Organic Foods

[Guest guest]

The many meanings of 'organic'

 

# Demand for certified produce is up, but so is confusion over farming

standards. Here's a look at what it all means.

 

By Max Withers, Special to The Times

 

Shoppers swarm around the farmers market stall. After the rainy California

winter, strawberries, peas and fava beans, those heralds of spring, are hot

sellers. Some customers move in for the kill, brandishing their trophy

produce in one hand and exact change in the other. Others hold back, trying

to remember what looked good at the last stall. Weren't those favas a

little smaller? But these favas say " pesticide-free. " And the guy at the

other end of the market might have organic ones. Are they any better?

 

More and more people seem to think so: One-quarter of all Americans now eat

fresh organic produce at least once a week, according to the Hartman Group,

a consumer research firm - and the market continues to grow by 20% a year.

 

For many consumers, the " organic " label is a passport to a place where

safer food, better flavor and a healthier environment all intersect. By

buying from farms that have been certified organic, they imagine that

they're getting the best-tasting produce while helping the environment,

supporting small producers and safeguarding their health.

 

But it's not as simple as that. Some of the farmers most respected by chefs

for the quality of their produce are eschewing organic farming. At the same

time, mainstream supermarkets overflow with organic fruits and vegetables

from huge agribusiness conglomerates. And the jury is still out on whether

organic produce is healthier or tastier, although some studies point in

that direction.

 

So what does organic really mean? Government standards are arbitrary and

incomplete, critics say, and, ironically, the standards support big

producers over smaller ones. And higher prices charged for certified

organic produce don't guarantee that you're getting better food.

 

Nationwide, organic farming standards are set by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture. The USDA rules are administered through non-governmental

agencies - certifiers - who do annual inspections and charge a fee for the

process.

 

The cost of certification is surprisingly modest. California Certified

Organic Farmers, or CCOF, the largest of California's 11 certifiers,

charges fees on a sliding scale, and other certifiers are competitive. The

real hurdle for farmers, after they complete a three-year " transitional "

period during which they must farm organically, but aren't allowed to label

their produce " organic, " is the paperwork.

 

" It's amazing how much paperwork we have to do. We have to keep track of

everything, " says administrative director Matthew Logan of Fairview Gardens

in Santa Barbara, a chefs' favorite (they sell at the Wednesday Santa

Monica, several Santa Barbara and the San Francisco Ferry Building farmers

markets). Logan says Fairview's paperwork quadrupled when it started

certifying under the USDA's National Organic Program, or NOP, which was

instituted in 2002.

 

Santa Monica farmers markets manager Laura Avery estimates that as many as

100 farmers at her markets who are not certified do not spray pesticides.

For the most part, these farmers say that they have not sought organic

certification because they have no problem selling their produce without

going through that hassle.

 

Even if they don't seek certification, many of California's smaller

conventional farms employ a variety of organic practices, such as cover

cropping and composting. And not every conscientious farmer agrees that all

pesticide use is a bad idea.

 

Fitz Kelly, well known for the superb stone fruit he grows on 35 acres in

Reedley (Fitzgerald's Premium Ripe Tree Fruit is at the Wednesday Santa

Monica and the San Francisco Ferry Plaza farmers markets in season), says

that judicious use of synthetic pesticides means he can spray less than

organic farmers, who have to rely on a small list of approved substances.

And that, along with other careful farming practices, makes his farm

environmentally friendly.

 

" We've even had damage to the fruit from ladybugs, we have so many of

them, " he says.

 

Demand for certified organic produce remains strong, and market managers

all over the state confirm the statistics showing growth in sales. But some

market managers think consumers are fixating too much on the label, at the

expense of small farmers who haven't certified. " As soon as you get a label

for something, people get stupid about it, " Avery complained about the USDA

regulations. " They stop educating themselves. "

 

Of course, without certification, you have to take the farmer's word for

it. Hand-lettered signs reading " no pesticides " are almost as common as

" certified organic " signs in some markets. Certified farmers are

understandably suspicious of their competitors' claims.

 

" When they walk into a farmers market, consumers assume all kinds of

things, " says Warren Weber, who founded Star Route Farms in Bolinas,

California's oldest certified farm, in 1974, and sells at the Ferry Plaza

and Marin County farmers markets. " It's kind of medieval, like going to a

bazaar. You get the feeling that people say whatever to sell their product

sometimes. And that's unfortunate. "

 

 

 

Organic goes big time

 

Farmers markets are no longer the only places where you'll find large

selections of organic produce and products. Mainstream supermarkets are

plentifully stocked with organic products from publicly traded behemoths

such as Dean Foods and General Mills.

