1 Is Organic Really Better? Healthy Food or Trendy Scam?

2 Over the last few years, organic food has spread like wildfire. Despite higher prices,

3buying organic is turning from an alternative into a moral and social responsibility. Organic food

4is supposedly healthier, more natural and more ethical. But what do we even mean when we say

5organic? There is no global consensus, so different regions have different definitions and rules.

6In general, organic food is farmed without GMO seeds, synthetic fertilizers, or synthetic

7pesticides. Instead, organic farmers use more traditional ways of producing food, like crop

8rotation, and use organic fertilizers such as compost or manure. While the motivation to buy

9organic food is clearly noble, is it actually effective or just another costly trend we can skip

10without feeling guilty?

11 Question 1: Is Organic Food Healthier?

12 One idea associated with organic crops is that their natural cultivation is supposed to

13make them more nutritious and healthier. Indeed, several studies found that organic foods

14contain more antioxidants. Plants produce them as a sort of homemade pesticide. Organic plants

15seem to have to work a little harder, while regular plants have plenty of help from humans.

16Antioxidants are believed to have some health benefits, although scientists are still on the fence

17about them in general. We have no idea if and how exactly they help us, or how much produce

18you would have to eat to absorb a certain amount.

19 What about organic being more nutritious? Well, the evidence is mixed. Some studies

20found that organic food can have slightly higher concentrations of vitamin C, and omega – 3

21fatty acids, while others did not find significant differences. Overall, the mixed evidence

22suggests that there are only small differences in nutritional value. So, from the science available

23so far, it does not look like organic food has significant health benefits. What we do know, is that
24eating fruit and veggies in general is good for you, and most of us do not do that enough. Eating

25veggies is more important for your health than how they were produced.

26 Question 2: Is Organic Food More Natural?

27 People do not only buy organic to get extra vitamins, but to avoid something toxic;

28artificial pesticides and fertilizers. And indeed, several studies show that there actually is less

29pesticide residue on organic produce. But here is where things get complicated. Less pesticide

30does not mean none at all. While pesticides are supposed to be a last resort in organic farming,

31they are not forbidden. Most organic pesticides are natural toxins, like vegetable oils, hot ash

32soap, sulfur or copper sulfates. But there are synthetic substances as well.

33 What is the difference between organic and regular pesticides? Not a lot actually. Organic

34pesticides are not necessarily safer than conventional ones. Toxic is toxic. No matter if the

35substance is manufactured, or derived from nature. In fact, in the case of copper sulfate, often

36used on organic apples, the organic pesticide of choice is actually more harmful to humans. The

37toxicity of any substance depends on its concentration and your exposure to it - not if it is natural

38or not. There are a few recent studies about how our current level of pesticide exposure affects

39our long-term health. The 2018 study from France associated never eating organic food with a

40higher risk of certain cancers. The study was criticized a lot though. The participants reported

41their dietary habits themselves, while no actual tests of pesticide levels in their bodies were done.

42Complicating things even more, a Danish study from 2018 found that the danger form pesticides

43for an adult was similar to drinking a glass of wine every three months. The pesticides on your

44vegetables are nothing to lose sleep over. Despite this, we should continue to demand strict

45standards for our food. All pesticides are regulated and tested strictly in the EU and the US.

46Every year, thousands of food samples are screened for pesticides. The majority of samples have
47no residues or just a fraction of the tolerance level. Right now, contamination from bacteria and

48fungi is much more dangerous. And, on this front, the risk is the same - be it organic or regular

49food.

50 Question 3: Is Organic Food Better for The Environment?

51 In 2017, a meta-analysis looked at organic farming in detail and analyzed organic and

52regular foods from over 700 production sources, and their impact on categories like greenhouse

53gas emissions, energy consumption, and land needs. The result? No production method is clearly

54better for the environment. Organic systems use less energy than conventional ones, but have

55similar greenhouse gas emissions. Organic farms use less pesticide, but need much more land to

56produce the same amount of crop. These mixed results were also confirmed by a report from the

57Swedish food agency. Organic and regular were equal in most regards. The biggest difference

58was land use. And here conventional farming clearly won, and ecotoxicity where organic

59farming has a clear advantage. So, according to these results, conventional farming actually has a

60little bit less impact on the environment compared to organic. The bottom line is organic food

61isn't superior to regular produce as far as we know. But, organic agriculture also has an impact at

62a broader level. Demand is rising constantly, and the struggle to supply the market can lead to

63production methods that are less sustainable in other ways. Spain, for example, grows tons of

64regular and organic vegetables destined for export in vast greenhouse areas which use a lot of

65energy. And have other environmental impacts, such as significantly higher greenhouse gas

66emissions. And, because growing demand can't be covered by domestic production, the global

67trade and organic foods is also increasing. As supply chains get more and more complex, to

68make all kinds of foods available in organic quality, ensuring organic quality standards and
69regulations gets ever more difficult. This has led to incidences of fraud where conventional food

70was labeled and sold as expensive organic produce.

71 But, organic versus conventional food isn't even an objective discussion. Organic is not

72simply a production method. For many, it's an ideology. Buying organic feels right. People want

73to do the correct thing for the health of their children, and the well-being of the planet. But, our

74instinct to think of organic as good, and conventional as bad, can get in the way of making the

75most reasonable decision. The solution could be to stop seeing organic and conventional farming

76as irreconcilable. They both have pros and cons, and the best way to produce healthy food

77efficiently would be a combination of their best features. And, as for your personal shopping,

78what food you should buy depends on what you expect from it. If you simply want to eat

79healthily, you should buy more fruit and vegies of any kind, not necessarily organic. If your

80concern is for the environment, then simply buying organic won't solve this problem for you.

81The easiest option, is to buy local food that's in season. Basically, seasonal is the true organic.

82 To sum up, an organic label is a manufacturing notice, not a security certificate or a silver

83bullet for your diet. What you eat is much more important than how its produced. Production is

84very important for our animations though.