Does eating organic really matter?
This is a question that should always be asked to the world at large, in an emphatic and thespian style…but not for jest.
This is a question whose answer has everything and nothing to do with how these foods will affect your health.
In some ways, this question is asking you to pick a way of growing things that benefits your health and does not harm the earth…instead of picking a method that creates massive amounts of soil erosion, pollutes our water with nitrogen creating hypoxic dead zones, increases antibiotic resistance, treats animals inhumanely (is that any oxymoron?), promotes the use of fossil fuels, and uses pesticides on our foods that have been shown to cause neural damage and so much more.
So you see, the question of eating organic is one centered around the idea of health, but not specifically yours or mine. Alright, so I know that’s a lot to swallow (watch out, puns on the loose), but if you’re already feeling choked up, you’d better start chewing fast!
Let’s play the game: compare and contrast.
SOIL and WATER
Organic methods use compost (naturally broken down plant matter that has been decomposing) as a fertilizer and soil amendment, increasing the amount of nutrients and humus (stable organic matter which will decompose no further). This creates an environment rich in minerals, nitrogen, and organisms, which allow plants (AKA our food) to put down stable root systems and obtain all the nutrients, water, sustenance, and stability they need.
Organic methods also generally use no- or minimal-till methods, allowing the rich topsoil to grow in depth, leaving the microorganisms and mycelia and their homes intact and ready to rumble come the next planting season. Little or no erosion is created with organic methods.
Conventional (non organic) methods use pesticides and fertilizers, many of which are toxic to humans (you may remember the days of DDT, which is no longer used). These spray chemicals destroy microbial life in the soil, create an overabundance of nitrogen in the ground, and can be harmful to humans upon consumption or exposure.
Conventional methods are based on large amounts of soil tillage, further destroying topsoil and microbial life, disrupting the stability of the soil, and creating precarious conditions for plants to put down roots. Because the soil is so unstable, irrigation and rain create enormous amounts of erosion (literally TONS per acre, check out The Land Institute’s current studies). This does not simply mean our water gets a bit murky. When you’ve over-nitrogenized soil that can’t stand up on its own two feet and then add a deluge of liquid love (that’s water), you end up with creeks, streams, rivers, and oceans (yeah, that’s right, oceans!) full of chemicals (not to mention any topsoil and micronutrients that managed to create a life in this soil).
If these fertilizers were simply gummy bears and lemon drops, it might be a different story (perhaps fish would develop diabetes), but water enhanced with nitrogen has created hypoxic (that is, without or with little oxygen) zones, AKA dead zones. These are areas where no flora or fauna can live and thrive (only algae), no voluptuous green leaves, no fishies, no shrimpees, no nuthin! And we’re not talking little pocket ponds here and there.
The Gulf of Mexico houses a dead zone that is the size of the state of New Jersey! It’s no Texas, but seriously! All the fertilizer run-off that feeds into the Mississippi River and deposits itself there into the ocean is killing off the aqua inhabitants we’ve come to love in our gumbo and jambalaya, not to mention the more far-reaching effects…but this paragraph is too long already.
And it’s not just the Gulf of Mexico; there are dead zones up and down the Atlantic coast of the US, in greater density than anywhere else on earth. And a few on Oregon’s coast as well! Industrial agriculture is responsible not only for 70% of the world’s fresh water usage, but also for 75% of the water quality issues (that stat is in the US).
AMINALS (that’s right, you heard me)
Organic methods allow livestock to roam around freely, eating the grasses and natural growings of the ground. Additionally, they are fed organic grains and feed and allowed to copulate and procreate the way we all think of it (only with four legs each). Generally, the animals are used for multiple purposes, such as meat, milk, and wool or skins. One day I’ll have an epic goat coat, surely I will.
Conventional methods, oy…here we go. Don’t worry, the 7th inning stretch is to follow.
So conventional methods utilize non-organic GMO encumbered (not even opening that can of worms for now) corn/soy based feed. Now, it’s not that cows (and chickens and sheep) hate corn or that they are force-fed each kernel and not allowed to chew. However, for ruminants like cows, corn has created a menagerie of problems (I use the word ‘menagerie’ because it lends a nicer hue to the picture I’m about to paint).
