Andrew Siegel, M.D. Blog #57
The word organic is frequently bandied about. It has many different meanings and connotations, and for this reason, its precise definition can be confusing. My goal is to help sort this out so that a nuanced understanding of the term can be appreciated.
Nicholas Kristof, in the New York Times (April 4, 2012), reported on Big Agriculture’s use of drugs in poultry: chickens are medicated with caffeine to keep them awake so that they spend more time eating; benadryl, tylenol and prozac to reduce the stress of their industrial farming existence; the antibiotic Ciprofloxin because of contaminated factory farming conditions; and arsenic to reduce infections and make their flesh an appetizing shade of pink. In a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times (May 3, 2012), he reported on how widely used herbicides not only feminize male animals in the wild, but in humans have been linked to breast cancer, infertility, low sperm counts, genital deformities, early menstruation, diabetes and obesity. It would seem like there are some very compelling reasons to go organic! The organic movement is gaining momentum, in part fueled by reports like that by Mr. Kristof. Most of us have the perception that organic means healthier, safer for us, better for the environment and is a more ethical approach to farming and livestock than conventional methods.
In the aforementioned context, organic refers to farm animals that are allowed free range to graze on what the animal would eat naturally as opposed to being fed industrial meal supplemented with hormones, antibiotics and other drugs. It also refers to food grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or other artificial means.
The general definition of organic is “derived from living matter.” All food is thus organic in the sense that the source of all food is living plants and animals. To a chemist, organic is any compound containing carbon. Organic chemistry is devoted to the study of carbon-containing compounds and is or was the bane of many pre-medical students, including yours truly. Organic also refers to the very organs within our body including the kidney, liver, etc. Organic can also mean resembling a living organism in terms of organization with a harmonious relationship between elements that fit together as parts of a whole. Organic can also mean healthful and natural. Organic can denote a cyclical and sustainable system.
Conventional agriculture in the USA uses synthetic chemicals to fertilize the soil and kill off plant predators. More and more of our foods originate from genetically engineered seeds (GMOs—genetically modified organisms). A growing percentage of our food supply is organic in the sense of using totally natural means to fertilize and protect crops from weeds and pests. The organic farmer uses non-genetically engineered plant varieties that are free of synthetic chemicals. For fertilizer, nitrogen sources from animal wastes and composted plants are often used. Organic farming standards are set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered through non-governmental certifiers who do annual inspections. USDA organic contains no antibiotics, hormones, has not been radiated and uses no pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified ingredients or sludge sewage fertilizer.
Some of the principles of organic farming include natural means of fertilizing soil, competitive weed management, and biological pest control. Natural means of soil fortification include use of animal manure, cover cropping, composting, and organic fertilizers. Cover cropping is also known as green manures. Cover crops are planted, grown and worked into the soil instead of being eaten, adding organic matter when they are tilled into the soil. Composting is the decomposition of plant remains and other once-living materials to make a rich, earthy substance that is excellent for enriching soil. Competitive weed management uses physical cultivation, mulches, cover crops, and crop rotation in lieu of chemical herbicides. Biological pest controls are used instead of pesticides. For example, ladybugs are predators of a variety of slow-moving insects including aphids, moth eggs, mites, scales, thrips, leafhoppers, mealy bugs and more, and have been a boon to organic farming.
Organic techniques can be applied to livestock as well. Organic beef originates from a ranch that maintains a documented record of breeding history and veterinary care rendered to its cattle. The cows do not receive hormones or antibiotics, are fed organic grains and grasses, have unrestricted outdoor access, and are treated in a humane fashion. All of this seems totally on the up and up and makes organic seem like the obvious, natural choice in terms of being kind to our bodies, our animal friends and our planet. Right?
Take nobody’s word for it… is organic really organic, or is it mere semantics? Are organic livestock pasture-based? Prior to June 2010, at which time more stringent rules went into effect, the requirement for organic dairy producers was the following: organically raised livestock had to have access to pasture. Theoretically, this might mean that a farmer permitted his cattle pasture time for 10 minutes each day. This was a loophole allowing some dairies to feed their animals almost exclusively a diet of grain feeds. The newer regulations state that cows must graze on pasture for a major portion of the grazing season—a minimum of 120 days mandated by law—and must get at least 30% of their food from pasture during the grazing period. These new rules also apply to beef cattle, with the exception that the 30% requirement is suspended during the 4-month period immediately prior to slaughter when the animals are fattened up, another disturbing loophole in the quest for truly grass-fed cows.
