Organic Food Phenomenon, or Social Hysteria over Natural Produce in the USA
- Admin
- Sep 8, 2017
- 5 min read
Upon researching a cover for this topic, I came across a very comic picture (on the right), in my eyes, which clearly reflects how organic food is viewed nowadays and how it was viewed just one generation ago. If our grandparents would raise their eyebrows, when they hear the word 'organic' our generation treats it as something superstitious, something that gives its consumers an extra power, extra nutrition and enriches health in general . But, isn't organic food something that was called just FOOD before? The answer, it is, with the only difference that "this food" is now a multi billion dollar production industry that continues to spread around the USA and all over the world.
To start from the beginning I need to ask What do we know about the history of organic food and how it is different from non organic food?
In 1939 Lord Northbourne introduced the term organic farming in his book "Look to the Land," describing "farm as an organism" where a holistic, ecologically balanced approach to farming is the only way, as opposed to what he called chemical farming, which relied on "imported fertility" and "can't be self sufficient nor an organic whole."
In those days, small growers who used organic farming methods sold their produce to consumers directly at the small stores often located next to the farm. Why? Because it is difficult to cultivate tons of organic products by using traditional farm methods, like human labor. Additionally, growers did not require to have the "certified organic" label on their products which they have to pay many fees for now. So what was a guarantee of the quality some of us may ask? Well, it was personal relationships between the growers and the buyers.
Later in the 1970s when the organic food market developed to a national level in the USA and the demand for organic food drastically increased, those personal connections were replaced by the governmental entity called USDA, who were inspecting the farms and issued the precious "certified organic" label. Who do you trust more - the grower, whose farm you can visit while buying organic food - or the USDA?
It is clear that the government simply wanted to take control over the organic market, making growers to pay fee after fee. The USDA policies regarding requirements for organic food farms, firstly, removed many small, family based growers, who were not oriented into big-business money or any shareholders nonsense (the original purpose of the organic farms is to keep things simple and small, purely for community needs)), and secondly it allowed it to regulate prices, adding extra value into it.
As you can see now, the organic market went through an evolutionary process: from the pure and nature friendly purpose to the business oriented marketing model.
If we think about it, organic food is actually any food that is not chemically treated,fresh and pesticide free. For example, if you grow tomatoes on the balcony and you do not use any chemicals, congratulations, you are growing organic tomatoes! No label is needed.
So What is the secret of the phenomenon of organic food in the USA, and why do people so blindly rely on the label "certified organic" rather than on the actual taste and ingredients?
We started to ask this question ourselves when we observed consumers in stores and local markets. The main shocking moment in our observation was to see that people do blindly rely on the label "certified organic" and don't smell, touch or look at the fresh produce. The second shocking moment was to see that no one read ingredients on packages.
I personally smelled, touched and looked closer at the vegetables and fruits that were in a separate, organic section and can only say that just a few products left me a trusted feeling. Do we still not have time to examine the food we eat and pay extra money for before putting it into the basket?
The second part of our shopping was to read ingredients on some packages I picked. How much more shocked could I be? For example, I picked out and read the ingredients on organic vegetable stock from different companies. Interestingly, ALL OF THEM had corn starch or potato starch as well as some other questionable ingredients. Well, well, needless to say they were all organic. With so much literature available about healthy living and lifestyle it appears it is so easy to trick consumers, once the supernatural phrase "certified organic" is on the cover.
It is important to understand that organic food will not have more nutrients nor is it more healthy. Organic food is raised or cooked by using environmentally friendly methods and only pure natural ingredients. Therefore, corn starch, potato starch, guar gum, xantham gum and other inflammatory agents antithetically can't be organic ingredients. The reason guar gum and xantham gum are here because the corn from which these agents are derived, very often (I am not afraid to even say mostly, as I have seen miles and miles of the those corn fields) is GMO. I know that organically certified guar gum and xantham gum are "GMO-free", but the fact that they have been through a process, especially one dealing with corn from questionable origins, raises doubts about the premise of its organic status.
In order to understand the concept of organic market, I want to share my knowledge about this subject that I have studied for years. Don't listen to advertisements or rely on the reputation of the produce markets dedicated to healthy organic food, because at the end of the day they are there to make a profit first and only after to serve the society.
1. Organic vegetables and fruits can only be grown locally. How can apples from New Zealand, after weeks at sea, be called organic? Organically grown yes, but can you deliver apples from the other part of the world fresh and still with warmth from the sun?
2. Organic food does not contain any thickening, coloring agents, added artificial and natural flavors that are hard to pronounce or don't have a plant nature.
3. Always look at ingredients! The organic market is a business now and many producers worry more about cost cutting rather than the quality.
4. Fat - free, light, sugar free, cholesterol free, low sodium - these are warning signs to look to ingredients to make sure that the producer used natural methods or replaced the items with natural ingredients. Organic white sugar is better than any sweetener, for example.
5. Price does not always mean quality. Test it, try it, ask for samples.
6. Name and cliche slogans do not mean quality. We sampled organic dark chocolate and kombucha from two different markets just to find out that the chocolate contained ridiculous amounts of sugar and questionable thickening agents and kombucha was just sugar and tea (no mentioning of the kombucha culture at all).
7. Finally, trust your intuition! If the taste or the look does not look "organic", trust yourself and not the label. Pick brands you trust and come back to their products.
Social hysteria over natural produce in the USA will continue to exist until consumers learn to not be afraid to express their opinion and refuse to buy products that are obviously organic only on the label. Market demand depends on us as well as the quality of what we buy and eat.