Is the Organic Food Movement a Scam?
83Organic Food Is Not More Nutritious Than Conventionally Grown Food
A recent review conducted by British researchers have come to the conclusion that conventionally grown food is just as nutritious as organically grown food. The review was financed by the Foods Standard Agency in Britain and the conclusions published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Since this was a review done by scientists and not organic food lobbyists I believe their assessment.
Predictably, the report was met with outrage by the pro organic lobbyists and their supporters that have claimed that organic food is more nutritious. Much is at stake for them; the organic food industry has grown from $2.5 million in 1988 to more than $650 million in 2007. The report not only threatens the producers' livelihood but future growth as well. So it begs the question, if conventionally grown food is just as nutritious as organic food at 1/3 to ½ the price of organic food, why bother buying organically grown food? Is the organic food movement a scam?
Kinder and Safer?
Many consumers say that they buy organically grown food because it doesn't use as many chemical pesticides, is kinder to the environment and therefore safer. But just because organic or natural pesticides are used to grow food doesn't mean it's safer. The idea that organic growers can use manure does not make me think it's safer to eat organic food, it just make me not want to eat it. And I don't see how it's kinder to the environment; organically grown food exhausts the soil because chemicals aren't used to help promote growth of the crops and protect the nutrients in the soil. Additionally the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), said “Measured residues on most products, both organic and non-organic, do not exceed government-defined thresholds for safe consumption.”
Enthusiasts of organic food lastly claim that it tastes better than conventionally grown food. But taste is subjective and is influenced by the individual's perception. Taste can't be measured scientifically.
Organic Food Poll
How much organic food do you buy?
See results without votingWhy Buy Organic?
So if organic food is not more nutritious and not safer but is a lot more expensive, why buy it? And here, we can take a look at who is the audience for organic food. The consumers are usually people who have the discretionary income to buy it. I think for this group of people, they have used food as a status symbol. Ordinary, conventionally grown food is too accessible to everyone but organically grown food that is priced at two or three times the normal price, well they must be better because it costs more. Never mind that organically grown food is shown to be an inefficient use of soil and labor, that actually just contributes to the mystique surrounding organic food. It implies a certain custom made-ness of food. Because organic food doesn't use the normal chemical pesticides, it is subject to more attention and more waste. It is conspicuous consumption not by way of gluttony but by way of illusory scarcity.
Now if people with discretionary income want to waste their money, that's fine by me, that's a way of spreading the wealth around through the financial markets. But it is a problem, if people without a lot of money end up spending more of their limited income on their food bill needlessly because they are being influenced and made to feel that conventionally grown food is not as nutritious. Instead of buying and enjoying a delicious bag of Macintosh apples, they buy one exotic organically grown Macintosh apple. How is that helping lower income people? They just end up hungrier and less healthier. I think more needs to be done about countering some of these baseless claims that organic food is “better” than conventionally grown food. People's lives can be at stake and I'm glad that there are more scientific studies showing that conventionally grown food is just as healthy as organically grown and that more attention is being paid these studies.
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Comments
You are certainly going to draw some strong opinions with this one!
Taste is extremely important, so I cannot understand your glib dismissal. We have no interest in bland, force-grown ingredients - only the best is good enough for Greek cookery. Organic certainly does taste much better - the fruit and vegetables that we buy at our local market are not only tastier, but they are much cheaper than supermarket stuff. Buying from the market also helps to keep the money circulating in the local economy, so it is win/win situation for everybody.
We grow our own olives, grapes and oranges organically, with no more waste than growing with chemicals. Manure and green compost are definitely the ways to go, especially when you live in a hot, dry climate - they help the soil to retain moisture far better than chemicals, and are also free ;)
On that note, we draw our water straight from the mountain springs - we do not really want pesticides in the water table, thank you very much. Water is precious here, so we must keep it clean and pure.
I am really not sure where you get this idea of nutrient depletion from - good farming practices and rotation stop this from happening. Crete has been fully organic for years, and the olive trees there are as bountiful as ever.
Fair play to you for sticking your head above the parapet and putting forth an unpopular opinion. However, science is often guilty of missing the point (and I speak as an ex-biologist!).
