On organic vs. natural foods

31 Mar 2008

Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.

Dear Umbra,

I'm trying to convince my sister that there is a difference between all-natural and organic products, and she doesn't think there is. I'm pretty sure there is a difference, I just don't know what it is. I look at the ingredients of some of the food she buys that she says are "natural" and I wonder how these products are able to claim that! What are the qualifications for something to be labeled all-natural, and how are these products different from organics?

Julie
Yorkville, Ill.

Dearest Julie,

You are correct, there is a difference. To speak broadly and bluntly, "natural" is meaningless and "organic" is meaningful. Tell your sister that although you won the argument, it's actually good news for her. She can stop paying more for "natural" products and change over to certified organic products that have substantiated environmental and health benefits. We try to have everyone win.

For a confused shopper, supermarket choices can feel like uncharted wilderness.

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Organic, as many of you know, is a food certification system. An organic label on food indicates that the producer has passed a regular inspection of its facilities, ingredients, and practices. The producer pays a fee for the certification, keeps thorough records, and can use the label by following clear guidelines. The organic label is now overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture; if you like you can visit its website and see the details in their complete glory. Animals, soil, and plants must be treated in certain ways; food can only be processed with certain methods; only allowed ingredients can be added.

Organic farming, though imperfect, is environmentally superior to conventional, large-scale, chemical-dependent agriculture. On top of that, studies are coming out all the time showing that organic is better for you, nutrition-wise.

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On the other hand, "natural" or "all-natural" is not a food certification system. It is a label claim that in most cases has no oversight. The Food Safety and Inspection Service gives guidelines for the use of the word "natural" on meat and poultry products -- basically the products cannot contain artificial flavor, coloring, or preservatives and cannot be more than minimally processed. The "natural" label also "must explain the use of the term natural (such as ... minimally processed)." The FSIS guideline translates: this food is somewhat similar to a home kitchen meat preparation. That sounds OK. Trouble is, the FSIS doesn't necessarily check these claims or certify the producers.

Additionally, from an environmental perspective it's hard to see much benefit from even an accurate "natural" claim. "Natural" does not mean the animal was raised out in the natural world, or that it was fed foods found in nature. It only means you are probably familiar with how it was processed.

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In non-meat/poultry products, natural is only a term of art to get us to buy the product -- witness the brouhaha over 7UP's all-natural claims. Many companies are simply telling us what we want to hear. I might be slightly more inclined to give credence to a "natural" claim if there were also a substantiating definition of natural, such as "natural peaches, hand-picked from the special tree by our friend Lucy" -- but that's still nowhere near as comforting as official certification.

So when you shop, look for the organic label and other specific certification systems or label claims that have not only emotional resonance, but details. We can talk about other labels in future; I'm out of room for now.

Stickily,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the environment -- but first check out her FAQs!

The claims made in this column may not reflect the views of this magazine. Neither the magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise or safe. Please use this column at your own risk.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Comments: (9 comments)

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Query

Umbra,
If all agriculture was grown in an "organic" (as the USDA and other agencies see fit) way, would the amount of agriculture being produced would be the same?
Fertilisers may have the benefit of giving us higher yield per area of soil. I do realise, however, that fertilisers contain harmful chemicals that we'd rather do with out, but I am also concerned with soil degradation, which can be very harmful to eco-systems and farms alike.

Any thoughts or helpful resources that could help answer this question?

by Nautilus at 3:49 PM on 31 Mar 2008

Fertilization

Organic agriculture can be as productive as conventional, or even more so. However, while organic agriculture means that petroleum-based fertilizers are not being used, organic farmers can still use pesticides that are more potent or toxic than synthetic ones. See this link.

USDA-certified organic does not always mean that food is healthy for either you or the environment. However, it can be, and it can also be extremely productive. Sustainable farming methods include composting (of course), cover cropping, bio-intensive farming, layering, and organic methods of pest control (the good ones).

Organic farming often requires more human labor than conventional farming, and that is an inconvenience.

by loohszeeh at 4:15 PM on 31 Mar 2008
[ Parent ]

Thanks

For shedding some light on that subject.

by Nautilus at 8:08 PM on 31 Mar 2008
[ Parent ]

Organically grown foods

To know that an item from your local growers market is grown without pesticides is a beautiful thing. Not only are you not ingesting freshly deposited pesticides, but you are probably eating from a plant that is appropriate for its locality, which is becoming less common these days.

Unfortunately, even organically grown foods contain synthetic pesticides, since they are to be found everywhere on the face of the earth (many of them take lifetimes to deteriorate).

