The organic food industry is a booming business. Certified
organic products typically have a higher price point and may
even be smaller in size or different in taste.
But what exactly does organic mean? Regulations vary from
country to country. But according to the USDA, "organic"
by itself isn't necessarily a health claim. It just means the
food was produced using organic methods. These methods include a
list of federal standards addressing things like soil
fertility, pest and weed control, and animal grazing
practices.
But most people aren't actually aware of what it takes for a
product to receive the USDA Organic seal. In 2014, brand
consultancy BFG surveyed 300 shoppers. 70% purchased organic
food and only 20% could define organic.
Despite a lack of knowledge, demand for organic food is at a
record high among consumers. And it's only going up. U.S. organic
sales surged in 2020, jumping by 12.4% to $61.9 billion.
With consumers being more health conscious than ever, they're
willing to pay more for what they perceive as better, even if
they're not quite sure that it is.
In 2018, organic food and beverage items cost an average
24 cents more than conventional food. Some shoppers are doubtful
of U.S. organic food claims. Several investigations over the
years uncovering organic label fraud have exacerbated consumer
suspicion. The USDA's National Organic program, or NOP, has
been stepping up on investigations and enforcement,
suspending or revoking 370 operations in the U.S. in 2020
alone, but some say it's not enough.
On the fraud issue, they have not been the ones that have been
in the forefront. They're supposed to be preventing fraud
by the enforcement of the rules a,nd time and time again, the
horse is long out of the barn before the National Organic
Program is even aware that there's a problem.
Despite efforts to reduce fraud amid rising demand, any
consumers still question: are organic food safer? Are the more
nutritious? And are they worth the price?
Organic farming was first introduced as a concept called
humus farming in the early 20th century, in order to address
soil erosion and depletion. These practices included
composting, rotating crops and applying animal manure. During
World War II, food shortages accelerated agricultural
advances by improving mechanization, fertilization and
pesticides. Synthetic fertilizers were affordably
produced, and machineries were quickly replacing manual labor.
The term "organic" was coined in 1940 by Lord Northbourne in his
book "Look to the Land," where he talked about taking a natural
and ecological approach to farming. He drew inspiration
from Sir Albert Howard, whose decades of research led him to
the concept that using waste material was vital for soil
health.
The Industrial Revolution helped the farmer far more with a
better plow and with a tractor and an engine instead of a horse
drawn. And then we move to how do we package and salvage and
save the stuff for longer post World War TII. And oh, look at
these chemicals, they work to decimate a jungle, what could a
small amount of that do on a field, you know, that kind of
thing. So, and we saw how great these chemicals were. But then
we realized somewhere along the line probably in the 60s, I'm
assuming and into the 70s that hey, maybe we're doing detriment
to ourselves.
By the 1970s, environmental concerns increased, and
consumers began to demand more sustainable produce. In
response, Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act in
1990 to develop a national standard for organic food and
fiber production. The final rules were written and
implemented in Fall 2002. This regulation defines organic
agriculture as an "ecological production management system
that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles
and soil biological activity."
Organic isn't a health claim, it's simply a labeling term that
indicates the food has been grown following the federal
guidelines the OFPA. According to the USDA, organic farming
entails the use of manures crop rotations, biological control
,and emphasis on biodiversity, the use of rotational grazing, a
reduction and elimination of synthetic pesticides and
fertilizers and a focus on renewable resources. As for
livestock and poultry, the standards require that animals
have access to the outdoors year round, fed 100% organic feed and
not administered antibiotics or hormones. Consumers looking to
shop organic may look for the USDA seal of approval.
So let's talk about the different kinds of labeling
categories. You can have a 100% organic product. So for example,
that organic apple that you take off the shelf and eat that's
100% organic. You can also have products that are 95% or more
organic composition. And a product needs to have more than
95% in order to carry that USDA seal. And so you might be
talking about, for example, a granola bar that has different
kinds of ingredients in it. If more than 95% of those
ingredients are organic, it can use the organic seal. There's
also a made with organic category. So for example
macaroni and cheese, it may be that the cheese or the macaroni
or some other component of a product is organic, but the rest
of the product is not.
