Organic: What you're really eating

After boarding UNC’s campus bus, purchasing my organic breakfast bars, and happily carrying them all the way back to my dorm room, I realized that I made this far and expensive excursion to Whole Foods because of one word: organic. People nationwide, and worldwide for that matter, believe that food labeled “organic” is substantially healthier than food that lacks this description. However marketers largely mislabel foods that contain pesticides, harmful bacteria, and food-borne illnesses as “organic”, while many don’t realize that foods such as genetically modified foods have no clear drawbacks thus far.

Photo by Shantel Ruiz

Many are unaware that the law permits organic farmers to use pesticides on their crops. Even more troublesome, the only limitation is that the pesticides must originate from natural sources. It is important to note that recent studies have proven at least half of these “naturally derived” pesticides to be highly poisonous and cancer-causing. Also contributing to the pesticide problem in organic farming is unanswered question of how long these organic pesticides persevere in the environment. Consequently, after an organic pesticide is no longer effective and has worn off the crops, it is necessary to use synthetic pesticides in order to keep pests away. This is effectively what many people are unaware of; their organic foods are basically being covered with the pesticides that they thought made conventional produce so unhealthy. While the use of deadly pesticides in organic farming is a developing problem, the fertilizing method is not by any means more promising.

Photo by natsides

Animal Manure, the fertilizer used by most organic farmers, is one of the reasons organic eating is not actually the healthiest choice. The past couple years have seen a new and more threatening case of E. coli 0157 disease, which has been the cause of at least 250 deaths per year in the United States. Because organic farmers are hesitant to use chemical washes, pasteurization, or chlorine water on their crops, there is no alternative to animal fertilization. In essence, organic farmers refuse to ensure the absence of bacteria on their crops. Another noteworthy detail is that farmers are required to compost the animal fertilizer for about two months at 130 degrees F in order to kill any bacteria that may be living in the manure. However recent studies have determined that this is inadequate; it takes a longer period of time and a higher temperature (about 160 degrees) to really ensure the death of any bacteria that may be residing in the compost. The above aspects of organic farming are important to understand, however the most relevant issue is the fact that the public is being mislead as to what the label “organic” really entails.

Photo by Kevin Krejci

The number of people who continue to embed organic foods into their daily lives is stunning, given that many have made a permanent lifestyle change even though they are unaware of the details or repercussions of this change. Evidently, the majority of these people are confused and unclear about what organic foods contain and, ultimately, what they are allowing themselves and their families to consume. The USDA currently allows the label “organic” to be printed on foods that are, in reality, only 95% organic. Even worse, there is another classification that allows food with only 70% organic ingredients to bear this confusing label. In addition, there is always the occasional pest or insect infestation forcing farmers (both organic and conventional) to cover crops in pesticides that you and your families are unaware of. Ultimately, the public is being lied to when labels read “organic” if it is in fact the case that some ingredients in the product are not completely organic.

Photo by Farmanac

Although there is no real solution to this false advertising of foods, the public is capable of looking with more caution at what they purchase and what they consume. It is possible to an extent to educate ourselves on the foods that truly contain pesticides and bacteria, and we can then see that maybe organic foods aren’t the better or healthier choice in today’s world. We can also see that not everything we hear about other types of food (genetically modified food) is accurate. The most important thing is to try and be educated and aware of what you are consuming as often as possible. No matter whether the food is genetically modified, organic, or conventional, unfortunately in today’s technologically advanced world there is no way to be positive of its ingredients.

Works Cited

Entine, John. "Supply Chains." Organic Food – What Is an 'organic' Label Really Worth? N.p., 12 July 2013. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ethicalcorp.com/supply-chains/organic-food-–-what-‘organic’-label-really-worth>.

Avery, Dennis T. "Hudson Institute." Hudson Institute. N.p., 1 Nov. 1998. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=publication_details>.

"Pestcides in Organic Farming." Pestcides in Organic Farming. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~lhom/organictext.html>.