Is Organic Better for You?

Increasingly, I get questions from clients about whether organic foods are “better for you.” Up until this past year, my standard dietitian response would have been something along the lines of, “No clear scientific evidence consistently supports the notion that organic food is more nutritious than conventionally raised food, but myself and many others choose organic for environmental & ethical reasons…” (i.e.; they’re not really better for you, on an individual level at least.)

But a growing body of research is showing that organically grown foods are better for us. Some studies have found that organic produce has higher values of several nutrients and phytochemicals, such as Vitamin C and flavanoids, than their non-organic counterparts. Last year the British Journal of Nutrition reported that the breast milk of mothers consuming organic meat and dairy has higher levels of beneficial fatty acids. And because pesticide exposure is a risk factor for several diseases including birth defects and diabetes, we likely want to minimize our exposure as much as possible. So my standard dietitian response now sounds more akin to, “Research is beginning to uncover that organic foods can have health benefits.”

But the true story of organic can not be summed up in a sound-bite due to the complexity of issues that surround organic foods and the fast growing organic industry.

What really is Organic?

At it’s ideal, the organic philosophy includes not just the environmental benefits reaped from excluding synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides in the farming process, but also encompasses animal welfare, social justice, and community well-being. National and third party certifying agencies have organic standards meant to quantify the term.

According to the current USDA national standards:
“Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.”

In addition to being free of toxic sludge and genetic modification, “ all organically raised animals must have access to the outdoors, including access to pasture for ruminants.” But, the standards go on to say, “They may be temporarily confined only for reasons of health, safety, the animal's stage of production, or to protect soil or water quality.” This confinement ends up being the case all too often in industrialized agriculture’s production systems, which will be further detailed below. (See: The Conundrum of Industrial Organic) Organic dairy cows may not be treated with recombiant bovine growth hormone to stimulate increased milk production or be given regular doses of antibiotics to prevent the bacterial infections common to animals in the typical high stress environment of factory farm dairies.

Processed foods with the USDA Organic seal must contain at least 95% organic ingredients. Certain ingredients have been exempted from the rule because it has been decided that organic versions are hard to find or do not exist. (The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances was recently updated in October of last year and includes ingredients such as citric acid, dairy cultures, corn starch, kelp, lecithin, pectin, and xantham, guar, locust bean, and carob bean gums.)

People choosing organic foods can be certain they are choosing foods grown or raised without:
o synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides
o toxic pesticides
o sewage sludge
o genetic engineering
o ionizing radiation
o bovine growth hormone

But, unfortunately, this doesn't mean all organic foods are grown sustainably.

The Conundrum of Industrial Organic
The concept of organic is so appealing to consumers that an entire industry has grown up around the term. Currently only 3% of the food & beverage market, sales in the organic sector have been growing about 20% each year since 1990. Translation: there is alot of money to be made in organics and so big businesses (such as Walmart) have gotten involved.

But are all organic farms as bucolic as the packaging would have it seem? The answer is, unequivocably, no.

Industrial organic follows the letter of the law, but not the heart of it. A recent class action lawsuit for against organic dairy giant Aurora illustrated that by cutting corners for profit, some in the industry may be illegally exploiting the term organic.

Large swaths of land may devoted to organic crop, while continuing to grow in the industrial, mono crop conventional paradigm. Though free of all manners of toxins, this system does not promote biodiversity and remains energy intensive. When the organic foods we buy are imported across the seas from China and beyond (and they are, increasingly) we know we’ve lost a handle on the true spirit of organic. Recently I heard a local grandmother complain, “Why can’t we have organic sunflower seeds in our local co-op? Why do they come from China? This is absurd. We grow sunflowers here. I have them in my backyard.”)

Farming as If We Need To

There are small farmers all over the country fighting for the spirit of organic by growing a wide variety of crops, protecting the biodiversity of their region, and reducing their carbon footprint by implementing “closed-loop systems”. Closed loops decrease the amount of inputs brought to the farm by practices such as seed saving, composting, using manure as fertilizer, animal breeding, bee keeping, using rain barrels and solar energy. etc, so nothing is wasted and each process on the farm becomes a part of the life cycle. These farmers may not all be certified organic due to the time & expense it takes to become USDA certified, but if you talk to them, you know they hold sacred the value of life over profit. (This is drastically different than the way most of our food is produced, but it works because it is more in alignment with the principles of nature; returning to the soil instead of constantly take, take, taking. We are seeing a dissapearance of topsoil, water shortages, climate change, and exticntion of species all at an alarming rate. Its time to do things differently.)

This is precisely why science is beginning to find that organics can be healthier. When the soil of organic farms is more complex, so will be the phytochemical portfolio of the foods grown. Conventional farming’s reductionist thinking allows the soil to become barren and nutrient poor while pumping in synthetic fertilizers that reduce the available nutrition, including valuable microorganisms, to the plants. This may be contributing to the wide spread, sub clinical deficiencies the nutrition & medical profession is beginning to notice. We don’t need more food, we need better food; grown well and unadulterated.

The bottom line:

Not all studies show that organic is more nutritious, but we don’t need official sanction to say that there are several reasons to believe organic foods can be healthier. While science is still “hashing it out”, people choosing organic can be certain they are choosing foods grown or raised without synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and fungicide, toxic pesticides, sewage sludge, genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, and bovine growth hormone. Organic isn’t always the best, but it is better than conventional. Seeking out local farmers, or growing organic foods yourself is the best way to ensure you’re getting truly sustainable foods.