W
hen did you first buy organic? I made the switch after volunteering on an organic farm in Washington state one summer while I was in graduate school. Although a few well-established organic certifiers existed at that time, such as Oregon Tilth and California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), it was a year or two before
the National Organic Program launched the official USDA Organic seal. Since that time, and during the past decade in particular, organic took off. What started as a niche movement has matured into a celebrated and robust segment of the U.S. food economy. According to a recent Organic Trade Association study, 78 percent of American families now buy organic foods, raising organic’s share of total U.S. food sales to just over 4 percent in 2011. And yet, with growing concern about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in crops, food safety issues, and conventional farming’s environmental degradation, I believe organic is just getting going. Tere are so many benefits to buying organic foods: no harmful additives, no synthetic pesticides, and no growth hormones, plus more nutrition from higher antioxidant content, to name a few. Whether you’re deeply committed to eating organic whenever possible or just try to buy it when you can, read on to discover some less-obvious reasons you might choose organic, and the surprising impacts those purchases have on your health, your family’s well-being, and the planet.
You love apples—or almonds, avocados, blueberries, broccoli, cantaloupe, celery, cherries, citrus, cucumbers, and other foods that depend heavily on bee pollination. Climate change, parasites, and habitat loss are all implicated in the alarming worldwide bee die-off (more than a quarter of all U.S. hives have perished since 1990), but a slew of recent studies finger common conventional pesticides, such as neonicotinoids, as major culprits in colony collapse disorder. A Harvard University study released in April showed that bees die even when pesticide exposure is very low—less than the exposure from a pesticide-sprayed field, for example, or from the amount found in the high-fructose corn syrup used to feed hives.
Salmon is a personal favorite. It might not seem evident that soil-grown foods affect waterborne species, but agriculture and ecosystems are inextricably linked. Such is the case with salmon, says Maureen Wilmot, executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation. “Pesticides and herbicides commonly used for cotton, corn, soybeans, vineyards, and orchards deform fish backbones; they’re harmful to aquatic plants that make up the salmon habitat, and they are toxic to the plants and insects that the salmon eat,” she says. Earlier this year, conservationists and the National Marine
Fisheries Service formally took up the issue with the Environmental Protection Agency. Teir documentation highlighted the need for tougher restrictions on pesticide use around streams that support Pacific salmon, an endangered species. Organic farming is part of the solution, says Wilmot.
You value your brain and heart. Te human body needs omega-3 fatty acids for optimal brain function and cardiovascular wellness. Teir omega-6 counterparts, overabundant in the typical American diet, can exert the opposite effect, promoting heart disease, poor eye health, and some types of cancer, among other health problems. ➻
september 2012 | deliciousliving 39
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