The organic food hype

Organic, shmorshmanic, give me a break...

For me the word "organic" conjures up images of a 75-year-old farmer in the Italian countryside, holding a succulent red tomato in his calloused hands with utmost care, inspecting it for bumps and bruises, plucking it and placing it in a woven basket. His wife, an Arianna Francesca Maria Olivieri, middle-aged but likely a former soap opera star back in her prime, carries the basket to the truck and kisses each tomato before it is transported to the local grocery store. The sun sets to the west.

That, my friends, is what I perceive the organic label to represent. Quality. Natural. Bling to the Bling Bling Bling.


 

But what does organic really mean?

Organic foods are grown in such a way that avoids the use of insecticides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and antibiotics/growth hormones, in the case of animals.

In Canada, in order for a food to be sticky-labelled “organic,” the product must contain or use at least 95 percent organic content. Or it gets a “% Organic” label, which is for foods that are between 70–95 percent organic. For anything below these standards, the next best label is pretty much a Sesame Street Band-Aid.


 

Is organic better or healthier?

Organic food has not been shown to be nutritionally healthier, tastier or better quality than their regular counterparts despite the perception. However, the process of growing organic food is supposedly better for the environment because of water and soil conservation as well as a reduction in pollution.


 

The reality…

Just as we can theoretically suppose that a big bowl of Montreal Poutine is good for your skin complexion, let us theoretically suppose it is slightly healthier to eat organic. In order for you to benefit from this healthier diet, you will still need to consistently buy only organic. In order to consistently buy organic, you’ll need a fair bit of extra change.

Organic foods are stupendously more expensive than non-organic foods. Furthermore, to realize the environmental benefits, there needs to be enough demand for the agricultural industry to make the switch to only producing organic veggies and meats. But due to the high cost of organic produce, that demand is currently not sufficient.

There needs to be stronger proof that organic-labelled foods are significantly better before the masses start adopting. For myself, if I were to pay three times the price for free-range organic chicken breast, I’d expect the packaging better come with a photo album of that chicken’s life from the time it was a wee egg to the time it was roaming freely around the farm eating natural grains as justification for my expenditure.


 

The challenge

I am always open to new ideas and this is where I open up the dialogue to you, the readers and, of course, Danielle—who knows much more about the entire organic topic—to explain your point of view on why you choose to eat organic and whether the costs are justified.