The worst organically grown foods are the ones grown on land that was recently not even used for food crops.

The humble peanut is an excellent source of high quality protein, but since it is still grown where cotton was grown in places, the pesticide concentration in them can be quite high.

The other issue not addressed here is that while you may argue that pesticides can be ranked accurately by environmental impact (which I think is a little presumptuous given our present environmental savvy), there is another, more immediate impact to consider.

The impact on the consumer's health. You may hop up and down and protest that the FDA sees to this, and yes, it is supposed to be their responsibility, but who sees to it that they're responsible? Not the Bush Administration.

Both organic and inorganic pesticides are capable of accumulating in the edible portion of everything we eat (though the highest concentrations are always to be found in animal products, especially from highest on the food chain).

The best approach is to study the foods that you eat. I have high lead in my back yard, but the lead doesn't make it into the pears on the pear tree. Similarly, tree nuts are less likely to contain heavy metals than low growing legumes and vegetables, so pay closer attention to your favorite low - growing veggies.

And if you really are as concerned for the environmental impact of what you eat as can be, eat regionally local food. Many foods have 90% of their shelf price from transportation costs, and this will only go up, both monetary and environmental costs.

Jon Allen

by jonathanallen1 at 5:20 AM on 01 Apr 2008

Know your farmer

Several of the farmers at the local farmers' markets here have found that the bureaucracy around getting certified organic is more than they can or want to deal with. As a result, they voluntarily and philosophically abide by organic farming principles, but tell their customers that they cannot legally use the "organic" label on their produce, because they refuse to spend their time and money on jumping through the hoops that government--and industrial "organic" agriculture-- has set up. Because their customers come to know them, because they can visit the farms if they want, because the local farmers' market community trusts the farmers, they know the food is raised according to their standards, even if the label is not available.
I would rather trust the farmer I can talk to, than the "organic" label on food imported from China that I find at the local Whole Foods.

by learsfool at 6:50 AM on 01 Apr 2008

"organic" a puzzling word

One thing that has long puzzled me is that the same word (organic) is used for 1) volatile carbon-based, often synthetic, often carcinogenic, chemicals (i.e. "organic chemistry"), AND 2) healthy products that DON'T use such chemicals!

How did that ever come about?

Does anybody know the history of the use of the term "organic"?

And does anyone have any suggestions for a better term--one less confusing!--that could be used instead?

I just heard on a weekend NPR radio show that the Chinese are confused by the word, but they are well aware that Americans are crazy about "organic" products.

by Rudmin the Green at 2:36 PM on 01 Apr 2008

Organic food proven to be more healthy

A recent peer reviewed study was done by Emory University showing children who are eating a conventionally grown diet have been found to have nerve-gas like pesticides in their urine and when they have been fed an all organic diet, the pesticide disappeared within 36 hours. See the Organic Consumers Association article below and you can also download a copy of the study.

This overwhelmingly proves that conventional agriculture is harmful to not only the environment, but to our littlest citizens.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_10066.cf ...

"For as long as space endures, and for as long as living beings remain, until then may I too abide, to dispel the misery of the world." - Shantideva

by mtvyfan at 9:08 AM on 02 Apr 2008

natural isn't bad

Natural certainly isn't better than organic, but we shouldn't dismiss "natural" labels outright. While your mileage will vary in the absence of regulations describing what "natural" means, and the burden of research is on the consumer, there are many product lines aiming to do things like not use antiobiotics, use real feed instead of chemicals and sludge, avoid growth hormones, etc, especially in the meat and dairy world, without being able or willing to achieve USDA organic certification.

Going all-organic isn't that easy for those people (since all of the feed and browse has to be certified). So those of us who are not vegan commune-dwellers (organic local vegetables are the easy part), "natural" labeling is something to look for, even if not a replacement for "organic". Especially if from a known producer.

(Umbra, I wish your column had talked about that, many "local" and "slow food", even heritage foods, are not organic but may call themselves "natural")

by omarsidd at 12:27 PM on 05 Apr 2008

Organic Farming/Natural

omarsidd: Natural is meaningless. Products such as Snapple with high fructose corn syrup claim to be all natural. Check the ingredients of the so-called "All Natural" products for yourself and you'll see how ridiculous it is.

As for organic farming being less productive than corporate farming, it is not the case. Organic farming requires real farmers behind is not a mechanized process like the mono culture corporate farming.

The reason why corporate farming became the norm is simple; corporations.

by bravedeer at 4:24 AM on 08 Apr 2008

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Different Beasts

On organic vs. natural foods