Why Eat Organic? Part I

Have you ever asked yourself why some apparently sane people are ready to spend a small fortune for organic food, which sometimes doesn't look very good?

Not on My Plate!

According to Marjolaine Camion, public relations director at Rachelle-Béry, the typical consumer is first of all preoccupied with health [Leclerc, C., Les bienfaits de l'alimentation biologique, Pierre Nadeau Editor, 2002, p. 51]. Organic foods interest them for their added nutritional value, which is superior according to certain studies [www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?id=2&compID=8].

Even more important than the extra nutrients, however, is what these foods do not contain. Organic agriculture turns its back on pesticides, insecticides and chemical fertilizers and rejects genetic engineering (which results in GMOs, or genetically modified foods).

According to one study published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, certain types of cancer are more common among farmers because of their increased exposure to pesticides [Prostate cancer among pesticide applicators: a meta-analysis: International Archives of Occupational & Environmental Health, Nov. 2004; 77(8): 559-70.].

Another study that was featured in the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences found that there was an elevated risk of miscarriage among the wives of farm workers who handled certain pesticides [Environmental Health Perspective; 109(8): 851-857].

In the United States and Canada, the use of certain pesticides, like DDT, is now prohibited. Nevertheless, they are exported freely to other countries, used in their agriculture, and the food is exported to the U.S. and Canada, thus boomerang to our plates.

Children form a particularly fragile group. Last October, Quebec's National Institute of Public Health discovered the presence of insecticides (approved for use in Canada) in 98.7 percent of the urine samples from 89 children.

Medicated Food

In conventional large-scale agriculture, farm animals systematically receive antibiotics to increase their growth and prevent certain diseases. However, this can be counterproductive. Animals that were treated this way on a large scale have been found to have an increased resistance to antibiotics when they do fall ill, as well as weakened immune systems. The recent cases of avian flu and foot-and-mouth disease are probable examples.

In organic agriculture, on the other hand, animals are only treated with medicine when they are sick. In particular, antibiotics are only administered as a last resort and for short periods of time. Administration of growth hormones is prohibited.

Next week: irradiated foods and more about organic farming.