Toxic warriors: By choosing organic produce you reduce exposure to contaminants. Picture: thebittenword.com

It’s startling what comes out of the mouths of some health professionals.

A lecturer recently visiting Iowa City spoke of the importance of a healthy diet in preventing illness.

Preston Maring, a doctor with 38 years of medical wisdom under his belt, prescribes healthy, organic eating for his patients, arguing that treating illness is the past.

“Preventing illness is the future of health care,” he said. So far, so good.

The obstetrician and gynecologist even practises what he preaches, introducing a farmer’s market to his California hospital, a model soon copied by about 28 other medical outlets across the nation. Even better. A medical man with vision.

But Cathy Scanlon, a clinical dietitian, isn’t convinced about the value of organic food.  “I don’t think the American Dietetic Association is that big on organic food because we don’t have enough proof that it’s beneficial,” she told The Daily Iowan.

She points to the number of contaminants in our environment. “”We have so many chemicals in our body from the things we cook our food in, like non-stick coating on pans, that it’s pretty hard to get an actual pure food,” she said.

Sorry? Isn’t that a bit like saying “the boat is sinking, but let’s not bail out before it’s too late… we’ve all got to go sometime”? I don’t know about you, but I’d be bailing like hell.

One of the reasons it is so important to eat as much organic food as possible is precisely because there are so many contaminants in the environment. By choosing organic produce that has been grown without the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilisers, we help to turn the tide by:

• Reducing the contaminants that run off into the waterways where we drink, bathe and swim;
• Reducing the contaminants in the soils that feed us;
• Protecting eco-systems whose survival affects the future of this planet.

How can any of this not be beneficial? By encouraging more people to eat healthy organic fare, we encourage more farms to switch to organic farming, which can only have a snowball effect on the health of our environment and our bodies.

Cathy is right. There are so many chemicals we absorb that we can’t control. But rather than see this as an argument against the merits of going organic, the reverse should be true. We need to do our best to reduce the level of chemicals that we can control. Otherwise we simply leave a bigger poisoned chalice for the next generation.

It all starts here: A healthy soil, free of nasty pesticides, is the only way to grow. Picture: Aramanda

For many people reading this, there is nothing alluring about soil, not even the sweet, consistency-of-crumbled-chocolate-cake organic variety. Like a jolly good pair of wellington boots, you can’t sex it up either. The idea of plunging a hand into tilled soil, deeply inhaling its richness and marvelling at the worms that twist about inside it probably has about as much appeal as the prospect of an intimate medical procedure.

So it can come as a surprise to learn that soil – and, more specifically the microscopic life it supports -    still plays a pivotal part in our physical wellbeing.  And now more than ever before, it plays a leading role in the health of the planet.

Subsistence farmers across the globe have probably known intuitively for centuries what a world-first study into organic farming concluded back in the 1940s; that the health of humans, animals and soil are one “indivisible whole” and that biological balance begins and ends with a “truly fertile soil”.

British organic farming stalwart Lady Eve Balfour published the findings in her book, The Living Soil, at a time when agricultural systems worldwide were moving away from the very “back-to-nature” concepts that organic farming espoused, towards high-input, high-yield production.

Her claim that conventional farming worked against, rather than with, natural systems, depleting the fertility of soil and the nutritional complexity and punch of the foods it yields, placed her right out there on the lunatic fringe.  It is a reflection of the changed status of the organic industry worldwide that Balfour and the likes of Prince Charles, once considered an odd and eccentric mascot for the British organic movement, are now widely seen as visionary campaigners in the global push for more sustainable farming.

The organic difference

So what, exactly, is it about organic soil that distinguishes organic produce from mainstream fare? Richard Mee, who runs an organic farm near Leicestershire in the United Kingdom, believes organic farming’s lower yields (production is between about 30 and 60 per cent less than conventional farming) and the “microscopic wildlife” in fertile soils holds the key.

“One theory is that foods grown in organic soil absorb more health-giving trace elements because there are more nutrients available and fewer plants competing for them,” he says.

Higher nutrient levels are the result of a system of crop rotation in which grass and clover lay down the foundations of the soil, introducing the life giving nitrogen that chemical fertilisers mimic. As one organic farmer put it: “Nitrogen from plants harnesses energy from the sun rather than from fossil fuels, which are used in chemical fertilisers.”

