Healthy Eating or Healthy Profits? (Organic Food in general)

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Organic Food in general
Date:	16/03/09 (198 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Potentially healthier and kinder to the local environment

Disadvantages: Not as healthy as some would have you believe and can be expensive

As the worldwide recession strengthens its hold on UK households, scrutiny is being placed upon every single item of expenditure. The area that seems to be coming up for the keenest analysis is the weekly grocery shop. A particularly nauseating report on ITV1 last week had the channel's resident "expert" trying to persuade us that branded goods were nothing but hype and nonsense and that we should all be stuffing our trolleys with Tesco Value products. The part of the show that I watched (that'll be the first ten minutes, after which I switched off in disgust) completely ignored the ethics of food shopping. Brutally sideswiped by the masses as just a fashion statement, the ethics of where your food comes from (and how it was treated) do remain a strong factor for many of us in what we buy and no amount of harping on by Money Saving Expert will convince me that Sainsbury's Basics chicken breasts are to be trusted.

The Soil Association has a useful quote that largely sums up how I feel about organic produce. On its website, it says:

"Organic systems recognise that our health is directly connected to the food we eat and, ultimately, the health of the soil."

Food and drink are not an irritation or a necessary evil, as far as I'm concerned. What we eat defines us, from the very short-term (my mood this morning) to the very longer term (illnesses and infections that I may contract). There are many nay-sayers where organic food is concerned and, indeed, it would be wise to at least consider some of their arguments against. Organic food comes from farmers who operate under strict conditions around what they can and can't do, notably what they can and can't feed their cattle or place in the ground. Whilst this might provide a more natural product, free from pesticides and chemicals, it brings with it its own set of issues. Pesticides, however evil they may be, are used for a reason and organic farming can struggle to combat some of these problems. Moulds, which can develop into harmful toxins, are killed off by the pesticides used in non-organic farming methods, but can remain in fairly significant levels in organic crops. These pose a risk to our health. Organic farming methods often use crop rotation techniques to ensure the longer-term welfare of the soil. These farming methods are considerably less intensive than non-organic methods and, as such, the yield from the land is far lower. The yield required to support the UK population probably couldn't be supported by 100% organic methods, so it's not necessarily a viable option for everybody in the UK.

There are other considerations. Organic food will not generally last as long as its non-organic equivalent, potentially leading to greater wastage. It may not look as shiny and pretty either. UK supermarket shoppers are notoriously choosy about the appearance of their fruit and vegetables. Thirdly, and perhaps most obviously, the stuff costs a lot more too. The yield issues affect organic crops around the world, but when you consider that many organic vegetables have to be flown in from around the world, it's not difficult to see why prices are so high. The issue of carbon footprint also raises its head here, although this is not unique to organic food. Non-organic vegetables get flown thousands of miles around the world too, you see.

Scientists have struggled to find strong evidence that can categorically demonstrate the health benefits of organic food over its non-organic equivalent. Certainly, there are plenty of studies looking at the longer-term effects of concentrated levels of pesticides in our bodies, but the average consumer wants to know the answer to "how is this organic potato better for me than this non-organic one". The answer may not be forthcoming, except to explain how the non-organic one may be more harmful. Pre-prepared foods are a stronger case for the defence. Organic varieties cannot contain the preservatives and artificial ingredients that many non-organic varieties contain, but the better manufacturers out there are acting under pressure to make all foods healthier from this perspective.

So the evidence for the use of organic foods is neither overwhelming nor compelling and yet personally, I'm a strong advocate. I would estimate that 70-80% of my normal diet is organic and the remainder still has strong ethical considerations. I don't really care what the scientists say, for me; the personal evidence is more than enough.

Firstly, organic food generally tastes better to me. I find that organic vegetables are some of the strongest examples of this. Potatoes, carrots and root vegetables have an entirely different flavour when grown organically and even my nay-saying friends agree. The natural flavours of the product are sharper, stronger and generally "uninterrupted" and I can now really tell the difference between organic and non-organic produce. Organic meat is in a different class. Organic steaks don't shrink when you fry them. Organic bacon hardly gives off any of that horrible watery discharge when grilled. Pre-prepared organic convenience foods are also superior. Seeds of Change, for example, manufacture a range of pasta sauces that simply taste of tomatoes, garlic and herbs unlike other branded non-organic equivalents that taste synthetic.

