Canadian Government has a set of voluntary guidelines to which producers can adhere, but there is no current inspection mechanism.

A small example: the IMO Control program states that produce may be fertilised with manure or compost up to 120 days before harvest, that the manure must have a specific carbon to nitrogen ratio and be maintained at a certain temperature for 3 days prior to application. So you can see that the regulations can be very specific.

Our local supermarket reports that there is a small but growing demand for organic produce. The problems are that it tends to have a shorter shelf life, and therefore there is more waste, and the selection of items available is quite varied. These issues make it more expensive to carry. It is usually sourced from a warehouse in Ottawa, and as a consumer you can ask for locally grown produce.

Regarding nutritional value, there is no scientific evidence, despite numerous studies, to confirm that organic produce is nutritionally superior to that grown by conventional means. Organic growers will choose varieties of produce that are naturally pest-resistant, so there may be less pesticide residue on the harvested product. I say less because there is no way to control what is in the air or water that may end up on the produce, and conventional farming methods usually require that pesticides use is curtailed well before harvest. Having said that, no study has associated any known health effect with pesticide residue, and the overall benefit of eating fresh produce far outweighs any perceived harm. Taste is another matter, and many consumers report that organic produce tastes better. This may be a perception issue, or it may be related to the fact that the produce is generally fresher.

As far as farming practices are concerned, it is a mixed bag. Some organic farmers are using well water instead of surface water (streams or rivers) because the surface water may be contaminated with agricultural run-off from upstream. Fertilizing organic farms with cattle manure is acceptable, but run-off must be controlled and trucking organic manure many kilometres seems to defeat the spirit of the “small footprint” philosophy, even though it meets the letter. Organic farming is typically less efficient from a land use standpoint as well, in that productivity of an organic farm is about 75 – 80% of a non-organic farm. Rows have to be further apart, there may be a greater loss due to insects or birds, and hand-weeding is labour-intensive.

Then we get to the sustainability part. Another goal of organic producers and consumers is to grow produce in a sustainable way that uses less fossil fuels and chemicals in the overall process, and is less damaging to the land in the widest sense. Do we clear more forests for farmland because organic farming takes more area to produce the same yield? Does it make sense to grow organic potatoes in California then truck them many thousands of kilometres? Should we forgo asparagus in January so that we only ship and eat locally? Is it OK to store apples in coolers with a carbon dioxide atmosphere so we can have apples year round? The designation “organic” does not address these sustainability issues, yet as consumers we should be asking ourselves these questions.

Some people have reported a lessening or disappearance of some allergic symptoms when they switch to organic food products, but personal anecdotes do not constitute a controlled scientific study.

What can an individual do? Buying locally, from producers who ship their products a few to a few hundred kilometres, is probably a good start. Asking those producers how they grow their crops will help the consumer understand the complexity of the issue. Some farmers markets are “going organic” with only certified produce being sold. Overall the health benefit of consuming a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables from all sources is well proven.