Like Big Tobacco, Big Food also uses many deceptive descriptors including: “fortified,” “lite,” “multi-grain,” “all natural” as well as “organic”—they sound great for our health, but really are just words without substance. The term “all natural” resonates nicely but is meaningless—many things are all natural including snake venom and malignant melanoma. “Multi-grain” conjures up images of a mélange of farm-fresh healthy grains, but in reality translates to made from more than one grain, all of which may be highly processed. “Organic” is a powerful and alluring “halo” term that evokes thoughts of food grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, growth hormones, antibiotics or pesticides. However, understand for example, that when I walk my English spaniel to do his “business,” he leaves a large, steaming pile of organic material on the ground!
The following is a label taken from a box of “organic” cookies:
NEWMAN-O’s
Product Description: Crème filled wafer cookie
13-ounce package
Ingredients:
Original:
Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour, Organic Powdered Sugar (Organic Sugar, Organic Corn Starch), Organic Sugar, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Canola Oil (Expeller Pressed), Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Unsweetened Chocolate, Salt, Natural Flavor, Sodium Bicarbonate (leavening), Soy Lecithin (an emulsifier).
Notice that all of the main ingredients carry the organic label. It’s organic, so it must be good for us, huh? Wrong! In the famous words of Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition at New York University: “Organic junk food is still junk food.”
The first ingredient, unbleached wheat flour, is a refined grain stripped of bran and fiber and is not so healthy. The second ingredient, powdered sugar, like all sugars is not beneficial to our health. The third ingredient, sugar, ditto. The “un-bundling” of the two sugar components as opposed to using one sugar product is a deceitful practice that is a means of removing sugar as the first listed, predominant ingredient. If sugar was the first and predominant ingredient, manufacturers know it would be less likely that concerned consumers would buy it. The fourth ingredient, palm oil, arguably is a very saturated and not a particularly healthy fat, even though it is a plant-origin fat.
Collectively, our species has been rather unkind to Mother Earth. Our power plants, vehicles, refineries and industrial facilities have spewed horrific exhaust gases, smoke and byproducts of coal combustion into our air. We have dumped billions of tons of industrial effluents, mining and agricultural wastes and raw sewage into our rivers and oceans. We have polluted our soils with chemicals from herbicides and pesticides and have overfilled landfills with garbage and toxic materials. Our civilization has stripped the earth, mined it, burned it, consumed its natural resources, deforested it, emitted into it. . .we have raped and pillaged and destroyed much of it. We have paved over large swathes of the earth in an effort to urbanize and industrialize the land and are now at the point where there is much less of anything clean and natural left.
What goes around, comes around, i.e., cosmic karma—for years we have polluted the air, water and soil of the earth and are now paying dearly for it. Our ecosystem is organic in the sense that it involves multiple elements that need to fit together as parts of a whole in a harmonious relationship, and we have deviated far away from such harmony. As “organic” as we strive to be, we still cannot neutralize the air, water and soil pollution that affects the very plants and animals that are cultivated for food on our planet.
The bottom line is that although eating “organic” confers numerous potential advantages to the individual and the environment, it offers no guarantee of more nutritious, safer or healthier food consumption. Organic foods have become big business and major agribusiness corporations produce much of the organic food supply of the USA. Although organic farming and livestock production protect our lands from the ravages of conventional agriculture and safeguard workers from hazardous chemical exposure, “organic” does not carry the cachet that many accord it. That stated, as opposed to what the conventional industrial food complex has to offer us, organic foods do offer us a somewhat better, albeit more expensive alternative. After reading articles like the ones written by Nicholas Kristof, one feels compelled to head in the organic direction. Just head there with your eyes wide open!
Andrew Siegel, M.D.
Author of Promiscuous Eating: Understanding and Ending Our Self-Destructive Relationship with Food
Available on Amazon Kindle