Secondly, organic food certainly has apparent health benefits for me. If I can stick to my principles, my skin is better. My digestive system is more efficient. I have more available energy. I feel better, generally. This may be because I eat a reasonably well-balanced diet, full stop, but I do find that if I slip away from the plan and start eating non-organic food, there's a step change. The contrast, for me, is quite stark. I'm now reasonably intolerant to artificial nasties and I can really tell the difference when I've relented and had something that wasn't organic. I also see this as a longer-term investment. There was a time when the world believed that smoking was perfectly healthy and now look at us. What happens in 20 years time when studies reveal that battery chickens contained chemicals that gave your children cancer? Who will you sue? Will it matter by then? Won't you wish you'd considered something different now? There's a principle of logic here. Non-organic food contains things that it shouldn't. Why put those in your bodies? Anyone for Mad Cow's Disease?

But why only 70-80%? Well, to eat organically takes time and effort. Very few shops, for example, sell organic convenience foods, so you have to make your own sandwiches and take them out with you. You have to prepare most of your own meals. Organic ready meals seldom exist (it would rather defeat the object) and you therefore need to develop some kind of culinary skills, even if it's only to achieve the basics. Also, organic restaurants are few and far between. Organic shops are springing up. UK supermarkets also sell an increasing range of organic foods, but there's an inherent conflict of ethics there. It's no good just selling a few token organic items and then selling mostly non-organic foods if you want to support the ethics of organic food shoppers. I know that the profit made by a supermarket on organic food simply goes into one, steaming, unethical pile of return on investment and I'm hardly making a difference to the environment in that way. But on a busy day, when you're feeling a bit knackered, it can be hard to stick to your principles.

There are social considerations too. If I'm invited round to a friend for dinner, I can't impinge my ethics on them. Some of them know I eat organically, and try to support this but some of them can't really afford it, or mess the whole thing up with some terribly unethical extra, so you kind of have to go with the flow and show some grace. If I'm away on business, I really suffer. Hotels and conferences are seldom managed ethically and there is normally no alternative than to eat something that you know is probably pumped full of chemicals.

But there are some things on which I will not bend. I won't eat non-organic meat. This is a must for me, because I see this as the highest-risk food that we eat. As such, my diet is probably 70% vegetarian because whilst I can accept a non-organic tomato and lettuce if I have to, I can't accept non-organic bacon. I won't drink non-organic beer or wine. The organic varieties don't give me a hangover (it's true!) and wine is so full of chemicals these days, that I would definitely rather go without. I also avoid vegetables that have been flown thousands of miles and, where possible, I go for local, British produce.

Sainsburys and Waitrose are pretty good for organics. Sainsbury's has really got behind it and their own label So Organic food is well-priced and good quality. A bottle of their So Organic ketchup, for example, is 83p and none of my friends will now have anything else on their bacon sandwiches - the difference is enormous in both taste and texture. Waitrose's stuff isn't bad, but they're terrible for the long-distance imports. M & S isn't too bad for organic food, but tends to have a limited range. Tesco and Asda have token organic ranges but I only shop there if desperate. If you're a bargain hunter, a lot of organic food gets reduced to clear on a daily basis, partly due to the shorter shelf life I guess and message boards often decry the money to be saved in this way. It's good to have friends who are into the same kind of food too. You can share ideas, recipes - and shopping trips. The best organic food will come from local suppliers and farmers and if one of you finds some good organic lamb and doesn't bring some back for everyone else, you'll be in trouble!

Right or wrong, I've kind of committed myself to a mainly organic diet now. My main weakness remains crisps and sweets, which probably comprise half of the non-organic food that I eat, but that's just laziness. Otherwise, I'm a strong supporter of this kind of diet. There's nothing more important than carefully considering what we eat. It dictates our welfare in every other part of our lives. It's really as simple as that.

Summary: A diet of choice - but read up on the facts first