 

Once seen as the province of wild-eyed hippies and dedicated idealists,

organic farming was domesticated in 2002 when the USDA began setting the

standards through the National Organic Program. With predictable rules and

regulations, organic farming was suddenly safe for big business.

 

But some organic activists have questioned whether the big boys are really

delivering the organic goods. Several news organizations reported in

February that a Wisconsin nonprofit, the Cornucopia Institute, complained

to the USDA that three certified organic dairies selling milk to Horizon

Organic were actually factory farms that violated NOP rules.

 

From the start, the USDA rules were controversial. Reviewing the NOP,

activist and former Columbia University nutrition professor Joan Dye Gussow

wrote in Organic Gardening magazine, " This isn't what we meant. When we

said organic, we meant local. We meant healthful. We meant being true to

the ecology of regions. "

 

The USDA pays lip service to these ideas by defining organic farming as a

system designed to " foster cycling of resources, promote ecological

balance, and conserve biodiversity. " But there is no enforcement mechanism

for these abstractions.

 

The regulations " focus too much on the materials and not on the biological

processes of farming, " says UC Santa Cruz Community Studies professor Julie

Guthman, author of " Agrarian Dreams: The Paradox of Organic Farming in

California. " For example, fallowing and on-farm composting, key components

of the theory of organic farming since J.I. Rodale started " Organic Farming

and Gardening " magazine in 1942, are not required by the USDA.

 

The heart of the USDA program is the " National List, " a document developed

by the USDA after years of public comment and controversy about everything

from irradiation to chicken feed. It lists approved and forbidden

fertilizers, pesticides, soil amendments and other agricultural inputs.

These substances are judged not only by toxicity, but also by

" naturalness, " a quality that is not easy to define.

 

Nor does the relative degree of " naturalness " necessarily correspond to a

product's effect on human and environmental health. For example, Chilean

nitrate is allowed (with restrictions) because it is mined from a natural

source, even though its environmental effects are similar to synthetic

fertilizers.

 

" And the definition of allowable materials is highly politicized, " Guthman

says.

 

On Chilean nitrate and other points, the USDA differs from the European

standard. " Ninety-five percent of the time we agree, but then we get to a

single material " that causes problems, says Jake Lewin, director of

marketing and international programs at CCOF, which offers a different

certification for farmers who export to Europe.

 

Despite these limitations, the current guidelines at least prevent the use

of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides - from the relatively benign

Roundup to Category I poisons such as methyl bromide - on California's

170,000 acres of organic-certified land (around 1.5% of the state total).

 

For its defenders, numbers such as these outweigh the NOP's flaws. " USDA

has not watered down the standards, " says department spokeswoman Joan

Shaffer.

 

Jim Riddle has been an organic farmer in Minnesota for 25 years and a

certifier for 18. As the chairman of the National Organic Standards Board,

an advisory body with which the USDA consults, he's had some run-ins with

the USDA, but he vehemently defends the National Organic Program.

 

" It's one thing to make accusations, but I'd like to see proof. We do need

continual vigilance to protect the standards, but they're not weaker " than

before the USDA got involved.

 

" Organic has never been the whole answer to sustainability, but even at its

worst, it's a very important form of damage control, " says Monica Moore of

the Pesticide Action Network, a nonprofit organization that tracks

pesticide use.

 

And there's no other government-sponsored program that assesses farmers'

practices to help consumers make informed decisions. Certification requires

annual third-party verification of compliance, with a clear standard. It's

not just a marketing ploy for vendors seeking to cash in on the latest

craze. With the three-year transition period and the paperwork and

inspection hurdles, it requires a serious commitment to earn that

" certified organic " label.

 

But all those standards, demanding as they are for farmers, have nothing to

say about the final product - the food. Is it healthier? Does it taste

better? The USDA isn't making any such claims.

 

Although the National List prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides,

organic certifiers do not routinely test produce for pesticide residues. An

" organic " label does not mean that your produce is free of pesticides, only

that the farmer hasn't applied any. Residues from neighboring fields or

contaminants acquired between field and market are always possible. Even

though it was banned in 1973, DDT is still routinely detected in soil

samples. Still, scientific studies do show much lower levels of pesticide

residue on organic produce. (These same studies also show that pesticides

in conventional produce are within the EPA's maximum residue limits.)

