To Thine Own Shelf Be True

Umbra on store-brand organics 8

Hey Umbra,

What with organic foods being so expensive, I'm often tempted to buy the store-brand organic produce that's cropping up lately. Are the store brands as good (i.e., pesticide free) as any other brand of organic food? I can't help but be suspicious.

Thanks!
Confused in Jersey

Dear CJ,

Organic is a USDA-certified labeling program. Historically, organically grown food represented an alternative to large-scale, mass-produced, polluting agricultural techniques. Organic was and, to some extent, still is a social and ecological movement; today it is also a major branding tool. And since organically certified fresh and processed foods have been a huge growth area in the food sector, some supermarkets have logically decided to jump into the game with in-house brands -- also known as "private labels."

Do generics have a place in your green basket?

Any producer of an item bearing the official "USDA organic" logo [PDF] has met federal organic guidelines, kept detailed records, and been inspected by one of the many USDA-approved certifying agencies. (The exceptions are those who are lying or cheating and have not yet been caught.) The item must contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients to earn that logo. Organic brands, private label or not, are all the same in the eyes of the USDA. By the way, organic producers may use pesticides, but only those allowed under the organic guidelines.

Private labels give the grocer a higher profit margin -- 8 to 10 percent, according to one source -- while offering copycat products at lower prices to consumers. Whether these products are good as the others in your eyes is up to you. As I said, they are technically meeting the organic guidelines. To me, however, they represent the further consolidation of the food industry, away from a diversity of purveyors and to the detriment of farmers, who certainly do not get any more of your food dollar. Additionally, any farmer large enough to supply a grocer's private label -- or even the organic versions of mainstream products like Oreos and Raisin Bran -- is farming at a very large scale indeed, and though large-scale organic is better than large-scale conventional, it's not exactly what I'm looking for in terms of freshness, purveyor diversity, and workers' rights.

You might also find claims on independent brands (family-grown, fueled by wind power, invented for our adorable son, etc.), claims that store brands cannot make. These are typically unsubstantiatable, but may carry more weight with you.

So where does that get us? The brands are all at the same level of organic-ness, and there is no reason to suspect otherwise. Whether the other issues I've raised are worth the extra cash, I leave up to you. We at least should celebrate the further mainstreaming of organic agriculture, which, no matter what size the farm or how bland the label, is a great improvement over the status quo.

Certifiably,
Umbra

 

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

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

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  1. Islandia Posted 10:56 pm
    07 Dec 2008

    Not all organics the same...Not all organics are equal, at least when it comes to milk.  Check out the Cornucopia Institute's (http://www.cornucopia.org/) "Organic Dairy Report & Scorecard".  
    According to their report, many of the organic milk companies use loopholes in the organic standard in order to sell not-fully-organic milk for full-organic price.

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  2. katevc Posted 2:17 am
    08 Dec 2008

    I'm glad to see generic/store brand organicsI am a working mother of a 14 month old daughter.  My family is solidly in the lower income working class.  In rural Kansas, we can't afford to and certainly don't have access to the high end, high design stores the likes of Whole Foods.  I am proud that our Dillon's Grocery chain is expanding its private label organic offerings. We wouldn't be able to afford to eat organic otherwise. Eating organic should be a right for everyone and not just a social statement of wealthy white folks in urban areas.  

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  3. Annie Rosenthal's avatar

    Annie Rosenthal Posted 2:47 am
    08 Dec 2008

    Organic"ness"I think that the USDA "standard" is pretty much a farce.  However, some of the state standards (I am most familiar with the Oregon Tilth and CCOF Certified California -or is it California Certified?-Organic Farms.) do actually certify the farming practices to be sustainable and organic.  They are much more stringent than the national standard.  If you just want purely organic, the store brands are better than non-organic.  If you want to support sustainable ag and our planet, you have to get the real thing.    

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  4. Bokashi Boy Posted 5:50 am
    08 Dec 2008

    Organic Consumers AssociationThe Organic Consumers Association - http://www.organicconsumers.org - is a great resource on all things related to organics and the often embattled certification programs. It's well worth a visit.

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  5. mmmoongoddess Posted 12:32 pm
    08 Dec 2008

    Beware Factory OrganicUmbra's spot on in terms of corporate "organic" and economies of scale.  Michael Pollan calls them "factory organic" and states that these operations just manage their "inputs" so they meet organic specifications.  But agribusiness is agribusiness any way you look at it.
    And I totally agree with Kate about the need for everyone to have access to healthy organic food.  Except for the brief 50 year period of the so-called "Green Revolution"  what we call "organic" was the way things were always grown.
    The perimeter of a supermarket is where the least processed food is to be found.  Also, there is the food guide http://www.foodnews.org/ which provides a top ten least and most pesticide laden produce products.  This helps a lot when your local grocery chain is the only option available to you.

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  6. redambrosia99 Posted 3:54 am
    09 Dec 2008

    Cheap Organics"We wouldn't be able to afford to eat organic otherwise. Eating organic should be a right for everyone and not just a social statement of wealthy white folks in urban areas"
    Here, here!
    If there's a Safeway in your area, their store brand (O Organics) is pretty darn good.  I mostly go for canned foods (like beans and tomatoes) and noodles, though their blue corn tortilla chips are awesome! :D
    So while USDA organic may be a "farce" it's better than not and the best some of us can do.

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  7. srschnur Posted 11:06 pm
    09 Dec 2008

    Supermarket OrganicAnother question:  How "green" is it to drive hundreds of miles a week to find locally grown of small farm products?  Isn't it better to make a 40 mile round trip to the nearest supermarket than a 120 mile round trip to a farmer's market or a whole foods srore?

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  8. zhejw Posted 11:10 pm
    09 Dec 2008

    Ask your grocer about their store brand milkSince milk is often distributed locally, your store brand organic milk might be okay...or it might be from one of the big national evil "organic dairies." I've had success e-mailing the customer service folks at the stores. They have written back pretty quickly with who supplies them with their milk.
    Here's what I found in Central New York.
    Price Chopper: half gallons are from Organic Valley (yay!); gallons are from someone bad...I don't remember who. Butter is Organic Valley too.
    Wegmans: from Upstate Farms, a Western New York cooperative. I'm assuming these folks are okay since they're local and not branded as one of the big baddies, but not positive.
    Tops: from Aurora Organic. Thumbs down!
    Has anyone else tried this where you live? Not only does it allow you to only purchase the most sustainable and humane milk, but you can express your displeasure with those markets who are making poor choices for suppliers. Hopefully it will get them to change.

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