Multi-ingredient products with less than 70% certified organic
content cannot use the organic seal or use the word "organic"
on the front of the food package. However, they can list
certified organic ingredients in the ingredient list and the
percentage of organic ingredients.
Consumer demand for organic products is rising quickly,
showing double digit growth over the past decade in the U.S. As
of February 2021, organic products in the U.S. can be
found in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and nearly 75% of
conventional grocery stores. And organic sales account for 4% of
total US food sales.
The booming organic market in the U.S. can be attributed to a
few things, mainly the declining price gap between organic and
conventional products. In 2018, organic food and beverage items
cost an average of 24 cents more than conventional food. That was
down from 27 cents in 2014, a nearly 2% drop.
Organic produce seems to be getting cheaper for a number of
reasons. For one, arising dependency on fossil resources
is causing the price of conventional foods to increase
while government subsidies keep the prices artificially low. And
more private label retailers are getting in organic foods,
creating a downward pressure in the industry to reduce prices.
There are tons of reasons why organic food is more expensive
in the first place. But it all boils down to the fact that it
costs more to produce. It takes more money and labor to adhere
to the USDA strict standards regarding production, handling,
labeling and storing. Not to mention demand beats out supply.
Farmers are just not that interested in the organic
standard. They don't they see higher land costs, higher labor
costs, and so not too many make the make the switch and that
restricts the supply of organic and that's why the price is so
high.
Over the past decade, shoppers have become increasingly more
mindful of their health and COVID-19 has accelerated those
trends. According to a 2020 survey.,54% of all consumers
cared more about the helpfulness of their food and beverage
choices in 2020 than they did in 2010. Some health conscious
consumers gravitate toward organic over conventional
products due to concerns about highly processed foods,
artificial ingredients and the effects of pesticides, hormones
and antibiotics.
According to a study by Pew Research, 76% of adults surveyed
bought organic foods for their health value, followed by
environmental concerns at 33% and convenience at 22%. But
there is conflicting data about whether or not organic foods are
healthier or safer. Take for instance pesticide residue. The
consumption of pesticide contaminated food is a major
source of human pesticide exposure. And according to a
2017 review in Environmental Health, our current levels of
exposure to pesticides can lead to adverse effects on children's
cognitive development. In adults ,exposure to pesticides may also
lead to the development of Parkinson's disease, fertility
issues and cognitive decline. It also mentioned that antibiotics
used in the conventional animal production is a key driver of
antibiotic resistance in society.
The average conventional apple in the United States today
contains about four different pesticide residues. And science
science is is not at the stage where we can say with certainty
what daily exposures to four or five pesticides from food is
doing to our children. But there is a broad consensus that it's
probably not doing anything helpful.
However, there is some data that says otherwise. Organic does not
mean that the produce is grown without any pesticides. A few
naturally occurring pesticides are approved by the USDA.
Research in 2005, at the University of California
suggests that the negative public perception of pesticides
is overblown, and that the pesticide residue in both
organic and conventional crops are too low to have any adverse
effects on health.
Maybe conventional food has a very low exposure for pesticide
residue, and it's not a problem. But maybe organic food has an
exposure level that's even lower. So it's not a problem
either. I conclude that both are safe. And you should be making
your your food choice on on the basis of something more
substantial.
While there's a lot of discrepancy about whether
organic is safer and healthier long term, many agree that
organic food isn't better in terms of nutritional value, the
Environmental Health review concluded that there was no
significant difference in nutrition between organic and
conventional crops.
An orange that's grown conventionally and an orange
that's grown organically. I think they're gonna have the
same vitamins in them, I really do. I've been an orange grower
all my life. And we haven't changed much from when when dad
did it.
Organic food is not healthier or safer for you. Whether it's
organically grown or conventionally grown, it's going
to have the same nutrient content. Now there are
situations where you may find an organic orange, say may have 10
million more milligrams of say vitamin C, and it's
theoretically. It means absolutely nothing to you as far
as your health goes, because of the conventional orange let's
say has 95 milligrams of vitamin C in it. And let's say
organically grown or you may have 110 milligrams, 105
milligrams of vitamin C. Well your body doesn't need either
one of them, it only needs about 35 milligrams. You don't it need
anywhere. It's like driving down the road and you have a full
tank of gas and you see a gas station and you say, oh I'm
going to pull over and get more gas. Well it's no point because
your gas tank's full.
