Organic food — high prices, uncertain benefits
By Leslie Patton, Bloomberg
Organic food sales have gone through the roof. It’s no wonder. It’s widely believed that organic foods are more nutritious and safer than non-organic — they’re even said to fight cancer — even though the evidence is far from clear. Consumers have been paying a lot to eat organic; food certified as organic sometimes costs twice as much as conventional products. T
he premium prices may not be buying everything that’s promised.
About three-quarters of grocers in the U.S. sell organic food, including specialty markets, like Sprouts, and mass-market retailers, like Wal-Mart and Target. While that’s only 4 percent of total food sales, demand in the U.S. and Europe is growing. The trend is driven both by rising interest in locally grown food — more than 80 percent of farmers markets sell organic food — and fears about food safety.
Roughly 48 million Americans every year become sick and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases.
To be labeled organic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says food must be grown without synthetic fertilizers and must be free of genetically modified organisms; meat must be raised without antibiotics and growth hormones and the animals must have access to the outdoors. There are similar standards in the European Union and Japan. In China, demand for organic food is skyrocketing after a series of scandals over tainted food has consumers willing to pay double for organic kale and other items.
Until the invention of pesticides, all agriculture was organic.
Nobody in their right mind thinks organic is more nutritious. Eating organic is all about reducing background levels of pesticide toxins and overused antibiotics. It is also a small quality of life gesture to the animals and an overall vision for reducing the toxic pesticide load on the environment.
Thanks to Grocery Outlet for making organic affordable in this town.
To be labeled “Organic” and “Certified Organic” any and all businesses must apply with the USDA, classifying themselves as Producer, Handler and / or Processor, under the NOP (National Organic Program), to ensure that the chain of supply can guarantee purity all the way to the end user. Certification inspections occur annually and are very thorough at establishing proper separation between organically produced and conventionally produced products, which also includes separate and dedicated equipment and tools for each respective category.
The fees at all levels of certification can become quite high, especially for smaller farmers in developing countries.
The labeling title “Organic” has become a viable marketing tool.
As a certified processor and handler since 2002, the program’s inception, I join the community of Certified Organic members, farms and businesses in urging everyone to buy only those products that are properly labeled “Certified Organic…”, which includes the certifying agency, such as CCOF, QAI, or Oregon Tilth, to name the most prevalent of certifying agencies, as the USDA does not perform any verification, field work, or enforcement of violations to the regulations.
Buyers be aware!
I prefer NOT to eat hormone disrupting pesticides and herbicides, so I choose organic for my family. They are better for us and for the planet.
I echo the shout out to Groc Out for stocking organic foods and body care products!
I’ll chime in on Grocery Outlet stocking some organic foods and other organic products. Grass Roots is, and probably always will be the king in that market for naturual foods , and rightly so. They been here the longest because they’ve got the best and with their new store it’s excellent! I still go there and always find neat stuff. Alot of times things I wasn’t even lookin’ for! OLS
I’m just glad other markets are selling more organic stuff as well. Safeway, Raley’s and the others.
More expensive to buy organic? Oh yeah! But in my mind ,if you can afford it,it’s worth it.QLS