By Noah
A beautiful sunny March afternoon spent in Whole Foods Market in the heart of Yorkville, and I felt positively on top of the world. I had a grocery cart brimming with veggies, fruits, meats, bread, cereal, nuts and pastas – and all of them had the word ORGANIC plastered on their side. After some 30 minutes wandering the aisles of this aesthetically stunning grocery store staring at rows upon rows of produce, it dawned on me that it looked somewhat identical to any other grocery store, with 2 major differences.
A) Almost everything was organic.
Sweet.
B) Everything was uber expensive.
Not so sweet.
Apparently this win-win idea about sustainability, healthy foods, healthier agriculture, and renewable resources – literally the pinnacle of the green thumb movement – has a catch, and it’s a big one. The cost of going organic is felt heavily both on the consumer, and the farmer’s side.
I discovered that there is a reason for this duality in our supermarkets that separates Organic lettuce from non-organic lettuce. Following the strict guidelines outlined by the COS and the USDA that regulate the labeling of foods as Organic costs money, and a lot of it. The reason being is that it takes more time and more effort to produce food that doesn’t contain enhancing agents like pesticides and growth hormones (these agents were originally introduced into our agricultural industry to increase yields while decreasing growing times, costs and effort on the farmers behalf). To farm organically, the farmer really has 2 options.
Option 1 is to simply substitute the inputs that go into a farm from chemical agents and pesticides, to ‘organically certified’ compounds. If you think of the industrial agricultural system as an equation (which a lot of agronomists do) on one side you have the inputs: the plants, animals, fertilizers, pesticides and chemical enhancers. On the other side you have the output: what ends up in our grocery stores. Option 1 would be simply changing the fertilizers and chemical agents to something more ‘natural’ as deemed by the COS or USDA, however the overall process is strikingly similar to non-organic farming. These substitutions cost the entire process a little bit of time, a little bit of yield, and a considerable amount of money.
Option 2 is adopting a holistic farming philosophy, one which resembles pre-industrial agriculture. This philosophy revolves around a polyculture farm which creates an ecosystem, or food chain that uses numerous plant and animal species to work together to provide different services around the farm. At a very basic level; plants feed the animals and the animals’ manure fertilizes the plants, both of which can be harvested for us. To do this successfully the farmer must systematically rotate crops, and rotate pastures that the animals feed on; a rather labour intensive process. This means that the farmer is deviating from the vast majority of farmers in the North American industrial food chain. A bold move if you ask any farmer or economist.
Either way if a farmer is seeking to farm organically, the adjustments made to their farming practices are not inexpensive. The majority of companies found in the aisles of Whole Foods choose option 1. Their ability to afford the substitute inputs used in an organic system, as well as the types of machinery, work-force, and other synthetic agents grant them that official Organic seal and place them on a pedestal of agricultural pride; and usually these companies either are, or are in conjunction with, a financially sound multi-corporate conglomerate. Option 2 tends to profile smaller local farms that are trying to adopt a new philosophy rather than a seal. And usually these smaller farms cannot therefore afford the specific equipment and resources required to actually achieve that exalted status.
This appears to be somewhat of a conundrum. The philosophy behind ‘organic’ foods as being promoted by the COS and USDA is that these foods are being farmed and handled in a way that is notably different from the majority of the industrial food chain, in such a way that they are awarded a special seal of excellence if you will. They’re healthier for all parties involved, and have accomplished this feat by more eco-conscious, and expensive farming procedures. But staring at a package of Organic Kraft Dinner noodles begs the question; how much value can we truly hold in this certification? How much is Kraft Canada really doing to be more sustainable?
I see a problem here: Natural, healthy and responsible farming and eating costs so much more than the alternative. Cheap eats only costs our health and the environment. So what are we supposed to do? I want to be an ecologically conscious shopper, but there is just no way that I can afford this luxurious afternoon in Yorkville every week. Like the vast majority of North Americans, I’m stuck eating the foods that are certifiably non-organic simply because they’re the only ones I can afford. Is there no alternative with similar results but a lower price tag?
Some consumers are turning to secondary products with words like “free-range” or “all-natural” on the sides as alternatives. These words indicate similar farming principles and ideals as the organic farming methods, and yet don’t seem to deepen that whole in my pocket as much. A lot of those farms who choose option 2 tend to use this as an opportunity to demonstrate to consumers that they too follow humane, sustainable, and ecologically friendly farming procedures. Unfortunately, there are no USDA or Canadian standards or government legislation which checks the legitimacy of such a claim as “all-natural”, meaning that literally any company can make such an assertion totally unverified.
So, I’m back at square one. Trying to decipher the real differences between the options I’m presented with at a grocery store, and understand truly what these words mean, and how they affect the way my food is made.
This is a whole lot of information to take in at once, and I think I bit off more than I could chew when I decided to figure out how the word “Organic” had found its way onto packages of what I thought was always organic matter. Non-organics; organics which are strikingly similar to the former; or products’ labels that could easily be lying to us. This is not an easy decision to make.
Looks like its time for a cup of joe and a good old sit down. I need to do some soul searching
Stay tuned for Part III
Click Here for Organic Food Part I
I see someone's been reading Mr. Pollan. One thing, which you may have already considered, is that although alternatives to the common food source are often more expensive, it's important to realize that we live in a new food paradigm. Industrial agriculture has thrived because "cheaper is better". As a result, we are now spending a far less percentage on food as we did in, say, the 50's. It's not the only answer, but realigning the importance of quality, healthy foods with our purse, rather than saving that money to update our ipods, might be a start.
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