 

" Health concerns " are the most important reason consumers say they buy

organic food, according to the Hartman Group. So if the health concern is

pesticide exposure, they're getting what they pay for. But many people also

think that organic produce has more vitamins and minerals than conventional

produce, and that is not true. Scientific studies consistently fail to find

any difference in the vitamin content of organic and conventional food.

 

In a well-designed study that has not yet been published, Dr. Alyson

Mitchell's UC Davis lab found higher concentrations of antioxidants in

organically grown tomatoes than in conventionally grown tomatoes. A French

study published last September found similar results in tomatoes. But the

link to better health was not clear: Study participants who ate the organic

tomatoes for three weeks had the same blood level of the antioxidant

lycopene as those who ate conventional tomatoes.

 

Overall, 13 of 15 studies recently reviewed by the Organic Center, a

nonprofit research institute, found higher levels of antioxidants in

organic produce, but none could explain why. " I don't think that research

is even in its infancy yet, " says Bob Scowcroft of the Organic Farming

Research Foundation, a Santa Cruz nonprofit.

 

 

 

It comes down to flavor

 

What about flavor? Scientific tests so far cannot distinguish between the

flavors of organic and conventional food. But many chefs tout their use of

organic produce on menus and agree with Alice Waters, who says, " The finest

food is produced and grown in ways that are ecologically sound. "

 

How produce is handled and marketed profoundly affects its flavor. Food

that suffers the indignities of the commodity supply chain on its way to

the supermarket is picked earlier, and processed more, than what farmers

can sell direct to the consumer. Farmers who sell direct also have the

freedom to experiment with varieties bred for flavor, instead of the

commercial cultivars developed to survive the journey to the supermarket.

 

" I'd rather buy the commercial broccoli grown down the street than the

organic that was shipped halfway around the world, " says Michael Ableman.

It's a startling sentiment coming from a pioneering organic farmer (he's

Fairview Gardens' farm manager). " People are starting to get it, " he says.

" They go down to the farmers market and the food just tastes different -

it's fresher. "

 

Nationwide, roughly 4% of certified organic produce is purchased directly

from farmers, at farm stands and farmers markets. That may not sound like

much, but the number for conventional produce is 0.4%, according to the

USDA's agricultural census. And the percentages are higher for California,

which grows 50% of the country's fruits and vegetables. Some of the flavor

edge people attribute to organic produce may simply be a result of

freshness.

 

This is especially true at restaurants, many of which establish direct

relationships with local suppliers. For decades, Chez Panisse had a

dedicated forager, whose job was to track down produce that met the

restaurant's high standards. Today, the restaurant has so many sources of

consistently high-quality produce, the chefs do the foraging themselves.

Chef Cal Peternell says that part of his job is pretty easy these days. And

it's easier for the rest of us too.

 

" You might get lucky at the grocery store once in a while, but the farmers

market is the place where you're going to get the quality that we have, " he

says.

 

" Freshness is really the key, " agrees Jeff Jackson, executive chef of A.R.

Valentien at the Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla. " Just because

something's organic doesn't necessarily mean it tastes great. Mother Nature

throws curveballs too. "

 

But for the most part, Jackson loves the organic produce he gets from the

local and Santa Monica farmers markets, and he applauds the farmers who

grow it for him.

 

" It is really, really hard to grow food organically, " says Jackson. " I

can't have enough respect for what these guys do. "

 

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-organic4may04,0,5293592.story?col

l=la-home-food

[Guest guest]

--- brbrunner <brbrunner wrote:

 

>

> Organic food is definitely not hype. There have been scientific

> studies that have clearly shown how levels of pesticides rapidly

> diminish in the human body when people stop eating conventionally

> produced fruits and vegetables. It is even worse with animal

> products, as chemicals are biomagnified and concentrated, especially

> in fat. So, if anyone is going to eat meat, milk or eggs, it is

> definitely better to eat organic.

 

 

Additionally, has anyone else noticed how much better organic food of

any variety tastes, relative to it's conventional counterpart?

 

peace and blessings - back in the veggie saddle,

ben

[Guest guest]

Oh yes!! )

 

Peace,

Maureen

 

Ben Miller wrote:

> Additionally, has anyone else noticed how much better organic food of

> any variety tastes, relative to it's conventional counterpart?

>

> peace and blessings - back in the veggie saddle,

> ben

[Guest guest]

Our vegan son drinks soymilk, almond milk, and rice milk, but I'd be interested

in other people's feedback. As I understand, less processed forms of soy

(edamame, soy nuts, tofu) are healthier than heavily processed forms of soy.

I'm sure others will have lots of great links & info on the topic.

