Should I Eat Organic?
When Does It Really Matter?
Provided
by American
Council on Exercise
Organic
food choices fill supermarket shelves – and it’s not just at the Whole Foods
and other natural food stores where you would expect to find them. Even
Wal-Mart now offers organic selections. Many people happily cough up the almost
double it sometimes costs to go organic whereas others balk at such a high
price for a food that usually tastes no different than its conventional
counterpart. So who’s right? Well, it turns out that it depends.
To get the
USDA organic seal, foods need to have been grown, handled and processed by
certified organic facilities. These facilities must be wholly organic. Meat,
poultry, eggs and dairy products need to be produced from animals that have
never been given antibiotics or hormones and who have been fed organic crop.
Organic crops must be grown free of conventional pesticides, free of
fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge, and without
bioengineering or use of ionizing radiation. The USDA is careful to note than
an organic seal does not mean that a food is healthier or safer than its
conventionally grown equivalent.
In fact, a
2010 review looking at studies of organic foods and health benefits over the past
50 years determined that there’s not enough good data to say one way or the
other if organic foods are healthier. Of the studies that had been done, the
only one that found a health difference showed that the risk of eczema was
decreased in infants who ate strictly organic dairy products. Overall, there
just isn’t enough good information to say.
As for safety – a study of preschool
children in Seattle found that kids who ate conventional diets had
significantly higher levels of urine pesticides than the kids who ate organic.
But higher urine pesticides haven’t been connected to real health outcomes,
although intuitively it seems like a good idea to minimize consumption of toxic
chemicals. (See the sidebar for a list of the highest and lowest pesticide-containing
produce.)
Ultimately,
it may not be the health and safety for the consumer that will tip you one way
or the other with organic foods, but many consider the broader health and
environmental outcomes including the working conditions of farm laborers and
their exposure to pesticides which can contribute to serious health outcomes
including birth defects and cancers. Furthermore, some consider the
extraordinary amount of environmental resources and energy go into shipping a
crop from halfway around the world to your local grocery store. Though,
honestly, these days it’s not unusual to see organic food that was grown
abroad. This becomes more common as an increasing number of companies jump on
the organic bandwagon.
At the end
of the day, everyone has to make their own decision whether or not to buy
organic based on the limited information we have on whether or not organic
foods are worth it. It may be that the spirit of organic foods (which you can
often tap into at a local farmer’s market or by nurturing your own
garden) -- like good use of natural resources, minimal use of toxic
compounds, sustainable farming and supporting local business -- is more
important than whether or not the food is actually grown organic.
References:
Dangour AD,
et al. Nutrition-related health effects of organic foods: a systematic
review. American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition. 2010; 92: 203-210.
Curl CL, et
al (2003). Organophosphorus pesticide exposure of urban and suburban preschool
children with organic and conventional diets. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2003; 111:
377-380.
AUTHOR
Natalie Digate Muth
Natalie
Digate Muth, MD, MPH, RD, is the ACE senior consultant for healthcare
solutions, a practicing pediatrician and registered dietitian. Recognized as a
Certified Obesity Specialist, Natalie has written for more than 50 publications
and, in 2012, published her first book, 'Eat
Your Vegetables' and Other Mistakes Parents Make: Redefining How to Raise
Healthy Eaters.