Organic food has both a popular meaning, and in some countries, a legal definition. In everyday conversation, it usually refers to all "naturally produced" foods, or the product of organic farming. As a legal term, it means certified organic. The distinction is important, as the two definitions can represent quite different products.
Types of organic food
Organic food has both a popular meaning, and in some countries, a legal definition. In everyday conversation, it usually refers to all "naturally produced" foods, or the product of organic farming. As a legal term, it means certified organic. The distinction is important, as the two definitions can represent quite different products.
Organic foods, like food in general, can be grouped into two categories, fresh and processed, based on production methods, availability and consumer perception.
Fresh food is seasonal and highly perishable. Fresh produce — vegetables and fruits — is the most available type of organic food, and closely associated with organic farming. It is often purchased directly from the growers, at farmers' markets, from on-farm stands, through specialty food stores, and through community-supported agriculture (CSA) projects.
Unprocessed animal products — organic meat, eggs, dairy — are less common. Prices are significantly higher than for conventional food, and availability is lower. They are still premium priced items.
For fresh food, "organic" usually means:
Processed food accounts for most of the items in a supermarket. Little of it is organic, and organic prices are often high. In spite of this, organic processed products are now primarily purchased from supermarkets. The majority of processed organics comes from large food conglomerates, as producing and marketing products like canned goods, frozen vegetables, prepared dishes and other convenience foods is beyond the scope of the original small organic producers.
For processed organic food, the general definition is:
- contains only (or at least a certain specified percentage of) organic ingredients
- contains no artificial food additives
- processed without artificial methods, materials and conditions (eg: no chemical ripening, no food irradiation)
Identifying organic food
Definitions of organic food vary. Organics can be difficult to explain by empirical measurement and reference to "scientific fact". For one thing, the majority of food industry research of the last 100 years has been focussed solely on developing chemical agriculture and modern food processing -- almost nothing has been done to formally investigate side effects of conventional agriculture that are not immediately obvious. Also, organics is an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" proposition, concerned in large part with what NOT to do -- "as much as possible, let Nature do its thing" -- rather than in devising precise formulas for organic production. A strictly rules-based definition of organic farming and organic food, consisting of approved inputs and practices, created and maintained by regulatory agencies, is inevitably subject to "exceptions" and to special interest pressures to modify the rules. As organics become "whatever the rules say it is", the line between organic and conventional food can get blurry.
Early organic consumers were essentially looking for chemical-free, fresh or minimally processed food, and they had to buy directly from growers: Know your farmer, know your food was a practical reality. Organic food at first comprised mainly fresh vegetables. Personal definitions of what exactly constituted "organic" could be developed and verified through first-hand experience: talking to farmers and directly observing farm conditions and farming activities. Small farms could grow vegetables (and raise livestock) using organic farming practices, with or without certification, and this was more or less something the individual consumer could monitor.
As consumer demand for organic foods continues to increase, high volume sales through mass outlets, typically supermarkets, is rapidly replacing the direct farmer connection. For supermarket consumers, food production is not easily observable. Product labelling, like "certified organic", is relied on. Government regulations and third-party inspectors are looked to for assurance.
With widespread distribution of organic food, processed food has also become dominant over fresh, confusing the issue further. Moden food processing is complex and complicated. Commercial preparation methods, the use of food additives, the effects of packaging and storage, and the like are outside the first-hand experience of most people (including organic farmers). Traditional and minimally processed products, baked goods ; and canned, frozen, and pickled fruits and vegetables, are somewhat easier for consumers to understand by comparison with home preparation methods, although home and mass-production techniques are quite different. For convenience foods, like frozen prepared foods, cooked breakfast cereals, and so forth, ingredients and methods are quite a mystery. A "certified organic" label is usually the only way for consumers to trust that a processed product is "organic".
Organic food and preservatives
Unfortunately, there are no natural models for preserving food the way it's found in supermarkets. Today, food with a long shelf life is the cornerstone of the food industry, providing most of the revenue and profits. In wealthier locales, an impressive array of technologies is used to make food "last" longer: home refrigerators and freezers at the consumer end, and industrial and chemical practices applied along the food production chain, from seed to field to fridge or table.
In general, organic standards cover in detail this entire process, specifying what is an "organic" ingredient or practice. However, since there is little natural reference for preparing, for example, a precooked, frozen dinner, a "certified organic" label on such an item may be hard to understand. The main ingredients are one thing, the processes and additives used to assemble and preserve them are quite another.
This leads to a possibility that may seem startling and impractical in developed nations: most of what's found in supermarkets today can never be called "organic", in the broadest, "all-natural", fresh or minimally processed sense. The idea is not new, and whole foods have long been part of the health food diet. But if demand for organics intensifies, it is reasonable to conclude that agribusiness interests dictate taking as much control as possible of the definition of "organic food", particularly by including production practices that facilitate food preservation, in order to maintain the existing industry infrastructure.
Is organic food "better"?
The bottom line consumer question is: "Is organic food significantly 'better' than regular supermarket food?" If not, less attention needs be paid to understanding organic vs. conventional food. If so, consumers have to educate themselves, or risk being misled. This area is a hotbed of controversy, and there are no conclusive answers.