The grass and clover is grazed by livestock and nutrients from their waste provide further fuel for the soil, preparing it for planting. A single organic cycle starts with grazing livestock and ends after two to three years of crop growth – a process that takes seven years, with each cycle adding another layer of fertility to the soil.

“Conventional farming may have higher yields but the soil nutrients are diluted because there are more plants taking up the good stuff,” says Richard.

Microscopic organisms in the soil facilitate the plants’ absorption of trace elements but they are adversely affected by chemical sprays and fertilisers, he says. “The wildlife in the soil is what earthworms live on and the earthworms break down the soil, making it easier for plants to absorb the nutrients that are there.”

Soil alive with great bugs

According to the US-based Organic Trade Association, a single teaspoon of compost-rich organic soil can host between 600 million and one billion helpful bacteria from 15,000 species. The chemically treated equivalent can host as few as 100 bacteria.

Richard Mee says chemical fertilisers are deceptive. “These fertilisers promote lush growth but they make the plants much more susceptible to pests and disease. Our organic fields are not as lush but the plants we grow are stronger for it,” he says.

Truly fertile soil is the result of common sense and nature left very much to its own devices.  “It takes thousands of years to build soil up to this point but, unfortunately, only a few years to destroy it.”

According to the OTA, it takes 3000 years to naturally form six inches of topsoil and one inch of that is eroded every 28 years as a result of conventional farming practices. The association states that organic farming can produce the same amount of topsoil in as little as 50 to 60 years.

The idea that soils are complex and variable is illustrated by a single field on Richard Mee’s property, which incorporates three or four different soil types that relate directly to typography. Glacial soils on high ground contrast with low-lying soils that are typically “higher value and more workable”. Soils in valleys and swales emerged from ancient river beds and have higher drought resistance.

“Each soil type has a different degree of drought resistance, a different level of pest resistance built in to it,” he says, pointing out that organic farmers use these differences to their advantage rather than “throwing chemicals” at any shortfalls.

Cheap attitude costs dearly

The global push for higher and higher yields is playing havoc with the natural order of soils. “About 95 per cent of customers in the UK don’t care about the quality of the food they eat – they just care that it is cheap,” Richard says. “They would rather have another holiday in the year than spend their money on organic food – especially during an economic downturn.”

Organic butcher Jason Quittenton, 38, has worked on organic farms since his early teens and credits his unusual good health (he has never had a day off work due to illness) to the clean nature of the food he grows and eats. Raising a rare breed of short-horn cattle and growing his own produce on a farm near Coventry in the UK, he says cattle grown for the mainstream market are like a different species to the traditional breeds he raises for a select clientele.

“We go for quality rather than quantity – our animals grow slowly and we don’t hurry them along with drugs,” he says. “They graze on grass and clover grown in organic soil and you get nutrients from the soil in their meat the same way you get them from cows’ milk.”

Crops lose valuable nutrients

One of the world’s leading experts on soil microbiology, Dr Elaine Ingham, believes data from the United States Department of Agriculture showing a considerable drop in the nutritional quality of food produced in the US since the 1920s reflects modern agricultural practices.

A ten-fold decrease in micronutrients and proteins in commercially grown crops had occurred since inorganic fertilisers and pesticides were introduced, she says. While some argue this has more to do with new varieties of high-yield crops and food warehousing, others are less convinced.

David Younie, a senior organic farming specialist at the Scottish Agricultural College, believes high-yield crops produced today are lower in zinc, potassium, iron, magnesium, selenium and other important nutrients as a direct result of the widespread use of artificial soil fertilisers.

“With artificial fertilisers it is the crop that is being fed rather than the soil so you are only supplying the nutrients that are in the fertiliser and you are also creating an imbalance in the nutrient content of the harvested crop. The higher the yield of the crop, the lower the nutrients – there will be a deficiency one way or another.”

Fresh start: The closer your food is to nature the better for you and the planet. Picture: Ekaterina Starshaya

Organic is one of the buzz words of the moment, right up there with global warming and carbon offsetting.

Only a few years ago it probably only registered with those who really understood the meaning. Now the word is everywhere. It’s used to sell clothing, cosmetics, baby gear and gardening products.

And food. The global organic food market alone grew by 10.9 percent in 2007, reaching $43.5 billion, a figure tipped to jump more than 53 percent by 2012 to more than $66 billion. Wander up and down the aisle of any supermarket and there will be labels aplenty boasting their organic credentials. Nary a grocer exists without an organic section, usually much more expensive than regular fare.

