A Shopper's Guide to Organics
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By Vukovic, Laurel
organic directory It's a clear sign that organic has gone mainstream when retail behemoths such as Wal-Mart and Target stock organic food alongside their conventional offerings. Even McDonald's- the target of the scathing documentary Super Size Me-now offers organic coffee in some of its New England locations.
There's no question that organics have come a long way since the early 1970s, when grassroots food co-ops stocked barrels of self- serve organic beans and grains for a hippie clientele. Since then, the cornucopia of organic offerings has mushroomed to include a wide variety of gourmet and prepared foods, beer and wine, baby food, pet food, supplements, skin and body care products, clothing, and home and garden products. It's clear that going organic is a growing trend, but is it really a better choice?
Reasons to Go Organic
On a personal level, choosing organic foods and products protects you from pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and other chemicals that are commonly used in conventional food production. Many of these chemicals have been linked to cancer, immune suppression, and other degenerative diseases.
In a study published in the October 2002 issue of Enwronmental Health Perspectives, University of Washington researchers compared pesticide residues in children aged 2 to 5 years old. The children who consumed mostly organic foods over a three-day period had dramatically lower levels of compounds produced by the metabolism of organophosphate insecticides (commonly used on fruits and vegetables) in their urine tli.ni children eating a conventional diet. In fact, the children eating a conventional diet averaged almost nine times the amount of pesticides as children eating organic foods. The researchers concluded that choosing organic produce is a simple dietary solution for parents to take to help reduce pesticide exposure in their children.
On a larger scale, you're helping to prevent the destruction of the environment caused by toxic chemicals used in agriculture and manufacturing. Mere's one example: Synthetic fertilizer runoff from agricultural crops is a primary contributor to dead zones in the ocean-areas overtaken by fertilizer-fed algae that deplete oxygen in the water and suffocate fish and other marine life.
Research is proving that organic foods are richer in nutrients too. In a study at Washington State University, scientists found that organic lemonade contains 10 times more eriocitrin (an antioxidant) than conventional lemonade. Organic apple juice, grapefruit juice, and lime juice also proved to be richer in antioxidants than their conventional counterparts.
Organic Skin and Body Care Products
Piggybacking on the popularity of the organic food movement, hundreds of skin and body care products have added "organic" to their labels. Unfortunately, the word is often just marketing hype, and products can contain a long list of chemical and synthetic ingredients. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, hormone disruptors, and neurotoxins.
You might be surprised to learn that what you put onto your body is just as important as what you eat. Research shows that the skin and scalp readily absorb chemicals and toxins. In fact, toxins absorbed through the skin and scalp can be even more harmful than those that are ingested, because they bypass the liver's detoxification process and pass directly into die bloodstream and fat cells.
A few companies have taken the step of registering their products with the USDA's organic-certification program. These products bear the USDA organic sea! and must meet the same stringent guidelines applied to certified-organic foods.
In general, when choosing body care products, look for recognizable ingredients derived from natural sources. Read the labels of products, and become familiar with ingredients to avoid, such as parabens, which some researchers believe are linked to cancer. An excellent resource for checking out the safety of products is the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Data Base.
Defining Organic
As of October 2002, the USDA has strict guidelines for organic foods. To qualify as organic, food must be grown without the use of most conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or sewage sludge, and the land must have been free of these applications for at least three years prior to certification. Genetically modified organisms and irradiation are prohibited. Organically raised livestock must have access to the outdoors, be fed 100 percent- organic feed, and not be treated with antibiotics or hormones. In addition, farmers are required to protect the environment by enriching the soil naturally, conserving water, and practicing crop rotation.
The USDA's certification program is voluntary, and some farmers using organic methods do not pursue certification for a variety of reasons, including cost and paperwork. States can also continue to maintain their own certification programs, but their requirements cannot be less strict than the national guidelines.
However, no food (including imported foods) can claim to be organic unless it meets the strict USDA standards. Organic farms and producers are visited by certifying agents who verify that the farmer is meeting the USDA organic standards.
Fraudulent use of the word organic carries a hefty penalty: Anyone who sells or labels a product as organic when they know it doesn't meet USDA standards faces a fine of up to $10,000 per violation.
How to Identify Organic Foods
Manufacturers are required by law to list all ingredients on food packaging. For a product to be labeled organic, it has to contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients. Products participating in the USDA certification program will have the USDA organic seal, but many other products will simply have the word "organic" on the front of the package.
The USDA also allows products with at least 70 percent, but less than 95 percent organic ingredients to advertise the organic ingredients on the front of the packaging, but they can't call themselves organic. For example, the front of a trail mix package might be labeled "made with organic nuts and raisins." Products with less than 70 percent organic ingredients can list the organic ingredients on the side label, but can't make organic claims on the front of the package.
Creating an Organic Home
The products that you use to clean and care for your home provide yet another avenue for creating a healthful lifestyle. But as with the body care products industry, the consumer must be wary. Manufacturers are well aware of the appeal of organics and can freely label their products as organic or natural with no government regulation.
The majority of household cleaning products contain a soup of potentially harmful chemicals that are linked to serious problems such as birth defects, cancer, and asthma. The Environmental Protection Agency has found that the indoor air quality in the , typical American home is far more toxic than outdoor air-even in polluted cities. Chemical-laden household products bear much of the blame.
Manufacturers looking to jump on the organic bandwagon can throw some essential oil into a chemical product and label it organic. The best approach is to buy products from reputable natural products manufacturers who disclose all ingredients on their labels. Read those labels, and look for recognizable ingredients as baking soda, vinegar, and nonpetroleum-based cleansers. The Women's Voices for the Earth Web site (womenandenvironment .org) contains a wealth of information about how to create a healthy home environment.
TIP: Organic tomatoes are more nutritious than their conventional counterparts, say University of California, Davis, researchers in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Technology. Levels of flavonoids, compounds that help prevent disease, are twice as high in organic tomatoes as in conventionally grown varieties.
TIP: Organics can "be cheaper than other (less healthful) consumer goods. One example: For the cost of a medium coffee-house latte-around $4 in most cities-you can buy three organic bananas, a handful of organic walnuts, and a small organic coffee.
TIP: To avoid synthetic chemicals in your food, choose certified- organic produce. Be sure to talk to farmers at your local farmers' market; they may also use sustainable growing practices, even if they're not certified organic.