 

Kara Keeter <karakeeter wrote: I just got email from my

MIL. A newsletter she s to is

saying that it doesn't do any good to buy organic:

 

> The recent issue the Nutrition Action newsletter has articles on

> organic foods. Bottom line - they don;t think you really need to

> buy them, as they have pesticide residues in them form the soil,

> air, etc. Especially don't need to buy organic milk.

 

I'm disappointed to hear there are still residues even in organic

stuff, but I still would think it would be better than non-organic.

And re. the milk, if I can't afford to buy anything else organic, I

at least make sure to get organic milk! (No offense intended, for

those who don't drink milk.)

 

Anybody know anything about this?

 

Speaking of milk, I have another question (pardon my ignorance):

I've heard that too much soy is bad for boys, since it is similar in

some ways to estrogen. For that reason I've been afraid to give my

kids too much soy milk. Is that true?

 

 

[Guest guest]

I think your right Organic is a cut above non organic food. Plus today we

have to watch for GMO foods.

The powers that be, seem to have a war on healthy choices. Yes, I too have

read that soy must be eaten sparingly . We all know for sure that soy is not a

healing food. The trick is to add more Living Foods to your diet daily.

Fruits, Vegetables , Seeds & Nuts

Be Well,

Lynda

_www.aliveandraw.com_ (http://www.aliveandraw.com)

 

 

 

************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at

http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Miso has a great track record for a healthy food. I

suggest people not worry too much about soy. It is

just another food...not a wonder food and not a

poison.

 

Instead of eating something sparingly, I would

concentrate on whole foods and wide variety.

 

Linda

--- Namaska7 wrote:

 

> I think your right Organic is a cut above non

> organic food. Plus today we

> have to watch for GMO foods.

> The powers that be, seem to have a war on healthy

> choices. Yes, I too have

> read that soy must be eaten sparingly . We all know

> for sure that soy is not a

> healing food. The trick is to add more Living Foods

> to your diet daily.

> Fruits, Vegetables , Seeds & Nuts

> Be Well,

> Lynda

> _www.aliveandraw.com_ (http://www.aliveandraw.com)

>

>

>

> ************************************** Get a sneak

> peek of the all-new AOL at

> http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

 

 

Linda

http://triballife.net/ A Marketplace for a Better World

 

 

 

______________________________\

____

Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Autos new Car Finder

tool.

http://autos./carfinder/

[Guest guest]

One thing to keep in mind with all the anti-soy hype (in addition to the fact

that it is largely fueled by the dairy and other industries, as opposed to

doctors or nutritionists) is that anyone eating the Standard American Diet is

eating significantly more soy that the average vegetarian. Soy is the number 2

ingredient in cow feed after corn (they're naturally grass eaters) and both corn

& soy are heavily featured in prepared foods. It's not just tofu you're looking

for on a label: it's things like soy oil and various isolates. A vegetarian

preparing meals mostly from scratch will have only the soy they consciously put

in.

 

Also, anyone who tells you that Asians don't eat as much soy as we Americans

think, is wrong. That's the counter-argument when a vegetarian points out the

better health in countries where tofu, etc. originated from. They try to say

that the average intake of soy in China, Japan, etc. is something like one ounce

a day. It's simply not true. There are soy products in much of the food. Even

omnivores are eating a lot of it on a regular basis.

 

Liz

 

 

[Guest guest]

I like organic dairy to avoid the massive amounts of antibiotics in

non-dairy. But I also thought the organic milk might practice more

ethical treatment of the cows. Does anyone know if this is true?

 

On Jul 22, 2007, at 7:31 AM, Namaska7 wrote:

 

> I think your right Organic is a cut above non organic food. Plus

> today we

> have to watch for GMO foods.

> The powers that be, seem to have a war on healthy choices. Yes, I

> too have

> read that soy must be eaten sparingly . We all know for sure that

> soy is not a

> healing food. The trick is to add more Living Foods to your diet

> daily.

> Fruits, Vegetables , Seeds & Nuts

> Be Well,

> Lynda

> _www.aliveandraw.com_ (http://www.aliveandraw.com)

>

> ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-

> new AOL at

> http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

>

>

[Guest guest]

Oh, I didn't know all that! Thanks for taking the time to tell me

these things. I really appreciate you guys tolerating my uninformed

questions. I've told the kids that I'm really proud of their

standing by their decision to not eat meat, and that I will start

joining them in some vegetarian meals, but that they must be willing

to eat some rice and beans and other healthy vegetarian meals, not

just PB and honey.