Try asking the people who actually grow the crops - a lot of what you say is blatantly untrue :D
Kerry, with all due respect you are misinformed. Chemical fertilizers provide the additional nitrogen, that's why each bag tells you what percent of nitrogen is available in the bag. The fertilizers allow the plant to grow because of the additional nitrogen and other nutrients, therefore they don't have to take so much from the soil. Composting is what gives the nitrogen and other minerals back to the soil. Manure gives the soil a quick shot of nutrients. Composting with manure is what will make the soil able to help plants who feed from nitrogen grow well. It is usually advised that you rotate your crops on a three year cycle so that you compost part of it while growing specific crops that will vary in their need for nitrogen. This is what makes organic farming more laborious and produces less yield. Both methods of farming does deplete soil but conventionally grown actually doesn't make the soil work as hard.
People who do disagree with the study always think it's questionable. Fine. Nevertheless, the studies show regardless of whether the individual crop was grown from conventional farming or organic, there is no significant difference in nutrition. You can argue about it, but the results are the results.
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Sufidreamer, taste is important but it is subjective and not quantifiable. It has not been shown that food conventionally grown tastes worse than organically grown if they were both ripe and picked from the vine. Often times here in the US we get our produce from far away and they have to be picked either unripe or half-ripe and because of the time and distance, so much of our produce is not ripe from the vine. That's why I think supermarket produce doesn't taste as good as local farm grown which are allowed to ripen. The other thing about taste is that the produce we get comes from varieties that were grown to look nice and lasts longer before rotting but it comes at the expense of taste. So when you say something tastes better organic than conventionally grown there are a lot of factors and I'm just questioning whether things are compared appropriately.
Far be it for me to say that Crete shouldn't be doing things organically, that's how they've been doing it for ages and if they're happy with it then they shouldn't change anything. However, the point of the article is that conventionally grown produce is just as nutritious as organically grown, and you only have organic in Crete so there is not much basis for comparison.
It is always good to buy locally, but here in the US we import as well as export so we do help other developing countries by buying their produce and they return the favor by buying ours and that's nice too.
It doesn't bother me if people disagree that's why it's good to have discussions.
No time to write a long comment, but I think you are way off base on this one. I recently wrote an article on the subject, taking the oposite view:
I'm a supporter of natural and organic foods and it is mostly because I care about my health and well-being and that of my family.
The trace amounts of chemicals that are acceptable in our foods may seem like very little in isolated incidences, but add up all the chemicals and additives we consume over the course of a day, a month, a year - I'm sure those aren't acceptable levels. And I can't see how "chemicals" are good for something as natural as soil.
I know that our bodies are great "filters" and our livers do a good job of getting most of that junk out, but what about the stuff we can't get out? It just doesn't seem natural to have chemicals, additives, hormones, etc, building up in our bodies. Doesn't it seem odd that new and strange ailments and diseases are cropping up a little more often these days? ... What's the common denominator? Food?
Look, every single food item that I consume is not always organic, but I try for it to be as often as possible. It's a matter of health, and I'm not taking chances with that.
As for taste, I suggest an experiment: for one month, switch your milk to completely organic milk. Put it on your cereal, in your coffee, drink a glass before bed once in awhile. Then, after a month, try some "regular" non-organic milk. You will notice a difference!
And taste DOES matter - life is too short to eat bland food! :)
Wow, Andrea, I couldn't have said it better myself. You are right on. Check out an article on Organic Farming
organic is grap and it rots after a day it it taste like sh1T
I like the way you think. Organic food was fine until corporations got involved. Not one bit safer and it is cost prohibitive as well. Kudos on a great hub.
Thanks ralwus. And by the way, that's a nice new avatar that you're sporting.
There is a counter movement to discredit Organic Foods.
But the only real question you have to ask yourself is given the choice would I eat food that is pesticide free or food that contains pesticide residue?
The issue extends much further than your table. And not all conventional farming practices should be demonized.
But the Organic Food movement is as much about sustainable farming in a way that is kind to the earth, than it is about the nutritional content of a piece of fruit.
There has been a large influx of corporate buyouts that are polluting the movement. And the Government allows certain levels of conventional pesticides to be used by these farms. You can't just convert a farm to organic... unless you are the governmental rule makers.
