Consumers in the grocery store see the label “certified organic” or “organically grown” and have a vague idea that the product is healthier for them, but perhaps few consumers actually understand what’s behind the label.What is “organic”?According to the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) Web site www.ofrf.org, organic farming is the fastest-growing sector of agriculture in the United States today, with sales of organic products growing 20 percent each year.Organic farming also is known as “sustainable” agriculture because it causes no permanent harm to the environment. Gail Feenstra of the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program said, “Sustainability rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”So what is organic? According to OFRF, vegetables, meats, grains, fruit, honey, even fibers may be organically grown, which means the product has been grown using no unnatural assistance. Organic farmers use no hormones or synthetic or chemical pesticides or fertilizers at any time during the growing process. Certified organic means the farm has been inspected and upholds the standards of the certifying organization. The products have not been genetically enhanced in any way.The OFRF Web site states that organic farmers use natural biological fertilizers, such as manure and compost, and natural pest control like predatory insects. Crop rotation and tilling control weeds.Osage Gardens in New Castle, Colo., the state’s largest producer of organic herbs, uses bugs and birds to control harmful insects. In an article in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel in January, writer Mike McKibbin interviewed Sarah Rumery of Osage Gardens. McKibben wrote, “Instead of chemical sprays, about 800,000 lady bugs and preying (sic) mantises are used each year to feed on harmful insects. Special habitats attract parasitic wasps, bluebirds, swallows and martins. A gaggle of geese makes a daily greenhouse walkthrough to catch grasshoppers. Strips of wide yellow sticky tape along the growing beds help control insects.”According to the OFRF Web site, organically grown livestock and poultry are raised on organic feed. The animals must live in conditions that suit their natural behaviors. For example, cattle must graze in a pasture, as opposed to the crowded conditions on a normal feedlot.”Grass-fed beef is what beef is meant to be,” said Andy Duffy, ranch manager of Lasater Grasslands Beef. “Cattle are designed to consume grass. It’s a healthier diet for cows than being confined in a feedlot consuming grain. Since it’s a healthier diet for them, it naturally is healthier for us.”Organic milk and dairy products as well must be produced by animals that are fed organically and not given added chemicals. Horizon Organic, one of the nation’s largest producers of organic dairy products, prioritizes the respectful treatment of their cows. According to www.horizonorganic.com, “Raised under humane conditions, the cows that supply Horizon Organic with milk are not treated with antibiotics or added growth hormones and are fed only certified organic feed. They also have access to clean water, fresh air, pasture and exercise.”Is organic healthier?Is organic food more nutritious than food grown by conventional methods?Margo Gasta is a registered dietician and a certified clinical nutritionist. She owns Tri-Lakes Nutrition in Monument, and said that, although she prefers organically grown produce because it is not sprayed with chemicals, claiming that organic is nutritionally better than conventional is yet unfounded. “Many of us assume that organically grown produce has more nutrients, but we are still awaiting results of studies that I understand are underway.”However, Gasta is leery of conventionally grown produce. “When you bite into an apple, you could be getting four or five different chemicals,” she said. “The biggest reason I push people towards it (organic food) is because they’re not getting all those chemicals.” Gasta said there is evidence that chemicals in our food contribute to hormone disruption, behavior problems and increased risk of cancer and diseases of the nervous system. She said pesticides on food are a source of xeno-estrogens, a harmful type of estrogen that contributes to cancer.According to the OFRF, a definitive study has not been done because there are too many variables involved to do a fair comparison.However, many small studies support the theory that organic foods are healthier.A few studiesMore of the good stuffThe Organic Trade Association Web site reported that certified nutrition specialist Virginia Worthington reviewed 41 published studies that compared the vitamin content of organically grown and conventionally grown produce. She found there were significantly higher amounts of vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorous in the organically grown fruits and vegetables.The OTA also cited a study from Truman State University in Missouri. The results found that organically grown oranges contained as much as 30 percent more vitamin C than much larger conventionally grown oranges. (www.ota.com)Similarly, organic dairy products also contain more nutrients than non-organic. A news story in England reported that milk from cows grown and fed in pastures has “significantly higher levels of vitamin E, Omega 3 essential fatty acids, beta carotene and other antioxidants.