So, what's all this hype about "organic"?
Buying organic is no longer a fringe fad. Ten million Americans bought organic food in 1999,
and, according to a recent survey by the Washington-based Hartman Group research firm,
another 60 percent of all shoppers are ready to give it a try. Why? They're attracted by
what organic consumers have known for a long time: Organic foods are safer, healthier and
more environmentally benign than their conventionally grown counterparts. (Vegetarian Times
Mar. 2001). According to a study conducted by the USDA's Economic Research Service, organic farming has become one of the fastest-growing segments of U.S. agriculture, more than
doubled from 1992 to 1997.
Buying organic is about food, but it's also about socially responsible values and practices.
Conventional North American food production has become industrialized and heavily
subsidized by the government. Organic foods must meet stricter regulations governing
growing, harvesting, transportation, and storage. Organic prices represent the real cost of
food raised in a sustainable manner. The process is labor-and management-intensive, and
farming tends to be on a smaller scale. As the organic market grows, multinational corporations
are buying out organic growers and brand names and competing with community-owned markets.
But many members of food cooperatives are committed to supporting organic farmers and the
social and environmental values they uphold: offering locally grown food for which farmers are
paid a fair price and whose sale supports farmers and families in their own community.
In December 2000 the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued national standards for organic foods,
to be phased in by July 2002. Their first proposal had been criticized for being heavily influenced
by agribusiness and caused an uproar when it was released in 1997. Environmentalists, animal-
rights activists and farmers hit the USDA with over 270,000 responses during the comment period.
Now a certified "100% organic" label means that the product contains no genetically modified organisms and was produced and processed with no chemical pesticides, preservatives, irradiation
or sewage sludge. The USDA has also drawn up an elaborate set of rules for labeling organic
livestock (except fish). For example, chickens must be raised on organic feed, without growth hormones or antibiotics, and with access to the outdoors.
Organic consumers are concerned about food safety, especially for children. The Environmental Protection Agency declares that "children are at greater risk of pesticide exposure than most
adults," and warns that "pesticides may cause a range of harmful health effects,'' including cancer
and injury to the nervous system, lungs, and immune system.
Preliminary results of an ongoing French study comparing the nutritional qualities of food
stemming from various farming practices indicate that organic is ahead in terms of nutritional
quality and micronutrients essential for good health: vitamins A, C, E, vitamins of the B group,
and other elements such as zinc, calcium, and fiber.
10 Reasons to Buy Organic
Nourishment and Flavor: Organic farming begins with the nourishment of the soil, which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant, and ultimately to our palates for complete nourishment and enhanced flavor.
Help Small Farmers: Most organic farms are small, independently operated and less than a
hundred acres. Organic farming could be one of the few survival tactics left for family farms.
Support a True Economy: Conventional food prices do not reflect hidden costs borne by taxpayers, including billions in federal subsidies, pesticide regulation, hazardous waste disposal and environmental damage.
Keep Chemicals Off Your Plate: The EPA considers that 60% of all herbicides, 90% of all fungicides, and 30% of all insecticides are carcinogenic. In addition to cancer, pesticides are
implicated in birth defects, nerve damage, and genetic mutation.
Promote Diversity: Agricultural mono-cropping has reduced the natural diversity of
plant life and left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients, which are then replaced
by chemical fertilizers. Single crops are also much more susceptible to pests, making
farming more reliant on pesticides.
Protect Farm Worker Health: A National Cancer Institute study found that farmers
exposed to herbicides had six (6) times greater risk than non-farmers of contracting cancer.
In California, reported pesticide poisonings among farm workers are increasing, and field
workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in the state.
Protect Future Generations: The average child receives four times more exposure than
an adult to at least eight widely used cancer causing pesticides in food. The food choices
you make now will have an impact upon your child's health in the future.
Protect Water Quality: The EPA estimates pesticides, some cancer causing, contaminate the groundwater in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country's population.
Prevent Soil Erosion: Under present day conventional farming, soil is eroding seven times faster that it's being built up naturally. Soil is the foundation of the food chain in organic farming.
Save Energy: Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry,
consuming 12% of the country's total energy supply. More energy is now used to produce
synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate, and harvest all U.S. crops. Organic farming uses
green manures and crop covers rather than synthetic fertilizers to build up soil.
Organic produce also tends to travel fewer miles from field to table.
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