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Written by Vince
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Tuesday, 29 July 2008 05:21 |
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I went to Santa Cruz on Saturday for a change of scenery from my normal training ground. After the completion of my workout, I stumbled into a local restaurant. I failed to realize this establishment was "meat free". I didn't pickup on this fact until after the seeing words: "chix", "meaty tasting", and a few others. I eat meat, mostly chicken these days, but I do eat meat. Needless to say, I was a little unhappy but I figured we're here so we might as well give it a shot. I asked the server about the meat-like product in the salad I was considering. She stated that it was her favorite and that the meat-like product was "soy-protein" based. It seemed harmless enough so I ordered it and it was pretty much what I expected.
As I was sitting there eating, I started thinking about our quest for healthier eating and how we have to be careful not to be drawn in by buzz words. The meat-like products this establishment used were definitely addressing the needs of the vegetarian but not necessarily the healthy diner. While my meat-like product was grilled, others were fried. My short attention span only held onto that for a moment and was taken down yet another road. And that road is the one with the sign that says "organic".
It's been years but I remember seeing the word used to describe a small selection of fruits and vegetables in the grocery store. That selection has become larger and it's one of those words where I think there's a bit of marketing and a bit of truth. The question is how much of each? And now there are more recent terms added: "certified organic", "100% organic", and "USDA organic" which validate my suspicions about clever marketing. But was does it really mean?
In my mind, organic means that it's natural and fresh with no pesticides or chemicals -- it's just good old fashioned farming. At least that's what I hope it means when I'm spending twice as much. From what I can ascertain, it is just that... sort of. But don't underestimate the power of big business because they are gobbling up organic companies in order to capitalize on this avenue of revenue. And while organic farming creates visions in my head of mom, pop, and the kids working the family farm, I have different visions of big business looking for ways to exploit the term and charge higher prices.
When I go down to my local farmers market, I am pretty sure what I am purchasing is organic. But when I go to the local grocery store, I'm not dealing with a farmer; I'm dealing with a sign over a bin. And with that, I give you: "Certified Organic". The organic certification emerged to assure consumers as to the quality of the process. So what does that mean? It means the soil the farmer uses must be free of prohibited substances. It also means among other things, the farmer must follow specific guidelines, keep detailed records and plans, along with submitting to surprise inspections. Now here's where I have a problem. Nowhere in the certification does it discuss the quality of the foods, it only discusses a process for growing the foods. Nor does it discuss whether or not organic foods are safer or more nutritious. Assumptions could be made but then again, you know what happens when you make an assumption.
As to the labels associated with the certification: Items labeled "100% organic" are made completely from ingredients that have followed the certified process. Items made from 95% or more certified organic ingredients can use the label "organic". Both are able to display the USDA organic seal. Items made with 70% or more organic ingredients can use the term "made with organic ingredients" and are able to list up to three of those ingredients.
I'm left with an incomplete answer. My own personal conclusion (read: "assumption") is that organic is probably better. Organic foods are most likely grown locally and are brought to the store in a timely manner which means they are most likely fresh. Fresh means they'll most likely taste better. I'm using the term "most likely" because there is no guarantee. But what you can assume is the farmers have followed the certification process guidelines and the foods are free of pesticides.
In my search for information, I found a most notable factor which separates organic from non-organic... biosolids.
Every time I look into what I eat, I discover some hidden secret that I'm not supposed to know about. It's what they don't want you to know. But I'm not really sure who "they" are. If you notice, I haven't talked about organic meat. That's because if you remember from above, I like meat. And for now, I'd like to exclude it from my topic because I'm certain that if I look into it, I'll be giving up meat for 6 months while I get over my discovery... it's been know to happen. Back to biosolids. But let's call it what it really is... "tested and treated sewage sludge". It doesn't sound nearly as friendly does it? And it's what they don't want me to know about.
Wastewater sewage plants produce sewage sludge during the treatment of domestic sewage. Sewage sludge contains heavy metals, viruses, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals. And in a nutshell, tested and treated sewage sludge is used to fertilize the soil of farms growing non-organic fruits and vegetables. I have to be honest; I'm trying to be as fair as I can because there are large groups on both sides of this trying to paint their own picture. On one hand, I found an EPA document stating biosolids are safe and when recycled as fertilizer will improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth. On the other hand, I found a USGS study which states that earthworms in fields where biosolids were used have been found to contain pharmaceuticals along with chemicals from household products.
When I initially started looking into this topic, I was under the impression that the main difference between organic and non-organic was the use of pesticides. Now my attention is on biosolids and I'm heading for the kitchen to put aluminum foil over my head because the government is out to get me. Call it paranoia but I don't necessarily trust the local government who is unable to dispose of the literally millions of tons of sewage sludge. Nor do I trust engineers who claim the benefits of biosolids. It sort of reminds me of the claims made about Agent Orange, a leaf defoliant used in the Vietnam War which contains dioxins. Studies have shown that exposure to dioxins increase the risk of various types of cancer and genetic defects. Btw, detectable levels of dioxins can be found in biosolids. Gotta run... off to buy organic...
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 July 2008 04:58 |
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