People eat organic food for many reasons. Some people think it’s healthier. Some say it’s safer. Some just like the way it tastes. One of the most common reasons is to avoid pesticides. But is there any evidence for these ideas about organic food? Are any of these things actually true? UYBFS has the answers! Let’s start with the facts about what the term “organic” really means, in a legal sense, in the United States.

• What does “organic” mean? For crops to be advertised as “organic,” they must be grown without the use of most (but not all!) synthetic pesticides, they may not contain GMOs, and no artificial methods may be used for ripening or sterilization. Pesticides derived from natural sources are allowed on GMO crops. For meat, “organic” means the animal was fed 100% organic food and was not routinely administered hormones or antibiotics.
• For multi-ingredient food, there are three “levels” of organic certification in the United States.  100% Organic means that the product is made form 100% organic ingredients. Organic means that at least 95% of the ingredients are organic. It’s a safe bet that the other 5% contains non-organic ingredients, because if it didn’t the company would have tried for the “100% organic” label. Finally, Made with Organic Ingredients means that at least 70% of the ingredients are organic. Again, the rest are likely not.

  

OK, now that we have basics covered, one benefit you’ll often hear is that organic food is “safer” or “pesticide-free”. Unfortunately, this is not true.  Damn you facts! Always busting up our preconceived notions! Here are the facts:

• Pesticides ARE used on organic crops. The difference between organic and non-organic crops is the type of pesticides used. Organic crops use mainly pesticides derived from natural sources and very a limited number of synthetic pesticides. Non-organic crops can use any approved pesticide, synthetic or not. There are about 25 pesticides approved for use on organic crops. You will hear some people say that because these “organic” pesticides are “natural” they are less toxic. This is a misleading generalization. The toxicity of a pesticide depends on many factors other than how we make it. Some organic pesticides are just as toxic and synthetic ones, while others may be less toxic, but must be used in higher concentrations than synthetic options to be effective (remember, the dose makes the poison!). When you look at the different options and consider factors such as acute toxicity, quantity, and frequency used, etc, it’s probably fair to say that at the levels used in the United States (which regulates pesticides better than most developing countries) organic and non-organic pesticides are equally safe.
• One of the most commonly used organic pesticides is Bt toxin. If this sounds familiar, it’s because the gene encoding this protein is used in numerous GMO crops – including potatoes, corn, cotton, and soybeans. So while there aren’t any GMOs in organic food, they contain the same pesticide as GMOs. Since it’s less efficient to spray Bt all over a crop than to just have the crop produce Bt itself, you are probably going to be exposed to higher levels of Bt pesticide when eating organic foods than in GMO foods. This may sound scary, but it’s not intended to be – Bt pesticide is very safe when used appropriately.
• While they aren’t technically allowed, synthetic pesticide residues are found on organic foods as well. This report found them on up to 20% of organic food tested – another source of pesticides in organic food.
• No benefit in risk of infections. The biggest near-term risk posed by most crops is the presence of E. Coli or other disease-causing bacteria on the food.  In this regard, organic food is no better than non-organic food.  In fact, one report found that organic food was more likely to be contaminated than non-organic food.

Two other common reasons people give for eating organic food is that it is more nutritious and better for the environment.  Sorry to burst your bubble, but…

• There is no consistent data showing that organic food is inherently more nutritious than non-organic food.  A large analysis in the UK (where organic food is very popular) found no difference at all in the nutritional value of the two types of food. Here’s another good review which found no evidence for better nutritional value.
• Is it better for the environment? It must be right?  Well…. maybe not. There are benefits, for sure, in that historically, synthetic pesticides were the ones that accumulated in the environment and caused the most damage. However, we have gotten much better at selecting pesticides that won’t do this, and organic pesticides can certainly have a negative impact on the environment too. But the BIG downside to organic farming is that it is less efficient. Most organic farms can produce only 80% of the yield of non-organic farms, and some don’t even do this well. That might not sound like a big difference, but some back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest otherwise: There are over 7 billion people on this Earth right now. We have already cleared over 35% of the earth’s ice-free surface to grow food. If we are forced to increase this by 20%, the effects to the environment could be catastrophic. Deforestation, water for irrigation, and yes, more pesticide use (even if they are organic pesticides). This is in no way good for the environment – quite the opposite.  Here’s a very nice piece about organic vs non-organic foods than includes a great discussion of the environmental impact.
• Remember the use of Bt pesticides on organic crops?  Spraying Bt on entire fields causes a lot more of the pesticide to end up in the environment than just using GMO crops which produce the pesticide themselves inside the plant.  Just sayin…

Some people also claim organic food tastes better. Since taste and preferences are subjective science doesn’t have much to say on this one.  Personally, I do find that some organic foods do in fact taste better – particularly fresh meat and vegetables. However, I also suspect that the frequent practice of sourcing locally grown or raised food is a bigger factor here – to me fresher always tastes better, and the organic food in your local market is more likely to be locally sourced.

Now, I am not trying to convince you not to buy or eat organic food.  I buy it when taste or freshness is important to me. If you like the way it tastes and can afford the generally higher price tag, go right ahead.  While organic food is not any safer or healthier than non-organic food, it is most certainly safe and healthy.  Also, as long as organic food makes up only a small percent of the total food grown in the world, the negative environmental effect of reduced agricultural efficiency is probably outweighed (or at least offset) by the commitment of organic farmers to reduce pesticide use. Just don’t buy into the hype that organic foods are “safer”, “healthier”, or “pesticide-free”, because science tells us they are not.