If you’ve already discovered the pleasures of organic consumption, you’re probably au fait with what it really means – and why it’s a healthy, wholesome and, let’s not forget, tasty choice for you and your family.

If you haven’t bought organic food before, you may have looked at those labels in passing and wondered why there were so many different ones. Or picked up and examined the vegetables and tried to work out why they cost that bit more than the potatoes or cauliflower on the other side of the table.

What does organic mean?
To help you take those first steps down the organic path, there are a few things worth knowing. Well, more than a few, but we’ve all got to start somewhere…

Organic literally means “of, related to, or derived from living organisms”. Organic food is food grown and prepared organically, that is without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or fertilisers.

Crops must be grown on land that has not been exposed to synthetic chemicals for at least three years, and they cannot be sprayed with pesticides to kill bugs or weeds, either. When the food is processed, such as turned into jam or chutney, artificial additives and preservatives can not be added.

Animals must be fed only on organically grown crops or pasture, can not be given growth hormones, and can only be treated with limited medicines. They must be allowed to graze or forage naturally, the antithesis of factory farming where animals are typically caged or housed for long periods without natural light or air.

Why does all this matter?
Well, the main reason is quite simple really. What goes on those crops and what is fed to those animals eventually finds its way to you, via breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Eggs on toast take on a whole new meaning once you know that the eggs came from caged chickens piled one on top of one another for months on end and fed growth hormones to fatten them up. And the toast? For starters, the wheat used to make the bread has been grown in fields regularly sprayed with pesticides to fight bugs, herbicides to keep weeds away and synthetic fertilisers to help it grow. Let’s not even start on how it is stored post harvest.

Then there’s the taste.
While arguments continue about whether organic actually tastes better or not, few people who have made the switch will go back. The proof is in the pudding, or breakfast. Why not buy a few organic eggs and an organic loaf of bread and try it yourself (add some organic bacon or a touch of organic ketchup for good measure).

Taste is surely tied up with the level of goodies, or nutrients, in any given food. A 2006 study comparing USDA data from 1950 and 1999 found a decline in nutrient levels in the 43 fruit and vegetable crops measured. The University of Texas study found six out of 13 nutrients, including iron and calcium, had declined, some up to 16 percent, over the period. A British study comparing the mineral content of fruit and vegetables from 1930 and 1980 turned up similar results.

Your grandmother will probably tell you she doesn’t need a study to point out what is bleedin’ obvious to her – fresh food tasted so much better in her day. What was different? Farming had not reached the scale of industrialisation that proliferates the world over today. With large-scale monoculture farming, assisted by fertilizers and pesticides, ever-increasing in volume by virtue of soil degradation, not only did farms lose biodiversity over time, they were gradually bleeding nutrients.

Organic farming is a return to old-fashioned, but sustainable agricultural practices (not that some small farmers ever abandoned them). Crops are rotated to re-generate soil, green manure is used to keep it rich and nothing artificial goes near either crops or animals.

So why isn’t everyone buying it?
Until quite recently, a fair portion of organic farming has been low-scale, carried out by dedicated producers interested in not only the welfare of their animals, but the environment around them and the health of their communities.

But as the scale of their production is usually not great, most have tended to sell in their local areas. And those that have bigger farms still lack the marketing budgets of the powerhouse conglomerates dominating the food industry (and we use the term “food” loosely here).

One solution has been for many small farmers to work together, to form co-operatives that enable them to work together on everything from resources to planning and marketing. There have been some great success stories, such as the Organic Valley co-operative, which recently celebrated its 20th birthday with more than 1200 farmers in its fold. Without such an initiative, many, if not all, of these farmers from sun-drenched California to the foothills of the Rockies may not have been able to stay on the land. As more of these kind of groups get their message heard in mainstream society, the better the future of organic produce.

Another factor that has held back the average consumer from stocking up on organic is cost. The supply-demand ratio, as well as the fact that it is a more labour intensive way of farming, generally (although not always) means higher retail prices.

Take it slowly.
But if you find a whole trolley packed with organic goods prohibitive, don’t despair. Start slowly and look hard at what you buy on a regular basis. Choose organic for those items you eat a lot of (hopefully, we’re talking fruit and vegetables here). Cut back on meat consumption so that when you do buy it you can afford to buy the best.

