Deep Dive: Organic
This article is long-overdue. One of the most common questions we receive from followers is “what does organic really mean?” or “is organic worth the price tag?” In this deep dive on organic certification, we’ll try our best to answer these questions and share as much as we know about the ongoing debate between buying organic or sticking to conventional.
In this piece we will keep things pretty general with averages and shy away from getting into nitty gritty scientific details of specific practices. We do this with the assumption that things like application rates of specific chemicals, emissions, and soil degradation vary widely depending on location, soil type, farmer, crops grown etc. and that this article can be more of a “thought guide” in how to consider all the issues tied up in organics. I come to this work with Grounded Grub from a background in plant science, soil science and agroecology research, but I still may have missed something, so if you have further questions or comments, know that you can always contact us.
The USDA Certified Organic label.
When you walk into a store and see the iconic green USDA Organic label on produce, you can make a few assumptions about it: it’s non-GMO, it doesn’t use certain types of really harsh chemicals for fertilization and pest-control, there’s no sewer sludge applied during cultivation, and it’s certified by the USDA. This means that they are produced using pesticides and fertilizers that are safer for humans and animals, farmers are more likely to use practices like compost to build soil health and encourage beneficial insects on their farms.
We took a stab at food labels in one of our earliest articles. You can read here about how there are different levels of organic labeling when it comes to processed foods (hint: “made with organic ingredients” is not the same as “organic”). In that same article, we also addressed how “natural” means nothing in our current age of greenwashing. A friend of mine always jokes about how “Marketing is on the front and the truth is on the back.” Even if something is advertised as natural or healthy, it could have a lot of extra preservatives or other ingredients that you’re not interested in eating. The biggest strength in organic certification is that “organic” and the USDA label is a regulated term which means that because farmers and producers must be certified, you can guarantee that produce and livestock grew up under certain conditions. This knowledge can be empowering for consumers in a world of confusing labeling.
Why would you want to avoid the use of harsh chemicals on the food you’re buying?
First, if you’re here on Grounded Grub you likely care about the environment and the implications that growth in the organic market has on the environment. By buying organic you are promoting organic practices both in the food that you just purchased, but also by slowly shifting market trends so more organic food is produced in the future.
Reducing chemical inputs on the land reduces how much of these chemicals enter ecosystems. While there are often barriers planted to reduce runoff and chemicals blowing off the farm, there is a wide body of evidence that pesticides and herbicides used in conventional agriculture have disastrous effects on ecosystems, and the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers leads to eutrophication in waterways. Farmers can be part of the solution rather than the problem by adopting more sustainable and thoughtful application practices. Farmers using integrated pest management (IPM) practices can encourage natural insect predators to reduce their pest pressure and foster agroecology practices, which use natural ecological cycles to create a productive growing environment.
Organic practices build soil health in a way that conventional doesn’t need to because conventional farming can rely on chemicals to make up for the nutrients the soil lacks. Rather than rebuilding nutrients in soil with compost and tillage-reduction, conventional farmers can apply chemicals to get nutrients to their plants. There are many conventional farmers that do see the value of compost and soil health, but there are many that use chemicals as a crutch. Soil is the heart and soul of our earth and truly supports life. Prioritizing soil health is the most important thing for farmers to do to ensure a sustainable and regenerative future for food production and life on earth.
In terms of land-use for farming, many comparisons of organic and conventional lead to the conclusion that conventional has higher yields. Yield per acre is important when considering the environmental impacts of agriculture because increasing efficiency on farmland reduces sprawl and natural area degradation from farming. But these comparisons are often done within a monoculture context and if you can look beyond those side-by-side comparisons and consider intercropping and other more progressive forms of agriculture.
This New York Times article does a great job of comparing the environmental implications of organic vs. conventional. If you’d like to read more about this debate in another highly digestible format you can do so here.
There is a controversial list called “The Dirty Dozen” which uses USDA data on pesticide application to indicate which products one should buy organic based on the assumption that more pesticide application means more chemicals in our bodies when we eat them. Strawberries, spinach and other greens usually top this list. While there isn’t a lot of research about how the application rate directly affects how much chemical is in the food you’re eating, there are many who choose organic for the health implications. While I’m not an expert nutritionist, not having food coated in chemicals at any point in the growth cycle is definitely appealing to me. For this reason, many people prioritize buying organic for crops where they eat the leaves or the skin (like strawberries and greens) and will sometimes buy conventional for foods that they peel (like oranges).
Another benefit of chemical reduction is that it creates a safer work environment for farmers and farmworkers. Pesticides are dangerous for those that live and work on farms (the EPA has an entire program dedicated to pesticide safety) and reducing the amount of chemicals used keeps these essential workers safer. That being said, to be clear, organic still uses chemicals, and “organic” does not mean “chemical-free.” In fact organic certification permits the use of chemicals on crops that still have long “re-entry intervals,” which is how long before it is permitted for humans to re-enter an area sprayed with pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. This means that even chemicals allowed under organic certification can be toxic enough that no one is allowed back on the field for up to 24 hours or more. Because of this there is a lot of debate within the organic community about making a higher level certification for farmers that really don’t use any chemicals at all, and then there are others that are trying to loosen regulations on organic to include more chemicals.
If you go to your local farmers market, there may be farmers there who grow using sustainable practices, but can’t afford to certify through the USDA. Some of these farmers “practically grow organic” and only use chemicals when under lots of pest pressure, while others may even “go beyond organic” but simply don’t have the means to pay for the certification. While the certification is nice for consistency for consumers, it’s expensive for farmers to apply for and it takes a lot of farmer’s time to do the record keeping. If you have the time to talk to your farmers about their practices, you may learn more than just a label will ever tell you.
Okay enough! Just tell me what type of produce I should buy!
Alright so if you made it this far, congratulations you really care about what is behind your food. You want our opinion? Organic is worth the price tag, when you are able. But large scale organic still continues to promote monoculture crop production and when possible opting for purchasing from smaller, local producers will be of most benefit to the environment and the vitality of your local food system.
Resources:
