U.S. Organics: What You Should Know

Several weeks ago, I was listening to my favorite NPR show, a food show called "The Splendid Table," hosted by Lynne Rosetta Kasper. The featured guest was talking about a variety of culinary delights that can be made from eggs, and the topic turned to egg varieties such as duck, chicken, and even quail. Somewhere between duck and chicken eggs, the guest mentioned that she liked to purchase and use organic eggs. She went on to say that she did so because she appreciated that the chickens were treated better. I actually had to go back and listen to it again and make sure I'd heard her correctly. When Lynne did not correct her, I was even more appalled. This is when it really hit home how few people actually have any idea what they are paying for, or what they are really getting, when they purchase "organic" foods.

I'd heard this idea of organic meaning "better animal treatment" before, but didn't realize how widespread this serious misconception had become. Hearing it on an incredibly popular weekly national radio show that specializes in food hit home, and made me realize it was time to be more active in clearing up the misconceptions that have arisen about "organic" since it was legislated and adopted by large, corporate farms.

The term "organic" was legislated in the 1900 Farm Bill, though it had been in use regularly in the US since sometime in the 1940s as a reaction to the development and use of herbicides and pesticides. Today the term "Organic" covers the use of GMO products, pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics on meat animals and produce. That's all it covers. Today's standards of organic do not, contrary to public conception fostered by large ad campaigns, cover animal treatment or rights to any greater degree than non-organic standards. In fact, if you're purchasing organic meats and produce at the store, they were almost certainly raised in exactly the same fashion as all the other conventional items sitting next to them except for the food and fertilizers or hormones they are given. To go a step further, the majority of these organic products, meat included, were produced on exactly the same farms in a method called "dual production," which means that organic and conventional items are raised practically next to each other. For animals, this means the only differences between "conventional" and "organic" is the feed, growth hormones, or antibiotics. Space constraint, de-beaking, force feeding, and other standard practices are used equally often on organic and conventional animals.

Another common conception about "organic" farms is that their product is tested regularly to make sure it adheres to the organic guidelines. This is simply not true. Products receive only the testing all products receive, which is almost non-existent for produce and limited to disease and age testing for most meats. Certifying agencies acting as a proxy for the USDA certify farms as "organic," and these agencies have no authority to test products. The Organic certification process at no time entails any kind of additional product testing to determine whether a product has been contaminated with chemicals or hormones, instead relying on receipts, affidavits, farm logs, a farm visit, and growing plans to determine fitness for certification. Once the farm is certified, it may be audited; but, again, no additional physical testing will be enacted. They will review the above-mentioned items and look around to see if any banned substances are physically present on the property. If your paperwork is in order and the farm tour doesn't turn up any banned substances, your certificate is renewed. This only comes up if a farm is audited. After initial certification, most farms are re-certified by mail.

The legislation for the term "organic" was written with large corporations in mind, not with the local farmer who coined the term. The cost of certifying ranges depending on the types of crop or animal, where you're located, and how many fields or animals you have. Farms have to pay for an auditor, along with all the auditors expenses including food, lodging, and travel. Depending on which proxy agency you use and where you're located, the fees for certification can run well over $5,000 a year. For smaller farms, this type of annual fee simply isn't reasonable, and so they are not certified even though they may be meeting or even exceeding the organic standards.

The question is whether what you are actually getting at the store is worth what you are paying? Only you can answer that question, but it's important that we, as consumers, have the facts so we can make those decisions for ourselves and our families.

Do I think organic foods are worth the price? Much of the time, yes. Organics are, to varying degrees, better for the environment than conventional items because they cut down on chemical use. While the USDA will not state that organics are better for consumption, I'll go out on a limb here and say that less chemicals in our bodies is probably a good thing, too. I buy a lot of certified organics; but, I purchase far more of my items from local farms whenever possible. Some of these farms are certified, some are not. Either way, I can see how the products are raised, I can ask questions, and I can taste the difference.

Knowing what I am eating, that's worth my money.

Citations:

Lynn Rosetta Casper, "The Splendid Table Podcast," American Public Media and Public Radio International. http://www.npr.org/

Mary V. Gold, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center. USDA National Agriculture Library. http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/

US Organic Standards. US Organic Trade Association. http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/ofp/ofp.shtml

Organic Certification. Quality Certification Services. http://www.qcsinfo.org/organiccert.htm

National Organic Program Certifying Agencies. USDA Agricultural Marketing Services. http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateJ&navID=NationalOrganicProgram&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOPACAs&description=USDA%20Accredited%20Certifying%20Agents&acct=nopgeninfo