What’s involved?
Photographer : Glass Bead Game Master @ Flickr
What is organic?
Organic foods:
- Are grown using minimal synthetic chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, and other additives.
- Are in no way genetically modified or engineered.
- Must comply with very strict quarantine regulations. Farmers need to keep organic and non-organic produce separate at all times so that organic process can be monitored and documented easily.
- Are animal-cruelty free, and use natural methods of pest control.
The organic farming process is very important. Our health is directly connected to the foods we eat, so the integrity of the organic process needs to be maintained.
Organic farming uses a cyclic system. This is where farmers rotate between crop planting, animal grazing, and adding compost and manure to the soil. This way the land is not over-harvested and high level of soil-nutrients are maintained.
Why buy organic?
Organic foods:
- Are shown to have higher levels of vitamins, minerals and nutrients, such as vitamin C and antioxidants (Heaton, 2001). Organic food buyers also believe that it tastes better.
- Contain no artificial additives, preservatives, or chemical residue. Chemicals used in the conventional method of food production sometimes contain carcinogens, which increases your chances of developing cancer.
- Are often produced by farms run by families or small business, so in buying organic, you’re also showing your support for independent and local businesses.
- Are significantly better for the environment than those produced by conventional farming. Cyclic farming prevents soil erosion and nitrogen leaking. Organic farms also need less energy to run, and protect water quality in the surrounding systems.
Organic downsides
- Organic products are sometimes expensive. This is because they are usually produced, packaged, and transported by the farmer, rather than large companies. However, as the demand for organic produce has risen over the past few years, the prices have begun to fall. So, organic food might not be expensive for much longer.
- The amount of food produced is often unpredictable. Farmers don’t use chemicals, so the food may be more susceptible to pest attacks, weather damage, and mould. Organic farms often require more land than conventional farms, which is also a downer.
- The shelf life of organic food is often less than commercial products.
- Organic food can be hard to find if you don’t know where to look. Woolworths and Coles are beginning to stock it, but most produce can be found only at specialty markets, which makes it hard to buy if you don’t live near by.
How do you know it’s organic?
In Australia, there are currently no laws or regulations protecting organic produce. The Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) is the government department that deals with organic food production and the development of national policies.
There are also a number of certifying organisations working to enforce national standards on farmers that want to be organic. Farmers and producers still have to go through a selection process to be certified, and only then will the products be approved. As a buyer, don’t always believe that a product is organic if it says so on the label.
Look for the certification sticker! Labels to look out for are below:
Where to start looking
If you’re curious to find out more about organic food, some good places to start are:
How do I know this?
Australian Organic Food Directory,
www.organicfooddirectory.com.au
Choice (Australian Consumers Association),
www.choice.com.au
Clean Food Organic,
www.cleanfoods.com.au
Food Science,
www.foodscience.csiro.au
Green Pages Australia,
www.greenpagesaustralia.com.au/index.asp
Heaton, S 2001, Organic farming, food quality and human health: a review of the evidence, Soil Association, Bristol, UK,
www.soilassociation.org/sa/saweb.nsf/
9f788a2d1160a
9e580256a71002a3d2b/de88ae6e5aa
94aed80256abd00378489?OpenDocument
Lawrence, E 2006, ‘Organic food rort’ Courier Mail,
www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,20465251_953,00.htm
Macro Wholefoods Market,
www.macrowholefoods.com.au
Menulog,
www.menulog.com.au
Nutrition Australia,
www.nutritionaustralia.org
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© 2008. First published on actnow.com.au
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