One example is they allow the use of 20% conventional feed in dairy products. You are either practicing organic farming or you are not.
Studies do not mean much because they are short term and there is no way to really accurately gauge the impact of levels of pesticides on the body in the short term.
What is known is that Cancer rates are higher now than they have ever been. But you'll have to draw your own conclusions. We live in a toxic world.
Hello, FK. The organics have come out in force for this one :) I did a case study on the major organic food retailers about a year ago. What all of the pro-organics are choosing to skip over is the price. You were spot on in your segment "Why Buy?". Organic retailers realized that being successful meant targeting the people most able to afford their products. For chains like Whole Foods, their niche market was a no-brainer. The major step in their product positioning is the target market, which is made apparent upon entering any of the stores. You are exactly right: for most, it's not a matter of marginal benefit, rather affordability. If people think spending 3 times as much on groceries will improve their quality of life 3 times, then maybe they will have convinced themselves before even leaving the grocery store.
The effects of organic food are up to the purchaser to decipher because, ultimately, they will be the one's convincing themselves just how much organic products are worth to them. Me? I trust the FDA.
Thanks for commenting Zach. And I agree with you too!
Have you lived on a working farm? Have you seen the old chemicals that should not even be on the farm still being used? Have you seen farmers trade their beliefs about their crops for the money paid to secretly plant GM crops... The possible effects on ecosystems from these crops can be damaging beyond one crop cycle or one paddock.... Do you really want a company like Monsanto owning the seeds to your crop?? Nature is a magica thing.. dont mess with her, she might mess with you back. Organics are great.. so are normal crops, genetically modified crops which are meant to be drought resistant have been found to have lower crop yields. Most of the research now too, is funded through inappropriate corporate sponsorship... thus we are getting the research that different interest groups want us to have... For me, no GM foods, I understand some chemical spraying etc, but some not.. some can be extremely damaging and its a fair bet that there is a purpose in making our crops week.. have a look on youtube for contrails.. and ask why and who?? Then get back to me about organics vs GM crops..Some organics are really well priced and quality is better than a visit to a weight loss centre....
The issue is not organics vs GM. It's whether organics is more nutritious and it isn't.
Generally speaking things which are grown naturally are quite tasty and nutritious, i had experienced myself, the country grown vegetables give recipes a different taste and aroma. But having said that there is no denial that organic food comes with a different price tag.
Thanks for visiting wordsword.
Hi Flightkeeper,
Personally, I have survived skin, cervical, and breast cancers; and am fighting to survive advanced invasive bladder cancer. I buy the organic to reduce chemical intake in hopes I will not get anymore cancers. I also don't buy much processed foods either for the same reasons.
I am glad you looked into the organic issue, but I still feel safer with less chemicals in my foods, Holly
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kerryg says:
3 months ago
"And I don't see how it's kinder to the environment; organically grown food exhausts the soil because chemicals aren't used to help promote growth of the crops and protect the nutrients in the soil."
Sorry, exactly the opposite is true. The fertilizers used to grow conventional crops are generally nitrogen based. Nitrogen fertilizers make the plants grow quickly, but they do not replenish any other soil nutrients, and as a result, they cause the plants to deplete the soil of other nutrients FASTER than they would if no nitrogen fertilizers were applied.
Manure, on the other hand, contains many nutrients, so it does replenish the soil. (It is aged or composted before use, so any pathogens are killed.) Manure is also not the only soil-replenishing technique used by organic farmers. Many use cover crops, for example, which are mowed or plowed under before planting. These plants also draw nutrients up from deep in the soil and when they rot, they return them to the soil where they can be used by the crops.
The nutrition studies you cite are also somewhat questionable. How nutritious a food is depends on the quality of its soil, so conventional crops grown on good soil will be more nutritious than organic crops grown on poor soil. However, since conventional techniques tend to deplete soil over time and organic techniques tend to improve it, it's safe to assume that food raised on established organic farms IS more nutritious than food grown on long-time conventional farms.
Where organically raised (grass fed) animal products are concerned, study after study has shown a *significant* difference in nutritional quality between grass fed and conventionally raised meat, eggs, and dairy products:
http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm