The term “organic” has taken a beating lately. From scientific studies questioning the value of organic produce to news reports showing companies don’t always market their products truthfully, the cynical part of our nature is being roused. Even WLT-reading, educated consumers are starting to wonder, is buying organic really worth the higher price?
Talk to the people immersed in the organic lifestyle—small-scale organic farmers, restaurateurs and nonprofit groups—and the answer is a hearty yes, with two recommendations: get informed and act on your new knowledge.
“We need to empower consumers and wholesale buyers so they can vote in the marketplace for food that truly meets expectations and reward the organizations, farms, entrepreneurs and investors who are doing an exemplary job of subscribing to the values the organic movement was founded upon,” says Mark Kastel, an organic hay and beef farmer and co-founder of the organic industry watchdog group, the Cornucopia Institute.
Organic 101
The organic movement began in the 1960s in response to the environmental and health concerns raised by industrial-scale agriculture, as well as the desire for more flavorful meat and produce. Pioneering growers such as Alan Chadwick and restaurateurs like Alice Waters formed networks that brought sustainable products to regional tables. As consumer awareness of toxic chemicals and diseases spread by conventional factory farm practices heightened, the preference for safe food led to a burgeoning of the organic marketplace. By 1990, the movement was mainstream.
Organic farmers approached the federal government seeking national standards so the industry could protect its integrity, resulting in the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. The act set legal definitions for organic certification, production and processing; established the National Organic Program as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and created a 15-member National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to be populated mostly by farmers, environmentalists and consumers to balance against the interests of large corporations that were beginning to jump into the lucrative organic market. The board was granted statutory rights, which means it has regulatory power over organic standards rather than being limited to an advisory role.
The legal requirements for organic certification today are complex and depend on the item (for example, organic beef cattle and bison must be raised on pasture during the grazing season), but generally, organic means organisms that are not genetically modified and are grown free from potentially harmful inputs such as toxic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and hormones, antibiotics, irradiation, and plastic pellet- or animal waste-laden feed. Practices that are often incorporated into organics include composting, cover crops and crop rotation to improve soil fertility; natural pest control; and for animals, quality-of-life protections such as personal space, natural light and free movement.
Corporations All up in Our Agribusiness
The organic segment of the food market has become enormously profitable, growing 12 percent in 2011 alone to generate $12.4 billion, per the Organic Trade Association. The past decade has seen big agribusiness snapping up family farms and independent producer brands so that today many organic brands are consolidated into the portfolios of large corporations—for example, Kellogg controls Kashi, and Dean Foods owns the Horizon and Silk brands. These corporations are held to the strict certification requirements of the NOSB and state-level organic laws, but many of them are trying to relax standards through policy and legislation.
Nonprofit groups have documented how the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in recent years has allowed corporate representatives to fill NOSB positions lawfully reserved for organic farmers. This unethical development, referred to as “stacking,” has shifted NOSB ideology enough to result in potentially dangerous chemicals, such as carrageenan and synthetic omega-3 fatty acids, being approved for use in organic processed foods, including baby formula. As of yet, the NOSB’s “mission creep” away from organic core values has not had an impact on organic produce, but some of the very same corporations represented on the board have donated more than $24 million to fight California’s Prop 37, which would require labeling of any foods containing genetically engineered components (GMOs).
Is Buying Organic Worth It?
Recently a host of news stories have raised questions on the benefits and trustworthiness of certified organic products. A Stanford University study that analyzed data from hundreds of previous studies received global attention by implying there were few nutritional benefits for organic versus conventional goods. It also downplayed or omitted recent research showing the benefits of 81 percent fewer pesticides on organic produce (pesticides are in the groundwater and suspended in winds blowing from neighboring farms, so organics cannot be perfectly pure). Yet according to the studies, reduced exposure to common toxic pesticides used in conventional agriculture likely leads to less neurological system damage, especially for children, and reduced occurrences of many types of cancer.
“There was just no way that truly independent scientists with the expertise required to adequately answer such an important question would ignore the vast and growing body of scientific literature pointing to serious health risks from eating foods produced with synthetic chemicals,” notes Charlotte Vallaeys, director of farm and food policy for the Cornucopia Institute. “So we were not one bit surprised to find that the agribusiness giant Cargill, the world’s largest agricultural business enterprise, and foundations [with] deep ties to agricultural chemical and biotechnology corporations like Monsanto, have donated millions to Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute, where some of the scientists who published this study are affiliates and fellows.”
“Parents don’t want their children to serve as human guinea pigs for chemical corporations,” adds Vallaeys. “For dozens of different types of fruits and vegetables, the USDA has found pesticide residues above the EPA’s threshold for children on conventionally grown samples, but not on organic samples. That alone should be enough reason for every family to consider exclusively purchasing organic foods.”
A recent L.A. Weekly article detailed how produce at area farmers markets is not necessarily certified organic or grown by small farms. Yet it is important to understand how farmers markets operate. A certified farmers market does not mean certified organic; it means that under a state program, all farmers there must display a certified producer’s certificate. So the stalls are a mix of certified-organic and conventionally farmed produce, large farms and small farms.
“Consumers can be confident that [the designation] ‘certified organic’ is legitimate for fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Steve Sprinkel, an organic farmer, Ojai Certified Farmers Market vendor, and co-owner of the Ojai, Calif. farm-to-table restaurant, the Farmer and the Cook.
But Sprinkel is troubled by the truth-stretching from some of his non-organic counterparts at the market. “I see beautiful conventional produce, unblemished. And they say it’s unsprayed, so obviously they have the help of God—angels must be beating their wings over the crops.
“I’ve been doing this for 40 years,” Sprinkel continues. “It’s an important contribution and I get a big charge out of pleasing customers. People really appreciate the opportunity to have authentic food.”
Get Authentic 
• Focus on fresh, organic fruits, vegetables and meat. For these items, you’ll get maximum value.
• Great nutritional benefit is provided by shortening time between farm and table. Shop locally at farmers markets or sign up for a subscription food service (CSA). Ask farmers for proof of organic certification.
• Minimize processed foods. Even when made with organic ingredients, they are still processed and not as healthy as whole foods.
• Research your preferred organic brands to ensure they are highly rated.
• Research Prop 37 and national party stances on farm regulation; vote your informed decisions on November 6.
• Embrace the human-scale benefits of community agriculture by getting to know local organic farmers and chefs.
Organic Resources
Get Informed
• Organic integrity scorecards on the best and worst brands for eggs, cereal, soy, energy bars, meat alternatives, dairy, baby food and baby formula: www.cornucopia.org
• Prop 37 info (GMO labeling): www.carighttoknow.org
• Books: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer & Jim Mason
• Documentaries: Food Fight and Food, Inc.
Buy Local
• Certified farmers’ markets: www.farmernet.com/events/cfms
• Food subscription programs: www.ecovian.com/s/losangeles/csa
• Organic restaurants: www.urbanspoon.com/f/5/37172/LA/organic-restaurants
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