Published September 10, 2010
by dbazely
I thought I'd be blogging about food all summer. But, at summer's end, I find that when I haven't been at conferences, or in the field, I have been kept very busy with gardening and canning or "putting up". This year I grew a large amount of garlic - Northern Quebec and Persian Star, from Boundary Garlic in British Columbia.
Back in the spring, I went to the very enjoyable Toronto-based Green Living Show, which my family has attended every year since it began in 2007. I enjoy chatting with the manufacturers and marketers of green products - some of them much smaller and more artisanal than the widely recognizable tent-pole names, like Loblaws, Roots and Pistachio. This included a lovely couple who were staffing the booth for an organic delivery company.
"Do people ask you about the dirty dozen and the clean fifteen, and when they do, what do you tell them?", I asked. "Well" they replied, "our position is that we should all eat organic, all the time.".
My come back: "well, you know that the prices make it simply unaffordable for most families, so if you want to be more nuanced in your approach, what's more realistic advice?"
There are many reasons why people choose to consume organic food, ranging from health concerns to concern about the impact of industrial farming on the environment. For many people, it is all about managing personal risk and exposure to pesticides and other chemicals. But is it really worth it? In the case of fruit and veggies, it all depends where your food is farmed. The main reason why I grew so much garlic, is that (1) we can grow good garlic and (2) in the last 2 years, the local Ontario garlic supply has run out by early winter, and (3) I prefer to avoid buying garlic from parts of the world where we hear about issues of food contamination, proven or not.
When it comes to pesticide and chemical exposure, you need to deal with the big stuff first. My husband was a toxicologist in a previous career and we are both biologists, so the whole issue of pesticides has been on our minds for decades. The mainstay organic purchase in our house, ever since my kids stopped breastfeeding, has been organic milk and yoghurt. And, btw, I was one of those working mothers with kids in daycare at 4 months, and an industrial breast pump, busily remobilizing the contaminants in my fat cells into my kids.
When it comes to food preparation, we have never knowingly stuck a plastic container in a microwave - ever since I first encountered a microwave, back in 1984. We also banned our daycares from heating any food up for our kids in any kind of plastic in the 1990s: we were well aware of the early research on phytoestrogens, and chemicals leaching out of plastics. I get frustrated when I see young, environmentally conscious students bringing their packed organic lunches to York in plastic containers, with painted nails and make-up. I don't wear make-up or nail polish - because chemicals can leach into my body through my skin. Nowadays, there is, finally, mainstream awareness of plastics and leachates, but it has taken a very long time.
So, what about organic food? Well, other than our organic dairy products, and garden veggies, we don't bother much with organic fruit and vegetable in my house. We do, however, eat as much locally farmed fruit and veggies as we can: Canadian agriculture has superb regulatory and consumer education systems both federally and provincially.
In a 2003 review of the evidence, in answer to the question: 'Is organic food better for you?' The UK Food Standards Agency, which, was, at the time, headed by my doctoral supervisor, Lord John Krebs, found that "In our view the current scientific evidence does not show that organic food is any safer or more nutritious than conventionally produced food." Interestingly, over the subsequent 3 years, efforts were made to soften the perceived "anti-organic" tone of the report. But, the science still stands.
Eric Reguly of the Globe and Mail stirred the organic pot with his 2008 article entitled "No organic for me, please" in which he made some of these same points about cost as well as pointing out the lower crop yields of organic. This last argument against organic, is a topic for another post and yet another grey area in the whole complex topic of food security.
Dawn R. Bazely
Posted in: Blogs | IRIS Director Blog
The Organic Trade Association would like to point out that mounting evidence proves there are health benefits for consuming organic foods. In fact, studies linking non-organic practices to increased health risks are beginning to prove more conclusively the many benefits that organic agriculture has to offer farmers, the land, our water supplies, air, and ultimately, the health of the planet and those living on it. The U.S. President’s Cancer Panel report released in May exhorts consumers to choose food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, and growth hormones to help decrease their exposure to environmental chemicals that can increase their risk of contracting cancer. Also, a study published May 17 in Pediatrics concluded that exposure to organophosphate pesticides—prohibited in organic production—at levels common among U.S. children may contribute to the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in these children.
Thanks to the growth of private label products, farmers’ markets, manufacturers’ coupons, and customer loyalty programs, buying organic is easier and more affordable than ever. For tips on how to stretch your organic dollars, visit http://www.organicitsworthit.org/get/buying-organic-easier-and-more-affordable-ever.
Organic. It’s worth it.