The basic claims for the superiority of organic food are:
- tastier: Organic advocates claim organic food tastes better because of the way it is produced, and because there is generally a greater variety to choose from.
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more nutritious: Food produced under organic conditions are somehow structurally different from chemically-raised and processed products. This pro-organic claim is so far beyond the scope of modern science to prove or disprove. The complex make-up of food, the effect of growing and processing methods, and the internal interactions between people and their nutrients are largely unknown. Measurements of some food components — protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals, and so on — only account for the most obvious factors that have been identified so far, and research is minimal. However, there are scientific indications that, by favoring certain aspects of a plant's development, other aspects may be retarded, resulting in less nutritious food. A study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2004, entitled Changes in USDA Food Composition Data for 43 Garden Crops, 1950 to 1999, compared nutritional analysis of vegetables done in 1950 and in 1999, and found substantial decreases in six of 13 nutrients examined. Percentage reductions included 6% of protein and 38% of riboflavin. Reductions in calcium, phosphorus, iron and ascorbic acid were also found. The study, conducted at the Biochemical Institute, University of Texas, concluded that the most likely cause was the breeding of crops to maximize yield. Although not on the surface a strictly organic issue, plant breeding objectives for commercial production is completely integrated with industrialized, chemical-based farming.
- non-toxic: Organic proponents point to potential problems with toxic residues from agricultural chemicals like pesticides. There is no argument that traces do not exist; however, it is widely held that: (a) they are well in "safe" limits (as established by government regulations); (b) washing and other recommended preparation methods eliminate any risk.
- better for the environment: By this argument, every food purchase supports the system that delivers it: if the large-scale chemical production methods are damaging to the environment, then people who buy these products are directly contributing to the problem.
A description of why organic foods and farming may be superior can be found at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
None of these claims are widely accepted as scientific fact although it seems to be difficult to make the argument that foods grown with chemicals/pesticides are better than those without. There are research reports, expert opinions, and anecdotal evidence both supporting and rebutting them. Learning more about these debates leads to clearer understanding of organic food, and its potential value.
To the consumer looking for self-education, a basic awareness of recent food history provides a useful context. Chemical agriculture and mass production of supermarket food have only been big business for about 50 years. During that period, radical changes in the way food is produced have been justified by quoting scientific studies and conducting large-scale advertising and publicity campaigns. In recent years, the negative longer-term effects of many chemical agriculture practices have become increasingly hard to deny, however, the lack of balanced food research is still overwhelming. It is unlikely that anything near definitive scientific conclusions will be drawn for years, possibly decades. In the meantime, consumers have to either trust the existing standards and claims, or come to their own common sense conclusions.
Radical organic
Faced with inconclusive research, conflicting marketing messages, and an overall avalanche of information, some food producers and consumers who want to act now are implementing radical approaches to defining and buying organic food.
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is one such approach, that cuts out all the middlemen by having consumers partner with local farmers. CSA members prepurchase "shares" in a season's harvest, and pick up their weekly portions from distribution sites. Thus, consumers provide direct financing for farms, participate in the risks and rewards of annual growing conditions, and participate with farmers in distribution networks.
Various alternative organic standards are also emerging. They generally bypass formal certification, and provide their own definition of organic food. One such, the Authentic Food standard, proposed by leading US organic farmer Eliot Coleman, includes criteria that are incompatible with current agribusiness:
- All foods are produced by the growers who sell them.
- Fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs and meat products are produced within a 50-mile radius of their place of their final sale.
- The seed and storage crops (grains, beans, nuts, potatoes, etc.) are produced within a 300-mile radius of their final sale.
- Only traditional processed foods such as cheese, wine, bread and lactofermented products may claim, "Made with Authentic ingredients."[1]
Particularly in developed nations, it is difficult to imagine not having the majority of products found in today's supermarkets. On the other hand, most of those products didn't exist 100 years ago, and many of them are only a few decades old.
Legal definition
In the United States, agricultural products that claim to be "organic" must adhere to the requirements of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (found in 7 U.S.C.A. § 6501-22) and the regulations (found in 7 C.F.R. Part 205) promulgated by the USDA through the National Organic Program ("NOP") under this act. These laws essential require that any product that claims to be organic must have been manufactured and handled according to specific NOP requirements.
Facts and statistics
While organics account for 1–2% of total food sales worldwide, the organic food market is growing rapidly, both in developed and developing nations.
- World organic food sales were US $23 billion in 2002.[2]
- The world organic market has been growing by 20% a year since the early 1990s, with future growth estimates ranging from 10-50% annually depending on the country.
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In the US:
- "Organic products are now available in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and 73 percent of conventional grocery stores, and account for approximately 1-2 percent of total food sales in the U.S." — Feb 2003[3]
- Two thirds of organic milk and cream and half of organic cheese and yoghurt are sold through conventional supermarkets.[4]
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In Germany:
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In Italy:
- Existing legislation calls for all school lunches to be organic by 2005.
External links
Last updated: 10-20-2005 01:34:05
