Question from Daddeo
Recently saw on a news source a bit about organics… they stated that buying organics is a hit and miss process because of the lax laws. Stating we are better off just buying regular food until legislation makes organics more “organic”. What’s your opinion?
Debra’s Answer
I don’t agree. ANY improvement in the direction of organic is better than none.
There are many excellent organic farmers around. Look for local sources of organic food where you can meet the farmer, rather than buying organic food from multinational corporations.
There is actually a wide variety of methods by which organic agriculture is practiced. There are minimal laws but many farmers go far above and beyond. So get to know your growers, don’t give up on organics.
I have to question the objectivity of your news source. Most major news corporations report the news that favors the status quo, that is large scale industrial farming, not organic. People who help me in my kitchen and taste my organic vegetables are astounded at the difference in taste, in comparison with what they buy at the local super market. Check out http://www.localharvest.org for locally grown produce in your area, much of which is organic. If you can’t find organic, locally grown produce is at least fresher than what is available at the super market.
I’m devoted to organics. I agree with Mary that the “news” should be taken with a grain of salt. Big agriculture does NOT want organic farms to succeed and is often GMO. As Debra said, it is true that organics can be from small farms or large multinational corporate farms and supporting small farms is better. HOWEVER, the idea that there are few or lax organic laws is FALSE.Here’s a link to the “national organic standards” to get a look at the exhaustive requirements for organic certification.
While the summary on the home page is helpful in understanding the basics, look at a few subchapters to get an idea of just how detailed the law actually is. There are organic farmers and non-profit orgs that fight tirelessly to keep the laws from being co-opted by the larger corporations.
Check out Cornucopia Institute and PLEASE consider supporting them and spreading the word. To me, they are the David standing in the way of Goliath and protecting our food source. They have some excellent expose reports on their website that will help you find the best organic products and avoid the worst.In addition, Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is also a great organization and has a lot of educational information. Remember… being “local” has nothing to do with being “organic”. Not to mention that every farm is “local” to the people around it!
Be careful about farmers who tell you “my stuff is organic, it’s just too expensive to certify”… Organic is a legal term. It is illegal for them to be promoting their product that way, even verbally. More importantly, they are misleading you… there IS NO WAY that any farmer is doing all the labor intensive work with higher priced inputs that are required for organic production and then NOT selling their food at a price that reflects the additional cost. NO WAY.
Remember, brilliant marketing has led us to automatically think of farms and farmers as salt of the earth, honest people on healthy land producing healthy food. The reality is that they are like any other person… some are honest, some are not.
Most farms are highly toxic places using TONS of pesticides for decades. While I commend farmers who are concerned and working toward decreasing pesticide use, ONLY farms that meet ALL the requirements of the National Organic Standards Program (NOSP) and ARE THIRD PARTY VERIFIED can claim to be organic. I would question whether farmers who claim to provide “non-certified” organics even know what all the standards actually are… again, they cannot possibly meet all the criteria without charging for their higher costs of inputs and labor.
I want to support local farms, but they have to provide me with non-toxic (organic) food and, unfortunately, most don’t. btw, the term “natural” means nothing. It has no legal definition, whereas you can see that “organic” is a legal term with extensive criteria. I encourage buying ALL organic, but if you are not able, try focusing on the “dirty dozen” as opposed to the “clean 15″… The Environmental Working Group compiles government test data to show which fruits and veggies are the most toxic (so buy organic) and which are least toxic (you can buy conventional). Click the “full list” tab to see all 53 items.
Don’t get overwhelmed and give up. All positive steps add up, no matter how small. It has taken me 9 or 10 years of reading and research to get the knowledge base I have, and I’m still learning every day. I didn’t switch to an all-organics diet overnight. The more I learned, the more passionate I became about avoiding the toxins and GMO’s in conventional food. Keep learning and take whatever steps you can.
One other tip… among organic brands… Eden Foods contracts with USA and Canadian farmers (as opposed to buying off the commodities market), they spent a ton on research to create BPA-free and minimal-BPA white-lined cans for tomatoes and beans, and they are the only huge corporation that I really TRUST. Over the years I’m starting to learn which ones are more reputable. Buy Eden products whenever possible. Organic Valley is also a good one on the big corp/coop side. Avoid Horizon and Dean’s Silk.
Good luck and keep moving toward all organics!