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk)Less of the bad stuffAccording to www.organicvalley.coop, pesticides have been implicated as causing health problems, including premature birth, cancer and behavioral disorders. Hormones, like the ones used with conventionally grown beef, can cause problems, such as allergies, early puberty and Mad Cow disease.The OTA Web site reported on a study done by Consumers Union and the Organic Materials Review Institute. The study showed that organically grown produce contains only a third as many pesticide residues as conventionally grown produce. A 2002 report cited by the OFRF “indicates that organic food is far less likely to contain pesticide residues than conventional food (13 percent of organic produce samples vs. 71 percent of conventional produce samples…).”The chemicals are particularly problematic to the very young. According to www.foodnews.org, “It is well established that the fetus, infant and small child are typically most vulnerable to the toxic effects of pesticides and toxic chemicals. Many organ systems, for example the nervous system and the brain, can be permanently, if subtly damaged by exposure to toxic substances in-utero or throughout early childhood that, at the same level, cause no measurable harm to adults.”Pesticide use is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, but not very efficiently, according to a 2005 report in www.foodnews.org. The EPA is currently working to upgrade safety standards regarding pesticides to comply with The Food Quality Protection Act that was passed in 1996, almost a decade ago.Where do I buy organic products?One can purchase organically grown products through major grocery store chains, smaller specialty grocery stores, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) or farmers’ markets.Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats Market and specialty grocery stores in Colorado Springs carry many organic products. Mike Huber of Whole Foods said his store sells fresh herbs grown by Osage Gardens and produce from Grant Family Farms in northern Colorado. Tammy Garcia of Wild Oats said the store buys fruit from Boulder Fruit Express and ships fruit not grown in Colorado from California and Mexico.According to the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (www.nal.usda.gov/afsic), Community Supported Agriculture or CSA is becoming a fast-growing option for buying organically grown products. CSA fosters a relationship between the farmer and the consumer. Patrons or supporters of a farm purchase a subscription or shares in the farm, usually paying upfront for the entire growing season. Periodically throughout the season, they pick up a box of produce or meat. Patrons of the farm share in the bounty or leanness of the year, and the farmer doesn’t shoulder the risk alone.Country Roots Farm near Pueblo is a CSA farm that offers a wide variety of certified organic vegetables, herbs, free-range eggs and sometimes fruit. Distributions are made at the farm or, for their Colorado Springs patrons, at a delivery point near downtown. Country Roots’ patrons, like most CSA farms, are signed up prior to the planting season, allowing farmers to judge how much to grow.”We try and get the majority before we plant, but we’re always accepting new members,” said Ryan Morris, a co-owner of Country Roots. For patrons who sign up after the beginning of the season, the cost is pro-rated. Morris said members also can participate in a fall share that runs from mid-October through December.Cherry Creek Farm is another nearby CSA farm. Their produce is grown near Larkspur and the membership is established before the growing season begins. Donald Hall, a co-owner of Cherry Creek Farm, said, “It’s (membership) about the time we’re planting so we can figure out how much to plant – around March.”Lasater Grasslands Beef, near Matheson, Colo., provides certified organic beef. This pasture-fed beef is available in Colorado Springs at the Vitamin Cottage, Manitou Natural and Mountain Mama Natural Foods, or it can be ordered from the Web site.Farmers markets also offer certified organic produce. The farmers market held in Monument every Saturday and the first and third Sundays of each month features produce from Living Foods Bon Appetit, owned by Bob Oldja.Oldja believes that he cured his cancer by eating organic raw nuts, fruits, vegetables and seeds. He buys directly from farmers or co-ops and sells a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and high-quality nuts, dried fruits and seeds at the