 

Tonight we are going to try shish kabobs on the grill, with tofu

chucks, pineapple... one kid will probably like tomatoes, but I don't

know if either would like the zucchini, mushrooms, etc. suggested in

the recipe. Does anyone have any other ideas what might go on shish

kabobs for kids? (They are asking for waffles!!!) I also found a

recipe for a peanut dipping sauce made with PB and honey with a bit

of OJ and lemon juice. Since they like hummus, and they like PB, I

thought they might like this. Giving them the usual dipping sauce

(honey mustard, ranch, etc) no longer works to get them to eat

veggies. I was going to put it in a Little Dipper crock pot too,

for the novelty.

 

Oh... and the recipe says the tofu should be pre-cooked. Does that

mean I should cook it in a skillet or something, before the kids put

it on the stick?

 

-Kara

 

On Jul 22, 2007, at 12:38 PM, ERB wrote:

 

> One thing to keep in mind with all the anti-soy hype (in addition

> to the fact that it is largely fueled by the dairy and other

> industries, as opposed to doctors or nutritionists) is that anyone

> eating the Standard American Diet is eating significantly more soy

> that the average vegetarian. Soy is the number 2 ingredient in cow

> feed after corn (they're naturally grass eaters) and both corn &

> soy are heavily featured in prepared foods. It's not just tofu

> you're looking for on a label: it's things like soy oil and various

> isolates. A vegetarian preparing meals mostly from scratch will

> have only the soy they consciously put in.

>

> Also, anyone who tells you that Asians don't eat as much soy as we

> Americans think, is wrong. That's the counter-argument when a

> vegetarian points out the better health in countries where tofu,

> etc. originated from. They try to say that the average intake of

> soy in China, Japan, etc. is something like one ounce a day. It's

> simply not true. There are soy products in much of the food. Even

> omnivores are eating a lot of it on a regular basis.

>

> Liz

>

>

[Guest guest]

sweet onions on the grill are so delish! Kids also like corn and sweet

potatoes. My daughter is a broccoli fanatic.

 

Take the kids to a farmers market or the grocery store and let them each pick

a veggie. Go to the library and get a good kids cookbook (I love the Moosewood)

and let them pick recipes. When the kids participate in the choices a

preparation of the food, they are much more likely to eat it.

Kara Keeter <karakeeter wrote:

Oh, I didn't know all that! Thanks for taking the time to tell me

these things. I really appreciate you guys tolerating my uninformed

questions. I've told the kids that I'm really proud of their

standing by their decision to not eat meat, and that I will start

joining them in some vegetarian meals, but that they must be willing

to eat some rice and beans and other healthy vegetarian meals, not

just PB and honey.

 

Tonight we are going to try shish kabobs on the grill, with tofu

chucks, pineapple... one kid will probably like tomatoes, but I don't

know if either would like the zucchini, mushrooms, etc. suggested in

the recipe. Does anyone have any other ideas what might go on shish

kabobs for kids? (They are asking for waffles!!!) I also found a

recipe for a peanut dipping sauce made with PB and honey with a bit

of OJ and lemon juice. Since they like hummus, and they like PB, I

thought they might like this. Giving them the usual dipping sauce

(honey mustard, ranch, etc) no longer works to get them to eat

veggies. I was going to put it in a Little Dipper crock pot too,

for the novelty.

 

Oh... and the recipe says the tofu should be pre-cooked. Does that

mean I should cook it in a skillet or something, before the kids put

it on the stick?

 

-Kara

 

On Jul 22, 2007, at 12:38 PM, ERB wrote:

 

> One thing to keep in mind with all the anti-soy hype (in addition

> to the fact that it is largely fueled by the dairy and other

> industries, as opposed to doctors or nutritionists) is that anyone

> eating the Standard American Diet is eating significantly more soy

> that the average vegetarian. Soy is the number 2 ingredient in cow

> feed after corn (they're naturally grass eaters) and both corn &

> soy are heavily featured in prepared foods. It's not just tofu

> you're looking for on a label: it's things like soy oil and various

> isolates. A vegetarian preparing meals mostly from scratch will

> have only the soy they consciously put in.

>

> Also, anyone who tells you that Asians don't eat as much soy as we

> Americans think, is wrong. That's the counter-argument when a

> vegetarian points out the better health in countries where tofu,

> etc. originated from. They try to say that the average intake of

> soy in China, Japan, etc. is something like one ounce a day. It's

> simply not true. There are soy products in much of the food. Even

> omnivores are eating a lot of it on a regular basis.

>

> Liz

>

>