Cows are supposed to eat grass. When cows eat grass, half digest it in their first stomach, puke it up, chew it some more, swallow again, and then continue to digest it through the rest of their system, they stay healthy. When they are fed corn, their stomachs become acidic and their organs begin to fail. This change in the pH of cows’ stomachs not only harms the cows themselves, but also makes them (and therefore us) more susceptible to e.coli infection. Cows, unlike us, have stomachs that are made to destroy e.coli, how convenient! But, the increased acidic level that corn feed creates in a cow’s stomach is a breeding ground for this dangerous meat monopolizer!
Additionally, cows that roamed the grassy hills freely would be unlikely to come across escherichia coli. But, cows that are raised in CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) are in close contact not only with each other, but also with each other’s droppings. That’s right, pooo.
As you can imagine, these CAFOs are a breeding ground for bacteria; germs like nothing more than to wallow in shit and be able to jump from host to host with ease. And since the cows are already immune compromised, their job is easy! Except those darn humans have realized that they can use antibiotics to prevent outbreaks among their cattle. Only, waiting until an outbreak occurs means it’s too late and all the cows could be compromised. So, antibiotics are used preventatively. Doesn’t sound so bad, right?
Too bad the germs that like to inhabit cows are just as smart as the ones that like humans and will just as easily and readily develop antibiotic resistances, making our miracle drugs potentially worthless. Well, shit.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in the meat freezer.
FOSSIL FUELS
This is where it gets a little tricky, but we’ll address that part a touch later.
Organic methods use less large farm equipment (all of which runs on gasoline). They may use cars to transport their produce to farmers’ markets and local grocers.
Conventional methods dust their fields with fossil fuels. The fertilizers used are made of natural gas and the pesticides are oil derivatives. This was all sparked during the Green Revolution after WWII (ironic title, right?), when the government needed to find a new outlet for its nitrogen production centers (previously used for explosives, now new and improved for plant growth!).
Additionally, 1/3 of the gas used in the US is for the transportation of food! I’m sure this applies to both conventional and organic. Though we think of organic as being local, this is no longer a safe assumption (unless you know your farmer). Organic has become a big industry and there are many large scale organic farms out there shipping their lettuce, dairy, and apples across this country and intercontinentally! Check your apples, are they from New Hampshire, New Zealand, Neptune?
HEALTH and the actual eating of things
Organic produce has been proven in experiments time and again to hold more vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants, polyphenols, flavonols, and other good for you stuff than food from current conventional methods of agriculture. Also, eating organic produce and dairy means exposing yourself and your family to fewer pesticides and chemicals, which are used in conventional agricultural practices. Many of these petrochemicals have been shown to affect, most pronouncedly, the neural structures and development of children. Eating organic meat is less fatty, less likely to harbor e.coli, and won’t be full of antibiotics, nor is it made primarily of corn, as are most food products these days (see Food for Thought Part One).
As an added bonus, a cherry atop your organic ice cream sundae, it never hurts that when you eat organic food, you can take heart in the fact that the food you are consuming is not harming the earth. Plus it tastes good.
One last tiny tidbit; it’s the bottom of the 9th inning, but don’t leave early to avoid traffic.
The label of organic has gotten complicated. Back in the good ole days, it was assumed that organic was small and diversified and composting and local and humane. However, in 1990, the USDA decided it needed to regulate and substantiate these claims in the supermarket. Because the process of becoming certified is expensive and can be complicated, many organic growers have not applied for this official title.
Because organic foods have become an increasingly lucrative market, many producers have increased in scale and size, using bigger farm equipment, less diversity, increased tillage, and long distance shipping. Although still using USDA certified organic practices, this shift of bigger farms away from some of the original tenets of organic practice has disenchanted many traditional organic farmers with the term ‘organic.’
So unless you really do your research, it’s hard to say exactly how your apple, corn, or cow was raised. This is not to say that the label of ‘organic’ is not to be trusted. You will never find GMOs (genetically modified organisms) or pesticides in your organic food. But add a grain of sea salt to that organic yogurt, for though its milk-maidens may eat organic feed, it may still be corn and they may roam less freely than the pastoral vision conjured in your head.
That said (and it was a mouthful), you can see how the question of organic purchase is not one solely based on selfish ideas of health, nutrition, and flavor. It is a choice in supporting practices that are NOT destroying our earth and the possibility of our continued existence on it.
Does organic really matter? I vote yes.
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