Saving up for an organic leg of lamb from pasture-fed sheep or a few tasty drumsticks from birds that have been roaming as free as, well, birds will bring its own rewards. Apart from knowing you’re eating the best you possibly can, it encourages the discovery of something many of us in the fast food nations of the western world have forgotten – the joy of food. Something to savour, rather then simply grab on the run between appointments.

Unfortunately, in many countries, the use of the word itself is not policed. Like “natural” and “green” – two other terms hijacked by savvy marketers seeking to cash in on our newfound interest in health and the environment – it can be, and often is, thrown about willy-nilly on packaging.

The good news is that in most countries, there are authorities – sometimes regulated by the government such as in the US and Japan – whose specific purpose it to ensure that consumers can rely on the organic label.

This process is called organic certification. Representatives from the certifying body go out to individual producers and check that their practices meet certain standards before they earn the right to carry that label of assurance. While standards vary from country to country, certain basic principles are upheld, including:

• Organic farmers undertake not to use synthetic fertilisers or pesticides;
• Animals are not housed in factories, but given access to pasture and allowed to roam;
• Animals can not be fed antibiotics or growth hormones;
• Food additives cannot be used in production of organic comestibles;
• Land used for farming must be free of chemicals (in some cases, for several years) before a producer can earn certification;
• Soil quality is managed by crop rotation, green manure and natural mineral products;
• The use of Genetically Modified Organisms or GMOs, anathema to the organic movement, is prohibited;
• Strict standards also apply to the storage, processing, handling and transport of organic food;
• Once certified, producers agree to regular audits to ensure they are maintaining organic standards.

The best thing you as a consumer can do is arm yourself with knowledge beforehand. Get to know your local certifying authority or authorities. Check out their website, as often they list products they have certified. Some certifiers operate to a minimum standard, whereas others, such as the UK’s Soil Association, have much tougher criteria. It’s important to get to know the one you trust. Memorise their particular certified sticker – it makes it easier to pick up what you want at the supermarket when you’re in a hurry.

If you’re buying fresh produce, which usually just carries a coloured sticker to indicate to the cashier that you’re paying the organic price, ask your grocer where they get their supplies from. Don’t just trust that they’re doing the right thing.

There is also an international body dedicated to uniting the certification of produce worldwide. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, better known as IFOAM, works with organic certifiers in countries around the world. If a certifier meets their strict criteria, then products from that local certifier can carry both the local certification label and the “IFOAM accredited” label.

The purpose is to ensure the integrity of the organic label across borders and is particularly valuable for exporters. It means, for example, if consumers in Connecticut buy olives from an organic producer in Spain, and the jar carries the IFOAM label as well the local Spanish one, they know they are getting the real McCoy.

Some critics of the certification process argue that it has made life difficult for the pioneers in this movement – the small-time farmers. It involves such a burden of cost and time that many who are doing the right thing simply can’t afford to pay to push their credentials.

As demand for organic has changed, so has the nature of those plying the trade. Big corporates have cashed in, producing on huge scales, often cutting the little guy off at the pass. The original organic farmer suddenly finds it even harder to make a living, let alone spend the dosh to certify what he does.

It is definitely worth bearing this in mind when you’re shopping. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area with lots of local fresh producers, get to know them. Chances are many have been living and breathing organic practices for years; they just can’t afford to go the next step. If you can be assured of their integrity – and in most small farming communities, everyone knows what everyone else is doing – there’s no reason to wait for a sticker to tell you what you’re getting has been produced in the healthiest and most environmentally friendly way possible.

Apart from getting quality fresh produce, you will also be helping to keep your local community alive and well for future generations. Why pay for certified organic tomatoes that need to be hauled thousands of miles from California, if your friendly farmer down the road has been producing them for years.

The important thing is to do your homework. It may take a little time at the start, but once you’ve got the hang of who’s who and what’s what, you will feel a lot more relaxed about your organic choices.

Ripe for picking: Organic tomatoes are rich in health-boosting properties. Picture: ellievanhoutte

Stop right there. Yes, you. Before you take another bite. What are you eating?

A BLT.  Mmm, bacon, lettuce and tomato. With a dash of mayonnaise. Seems innocuous enough. But when was the last time you really thought about where food had come from before you put it in your mouth?

What if you knew that the bulk of what you were feeding yourself was not actually providing real nourishment? That, more probably, it was starving your body of necessary nutrients. Let’s take a closer look at that BLT, for example.