Monument farmers market. He sells the fruit within days of picking.Why is organic more expensive?The OFRF Web site asserts that the price of organic foods is higher because it accurately reflects the costs involved in growing and bringing the produce to market. It costs more to grow organic because of the intensity of labor and extensive management. Growing, harvesting, storing, transporting, processing and packaging all factor in to the costs. To be certified organic, the grower must follow stricter regulations than conventional growers must.Conventionally grown foods, OFRF reports, do not reflect the actual cost of the food. “There is mounting evidence that if all the indirect costs of conventional food production were factored into the price of food, organic foods would cost the same, or more likely be cheaper than conventional food,” according to the OFRF Web site.Many of the costs of conventionally grown food are borne by the consumer without his knowledge. Conventional farming is subsidized largely by the taxpayer. According to the Organic Consumers Association, of the current $248.6 billion Farm Bill budget, only five million dollars are committed to organic farming, with the outstanding majority subsidizing conventional growers.Additionally, taxpayers are hit again by the clean-up costs of conventional farming. Jules Pretty, professor of environment and society at Essex University in England, author of about eight books and agriculture advisor to the United Kingdom, quoted in an article found at www.organicfood.co.uk/sense/tooexpensive.html: “The consumer pays three times when they buy intensively farmed food. Firstly, they pay at the shop till. Next, they pay for the same food through their taxes, as modern farming is subsidized through the tax system. Thirdly, the consumer pays again to clean up the damage to the environment caused during the growing and the raising of the food.”Besides costs, do conventional methods threaten health?Hormones in animalsOrganic meats and dairy products do not contain the antibiotics and artificial hormones that many conventionally grown products contain.Stan Searle is the president of the Texas Longhorn Heritage Foundation and the owner of Searle Ranch in Monument, Colo. He raises grass-fed Texas Longhorn cattle for breeding stock. He has serious concerns about the hormones injected in conventionally grown cattle.Searle said he suspects that increased height and weight and the onset of early puberty in children may be a result of hormones in our food. “I have a real concern about what appears to be a possibly accelerated rate of physiological maturity in young people,” he said. “If it makes the animals grow bigger and faster, does this trace of that chemical cause the same thing to happen in a person who eats the meat?”The history of pesticidesAccording to the Wessels Living History Farm Web site, in 1939, Paul Muller, a chemist in Switzerland, developed DDT, a chemical insecticide that first killed the Colorado potato beetle, which was ravaging the potato crops across America and Europe. Muller earned a Nobel Prize for his discovery.The report mentioned that DDT was credited with saving thousands of human lives in World War II by killing typhus-carrying lice and malaria-carrying mosquitoes. DDT was eventually banned, but it opened up a long line of new organic chemical insecticides that would change agriculture.Carolyn Carver stated at a May 1999 convention of the Bonsai Societies of Florida that in the 1940s and1950s there was a big increase in the availability of pesticides.In 1943, the organophosphorous insecticide parathion was marketed for use as pest control agent. It is still widely used today.According to www.simplelife.com, synthetic pesticides were challenged when Rachel Carson’s book, “Silent Spring,” was published in 1962. The book initiated a movement toward agro-chemical regulation, along with a major worldwide debate that continues today.More pesticides are used in more countries than ever before – more than $26 billion annually.Editors’ note: The debate continues and there are many unanswered questions regarding conventional growing versus organic, as it relates to both produce and meat.It seems we never know the ramifications of what we ingest or what we do until years later. Years ago, who would have thought smoking caused lung cancer or one or two beers a day could harm a fetus?Perhaps, in the end, it’s all about common sense.Meanwhile, here are some common-sense recommendations from nutritionist Margo Gasta.
- Don’t forget organic meats and dairy; they’re just as important as produce.
- If you can’t afford to buy everything organic, focus on buying organic foods that, if grown conventionally, would have pesticides sprayed directly on the surface of the product. Examples are leafy greens, broccoli, strawberries and other berries.
- Peeling conventionally grown produce removes the majority of pesticides.
- Thoroughly wash all produce, organic and otherwise.
