Organic Vs. Conventional Food

Photo By: Mike Sappingfield A basket of organic treats from South Coast Farm.

On July 29 2009 a research funded by the UK Food Standards found that There is little difference in nutritional value and no evidence of any extra health benefits from eating organic produce and that organic food is no healthier than ordinary food.

Why bother eating organic produce if it is the same as conventional?

And what are we to make of the major study funded by Newcastle University in October 2007 that concluded Organic produce is better for you than ordinary food.

What should we believe?

The sale of organic produce in the USA has been growing at a very fast pace about 24%, on a global scale organics have grown 20% a year for a total of 23 billion dollars. However, the July 29 study attributing the same nutritional value to conventional and organic food has been a blow to the organic industry and to the supporters of organic produce, while the fact that in late 2007 another study stated the opposite has members of the public, especially those of us invested in the environmental movement, confused and upset.

The 2009 findings were not exempt from criticism from the organic foods supporters. Proponents of organic foods contend that the 2009 study's nutrient analysis was incomplete. Opponents of the study also pointed out that it contradicted conclusions of other scientists such as those who conducted the Newcastle study in 2007. Furthermore, critics of the the 2009 study take issue with the fact that it does not account for the presence of toxins and contaminants like pesticides.

Scientists and researchers will continue their debates on the merits of organic food, but for those of us interested in the advancement of the environmental movement, happily, there's no need for debate.

Is organic better for us? Evaluating the costs that growing food according to conventional/industrial methods, the answer is a clear, simple, Yes, organic is better for us, and by us, we mean the synergetic, interconnected system known as planet Earth.

What we now think of as conventional/industrial agriculture is energy-intensive monocropping. Whereas farmers once rotated crops to replenish soil nutrients and provide a variety of foods for the communities they served, today's conventional agriculture has turned toward the production of one large crop of the same product season after season. Large mono crops impoverish and destroy soils which then have to be aided by chemical fertilizers to produce. As the soil gets poorer and poorer, more fertilizer is needed.

Monocropping does not support a vital ecosystem needed for natural pest control (For tips on natural pest control, see Companion Planting: Allies in Your Garden from our July issue, or visit http://angeles.sierraclub.org/news/SS_2009-07/companionplants.asp,)

The absence of natural pest control in turn leads to the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides causing further deterioration of the soil structure, of friendly bacteria and natural pest controls. These chemicals also pollute our water, our air, and the food we eat. Could the consequences of conventional/industrial farming to our health and the health of our environment be any clearer?

Furthermore, industrial agriculture is also responsible for the erosion of communities throughout the world. This social degradation is compounded by trade rules and policies, by the profit-driven mindset of the industry, and by the lack of knowledge of the faults of the current systems and the possibilities of alternatives.

Locally based for the most part, organic agriculture does not generally use herbicides, pesticides and other chemical forms of weed and pest control. Organic agriculture uses natural fertilizers. In most cases, buying organic does not mean buying a monocrop, although large agribusinesses have jumped on the organic bandwagon and are growing organics in a monocrop which is not as environmentally friendly as multi crops.

Organic agriculture uses organic alternative farming practices which are labor intensive, may produce smaller crops and therefore the products cost more but they are far more environmentally friendly--and far less likely to contaminate us with poison. (Other studies that have found that people who eat conventionally grown fruits and vegetables have more pesticide by-products in their urine than those who favor organic produce.)

The debate over nutrition is beside the point. To make a positive impact globally, let's all eat organically. And locally!