The bacon
It’s easy to forget that a few thinly sliced rashers cooked to an aroma-filled crisp were once part of a plump porcine. And why should it matter? Along with an ample supply of sausages and fabulous pork roasts, that’s the reason for the pig’s existence, so let’s just get on with eating up.  Trouble is it pays to know just how that pig lived. Because how it was reared and what it was fed during its life span really does affect the quality of those few strips of bacon you’re about to devour.

You might not have given much thought to the right of the humble pig to wallow in the mud and roll free on pasture, breathing in fresh air and sunshine and sleeping on fresh straw. But these are conditions both free range and organic pigs enjoy and proponents argue contribute to their overall health – happier pigs equal healthier, more nutritious pigs. Makes sense when you think about it.

But perhaps more important, still, is what these pigs are fed. If Porky Pig is living on a diet laced with antibiotics and hormones (to fatten them up), preservatives and synthetic additives, and is constantly exposed to herbicides and pesticides, you should be concerned.  What goes into them eventually makes its way to you – be it through your barbecue sausages, Sunday night roast or those few slices of bacon – and it’s not great for the environment, either.

The lettuce
For a start, if you’ve opted for the ubiquitous Iceberg lettuce, you’ve already behind the healthy eight ball. It’s the least nutritious – and probably least tasty – in the lettuce family. Generally speaking, the darker the leaf the more likely it is helping your body to do things widely attributed to the humble lettuce, such as aid digestion and reduce the risk of cataracts.

And while we’re not suggesting you get down and dirty with your greens, it’s worth knowing what soil they’ve come out of. Organic growers love to tell you that if you feed the soil good stuff it will feed the plant. The better quality the soil (read no pesticides, herbicides etc), the richer and more nutrient dense the plant.

It also pays to know when your greens are in season. If they’re not and you think you’re doing the right thing piling them up on your plate, think again. They have likely been kept in cold storage or shipped thousands of kilometres from somewhere they are in season – neither of which is good for the plant’s nutrient levels.

The motto shouldn’t be so much “eat your greens”, as “eat the greens that are in season”.

The tomato.
Ditto with this dining staple (debate over whether it is a fruit or vegetable is a whole other story and we know you’re pressed for time).

Tomatoes are a great source of vitamins C and A, as well as iron, folic acid and the antioxidant lycopene, which is widely believed to help prevent certain types of cancer. But the amount of each health-bearing property depends on the tomato – there are more than 1000 varieties – and the way it has been treated.

Independent studies have found that organic tomatoes contain more fibre, vitamin C, beta-carotene and flavonoids than their conventional cousins. These poorer, or non-organic, relatives also get some of the highest doses of pesticides in global farming. So if you’re worried about the damage they do not only to your health, but to the overall environment, you might want to know how those tomatoes were grown.

The mayonnaise
Don’t worry about the fat content, the reason for a lot of anti-mayo rhetoric. You need to think more about how it was made. Most commerical brands use vegetable oil and egg yolks as the base ingredients, but organic varieties favour oils such as olive and flax, which are better for you. They are also free of sugar and preservatives. As for the egg part, well that comes down to the creature that laid them… see our story on poultry. (And we’ll save the bread for another time…)

If we’ve put you off your lunch, apologies. It really wasn’t the intention. The main thing is to get us all thinking about what we’re eating. To question the quality of not only pre-packaged “convenience” food, but the stuff that purports to be “fresh”. How was it farmed? How much pesticide was used? What damage did it do to the environment while it was being produced? And what are the consequences for the health of you and your family?

Chances are if it hasn’t been farmed organically, you won’t like the answers to any of the above. To paraphrase that intergalactic medicine man, Dr McCoy, “it’s food Jim, but not as we know it”.

The point is, in fact, we don’t really know a lot about where food has come from any more. Most of us in this industrialised world have lost contact with the source of our produce and couldn’t care less. The only time we really take notice of our fruit and vegetables, for example, is when the price goes up. But we should care and there are so many reasons why.

As Barbara Kingsolver writes in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a book that celebrates real food in all its shapes and sizes, “Knowing how foods grow is to know how and when to look for them; such expertise is useful for certain kinds of people, namely the ones who eat, no matter where they live or grocery shop.”

And that applies to all of us, even if we’re never likely to stick our hands in the dirt and pull out our own dinner.