Health: Certified Organic - magic, mainstream or mystery?
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Perusing the aisles of your local supermarket chain, you will note the word ‘organic’ splayed on a plethora of everyday consumer items, from cosmetics to fresh produce: Nature’s Organics Fruit Shampoo, Bio Nature Organic chopped tomatoes, Coles Organic Italian Pasta, Nerada Organic Tea, Uncle Toby’s Organic Wheatbix – the list is endless. So what does it mean? It has to be more than paying a premium for fresh fruit and vegetables and other food products. And it is. As we’ll be discussing organics a lot in aduki the following article aims to bring everyone up to speed on the topic.
What Are Organic Foods?
Although there are variations in standards across the world, the term ‘organic’ means that the food was grown, harvested, stored and transported without the use of synthetic chemicals, irradiation or fumigants. Animals raised using organic methods may be treated with vaccines but they cannot be fed any growth-regulating drugs, steroids, hormones or antibiotics.
Organic Production Systems
Organic practices place a great emphasis on building and maintaining healthy soil, nutritious crops and animal welfare. The core organic farming principles are based on:
•Soil fertility: Soil is managed through crop rotations and the use of green manure crops, compost and natural mineral products to maintain natural soil fertility. Artificial fertilisers are prohibited.
•Pest and disease control: Plant health is maintained through careful planning, and mechanical and natural methods of pest and weed control. Artificial pesticides and herbicides are prohibited.
•Genetically Modified Organisms: GMOs are strictly prohibited at every stage of production.
•Conservation: The development of a healthy environment, enhancing landscaping features, native plant and animal species is encouraged.
•Animal husbandry: Animals are treated humanely and with respect.
Organic production may also require the full composting of fresh manures for microbial safety reasons, and that animals in organic production have access to free-ranging environments and that animal feed stuffs are of an appropriate organic quality.
Organic farming systems work in harmony with existing ecosystems, keeping harmful chemicals out of the land, water and air, as well as using renewable resources and natural farming cycles.
Why Do Organic Foods Cost More?
Producing organic foods is an expensive process. Production is more labour intensive and, without herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals, the yield is generally smaller. In addition, certification is a voluntary process and farmers must bear the costs of certification. In the case of wine for example, first the grapes must be certified and then the final product most undergo assessment if the wine is to be certified.
As a result, organic fruits and vegetables and products have been on average 70 per cent more expensive than non-organic products. But this price gap is shrinking. The entry into the market of big players such as Coles and Woolworths is one cause of the shrinking gap and is also evidence of the changing landscape of organic production and retail.
Are Organic Foods More Nutritious?
There is a lot of debate about this issue and there is no definitive, scientific evidence to suggest that organic foods are more nutritious. However, organic foods can be safer than conventionally grown products. Organic foods clearly have much lower levels of synthetic agricultural chemical residues.
Microbiological contamination of food is recognised as the major food safety hazard to humans. If manures used in organic production are fully composted then there is little difference in threat between organically or conventionally grown produce.
Why Choose Organic Produce?
There are many reasons why consumers should choose organic. Whilst there are perceptions that organic food tastes better and that it is nutritionally better for you, the real benefits of consuming organic produce rest with health and environmental factors.
Organic farming is kinder to the environment and is more likely to lead to future sustainability. Water sources are protected from potential farm chemical contamination. Organic farming practices also use less energy than conventional food production.
Managing the Organic Process in Australia
The Australian Organic Standard covers all aspects of farm management to ensure a sustainable farming system and includes broadacre cropping, horticulture, wild harvest, livestock, seed/greenhouse production, aquaculture, farm forestry and plant raising/ nurseries.
The word ‘organic’ is not regulated in Australia, so as consumers we need to be careful of what we buy. Unlike elsewhere in the world, within the boundaries of Australia anything can be called ‘organic’. In 1992, the government legislated that export products labelled organic had to be certified in accordance with the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce. But no such standard applies to locally-consumed products and, therefore, Australian purchasers do not receive the same legal protection. Many products use the word organic on their labelling without certification.
Organic certification is conducted on farms by one of the six independent regulatory bodies operating throughout Australia. Under this process, organic farms are only certified after they have been operating according to organic principles for three years. Presently one of the organic certification symbols is an Australian consumer’s only guarantee that a product is truly organic. Stringently enforced standards assure that we feel secure when buying products with one of these logos.
Organics going mainstream
Not so long ago, the organics industry was ideologically seated alongside the alternative lifestylers: anti-commercialism, anti-big business. Today, big businesses see it as an emerging trend with great momentum.
Heinz, a global leader in the food processing business, has become one of the multinational food producers to make an organic food range including items such as baby food and their famous tomato sauce. For Heinz, the primary motivation may not be environmental sustainability, but rather the profit potential of a fast-growing niche market.
One of our greatest powers as consumers is our ability to drive environmental change through our choices. So try to always buy certified and prepare to see an organic alternative to more and more products.
Dr Peter Bryar, Principal of Innovative Horticulture, is a food safety systems consultant who works with small horticultural businesses to develop and implement their management systems. He is also an Adjunct Researcher with RMIT University’s Centre for Management Quality Research. To contact Peter, email peter@pjbryar.com
This article was supplied to ITM by Aduki Magazine, check out an online version of the full magazine here or have aduki posted to you each quarter.
vcarterjohnson says...
I just want to add that there is actualy scientific proof, although debated, that organic foods contains more minerals than non-organically food because they soil it's grown on is not destroyd.
gorgi_e says...
I just want to add to this article - as a owner of an organic supermarket - organic is not always expensive - we have heaps pf products cheaper than the major supermarkets - our organics is cheaper than conventional products - so give organics a try.