Some studies conclude that there simply isn't enough strong
evidence.
Many people ask me is organic food more nutritious than
conventional food? Obviously, that's a complex question. And
it varies between say animal products like meat, milk and
eggs, and fruits and vegetables, or grains. But in general, for
all plant based foods, organic food has between 20-25% higher
levels of what's called antioxidants. Now on the animal
side of agriculture, which is you know, roughly half the
calories that the typical American consumes in a day. The
biggest differences with organic farming are in the fatty acid
profile in meat and eggs, and milk and dairy products. And
these differences are significant.
At the height of the pandemic organic grains like rice and
pasta are flying off the shelves, mainly due to their
long shelf life. Harvesting and selling organic grains is big
business. It demands a higher price because it costs more to
produce
To earn the National Organic seal, the plants cannot have
been genetically modified, and they must be grown without the
help of unauthorized fertilizers, weed killers or
pesticides. But who's verifying this?
There are about 75 third-party agencies certified by the USDA
to inspect over 16,000 organic farms in the U.S. These private
inspectors perform annual audits that include questioning,
reviewing documents and examining records. But rarely
does it mean actually testing the soil or produce certifying
agents are only required to test 5% of their total operations per
year. This process largely relies on the honor system in an
ethical seller can pass off cheaper commercial round green
for the more expensive organic kind and make a huge profit. And
some are doing just that.
In 2017, a Washington Post investigation revealed that
non-organic soy and corn labeled as organic was flooding the U.S.
About 36 million pounds of conventional soybeans imported
from Ukraine and Turkey were originally priced like regular
soy beans, but by the time they reached California, they had
been labeled as organic, boosting their value by $4
million.
61-year-old Randy Constant was sentenced to 10 years in prison
in 2019 for the largest organic fraud case in U.S. history.
However, there is a broad consensus that imported produce
is more likely to be fraudulent than domestic grown crops.
The organic fraud in grains started cause of the high demand
for especially eggs and meat and the fact that domestic
production could not keep up with the demand. They started
looking overseas and the first place that they are went that
had open holes was the Ukrainian and the Black Sea region has
continually been a problematic area because of lacks of
oversight.
The rapid growth of the organic food market, higher potential
for fraud and increased funding has allowed the NOP to
significantly increase its enforcement staff over the past
year. In February 2020, the NOP launched an online complaint
portal to make it easier for consumers to file complaints.
There were 676 operations in 45 countries in 2020, that were
suspended or revoked, which is lower than the 722 suspended or
revoked operations in 2019. John Bobbe, former executive director
of OFARM, says they could be doing more.
If the USDA or NOP comes across a fraudulent shipment, they have
no authority to stop it. They were given a clean slate with
money to draft new rules with stronger enforcement, they were
given the authority. So what did they do? They spent the money on
the low fruit, the easy stuff; upgrading their organic
integrity database.
We have caught bad guys, both domestically in the United
States and overseas. So as an example, recently, we worked
closely with Customs and Border Protection, which is the federal
agency that protects imports to block incoming shipment of, of
cooking oil and oil that was shipped by a suspended
operation. And so that's an example of how we have blocked
fraud coming into the United States. And there have been some
very public stories of organic fraud where people in the United
States have paid fines or gone to jail by defrauding the
American public. Again, our job is to make sure organic is a
choice that can be trusted by consumers across the country.
Despite a lack of significant data, experts say the organic
food industry is here to stay. The overall consensus from
farmers and experts is to put less focus on the USDA Organic
seal, and instead, eat more fruits and veggies from your
The problem isn't the food in the marketplace. It's the fact
local farmer.
that not enough Americans purchase fresh fruits and
vegetables. As I've said, we only consume 1/10 of fresh
fruits and vegetables that we should be consuming for for
dietary health.
Do I think everybody should purchase organic over
conventional? I think everybody should eat fruits and vegetables
from their backyard, meaning the farm that's closest to you
support your local farmers. Eat as much as you can locally. And
then enjoy what you want globally.