Organic, All Natural, Locally Grown: What does it all really mean?

Many of you are like me, ready and willing to start doing your part by making sustainability a habit, but still in an environment that doesn't lend it's self well to backyard chicken coops and gardens. And while we still must rely on the grocery stores to feed ourselves, we want to make better choices with our money and for our health. So do we buy certified organic? All natural? Only food grown locally? And how does each option effect the environment and our health?



I've recently stumbled on a great article that outlines the arguments for all three in the March 2011 issue of Natural Awakenings. The article is called America's Growing Food Revolution: An Insiders Guide to Sustainable Choices (read the whole thing here) and it's so full of goodness I just simply had to share!

Organic vs Natural
According to book author Maria Rodale, "If you do just one thing - make one conscious choice - that can change the world, go organic" But what does organic mean exactly? USDA organic is defined, by law, as products: "free of pesticides, hormones and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and that animals be given access to the outdoors."

Natural, on the other hand, is loosely defined as: "Nothing artificial or synthetic has been included in, or has been added to a food that would be normally expected to be in the food" Excepting meat, the manufacturer is left to decide what does and doesn't belong. Natural meat is defined as: "meat raised without growth promoters, antibiotics, and never having been fed animal byproducts." However it does not cover GMOs or human treatment of animals.

Many argue that this is where "organic" gains the edge over "natural". The natural label seems to refer only to the end product, not the production process. So a loaf of bread could be made with wheat sprayed with man-made fertilizers and still be labeled as natural, while it would never pass the organic test.

Organic options also have a greater positive effect on the environment and our health. With more than 4 billion pounds of pesticides used each year, suggested links between agricultural antibiotics and the rise in drug-resistant staff infections in humans and between oganophosphate pesticides and cancer and diabetes, it's never been more important to eat certified organic.

Always choose organic when buying the "Dirty Dozen", the publicized list of produce grown with the highest use of pesticides. These are: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes.

Buying Local
At the beginning of the organic movement, it was pretty much guaranteed that eating organic was also eating local or food that was produced as close to your location as possible. Now, with bigger and bigger corporations jumping on the organic band wagon, your organic produce may be from south of the border or even farther away. And while transportation costs really only make up 9-11% of food's life-cycle assessment, buying local also supports your local farmers and economy. As one contributor points out though, a shipment of 2,000 apples transported 2,000 miles would have the same relative footprint as a shipment of 50 apples traveling only 50 miles. So local is not always the most earth friendly option. 

Organic & Local: Great Bedfellows
It seems to me (and the author) that a combination of organic and local is the way to go, though it really depends on your goals. If it's more important to you that the food you ingest be free of additives and pesticides than organic options would be best for you. If you struggle with the carbon footprint your food consumption leaves behind, organic and local would probably be a better fit. You may even consider cutting down on the amount of meat you eat each week which can further reduce your footprint. According to the article, a full time carnivorous diet uses 2.9 times more water, 2.5 times more energy, 3 times more fertilizer and 1.4 times more pesticides than a full time vegetarian diet.

Of course the 100% best option is to grow your own food. I highly recommend following the link to read the whole article and spending some extra time looking around, it's good stuff!