Is organic essential?

Photo: diyreiguy.com

When it comes to healing IC, is it really necessary to spend extra money on organic food?

Every time I go to the grocery store I wonder if I should be shelling out the extra money to buy something that supposedly is better for me, while I know there’s a lot of controversy surrounding the subject. The answer isn’t really very simple, but I did a bit of digging (pun intended) and discovered a few things in a local newspaper article and in a couple of online articles that cleared up some of my confusion around organic farming. First…

What does “organic” even mean?

“Organic,” by definition, means produced without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, genetically engineered organisms, or artificial ingredients.  Foods in Canada that conform to that definition are certified Canadian Organic Standard by third-party inspectors who visit farms and factories to check for things like manure management and pest control methods. In the US, that’s the job of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and in Europe, the European Organic System (EOS) makes sure the crops and meats sold under the label conform to the definition.

Is organic more nutritious?

Simple answer: No. According to a recent article in the Vancouver Sun, Stanford University did a meta-analysis of 237 studies and found “little difference” between conventional and organic produce. However, the Stanford study did find some slight advantages to organics, namely slightly higher anti-oxidant phenols in organic produce, slightly higher Omega-3 fatty acids in organic milk, and less antibiotic-resistant bacteria in organic meats. (I’m not sure what “slightly” constitutes in this article, but I’m guessing it’s negligible.)

Is organic safer?

Simple answer: Not necessarily. Although celebrity nutritionists like Julie Daniluk ardently promote organic because of its lower pesticide residue (11 per cent, compared to 46 per cent of conventional crops), it’s not a clear-cut, black-and-white rule that eating organic means no exposure to toxins. Especially now with mega-grocery stores like Walmart and Costco jumping on the marketing scheme of organic labeling, it’s difficult now to know for sure that foods with the organic label aren’t still contaminated with allowable “natural” pesticides like rotenone, pyrethrum, and copper compounds, especially when, according to Scientific American, “there is nothing safe” about these.

So, ultimately, should someone with IC (or other chronic illness) buy organic?

Simple answer: Yes. If you can buy locally, from a farmer’s market, and actually speak with the farmer who is selling you the produce directly, you’re pretty well ensured the food hasn’t been through chemical hell and hasn’t had to be doused with preservatives in order to get it shipped to you.

But when it comes to your local grocery chain, it probably makes sense to be a bit discriminatory in order to avoid completely blowing your budget.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), not all produce is created (or should I say contaminated?) equal. In tests done on conventional produce, some fruits and vegetables were found to be heavily loaded with pesticides. The worst offender? Apples. Nearly 100 per cent of conventionally-grown apples tested were found to have pesticide residue. The best? Avocados. Only 1 per cent of conventionally-grown avocados had pesticide residue. So it seems it’s most likely a waste of money to buy organic avocados.

Here’s the EWG’s quick list of The Dirty Dozen – the 12 types of produce with the highest pesticide load, and The Clean 15 – 15 types of produce least likely to be pesticide laden.

(Of course, for those of you who are independently wealthy and buy all your groceries and home supplies at Whole Foods, just go organic all the way and don’t even worry about the on-going debate… might as well err on the side of caution if you can!)

What do you think? Is it imperative to buy organic or is it a waste of money?