Organic food - does it really matter?

April 25, 2022 Caroline Lengyel

In recent years, “organic” has become very trendy; and as I’m sure you’re painfully aware, organic foods typically are sold at a higher price point than their conventional counterparts–sometimes exorbitantly higher. So is buying organic instrumental in a non-toxic lifestyle, or is it just a trendy way for corporate America to make more money?

I’ll discuss why organic food matters, what the “organic” label actually means for different types of foods, and practical ways to make organic food swaps.

Why organic?
“I didn’t grow up eating organic, and I turned out just fine.” Ever heard this before? If you begin discussing organic foods with others, someone is bound to say something along these lines. But actually, the organic designation for foods didn’t even exist until 1990 and didn’t gain popularity until later. Over the past 20 years, the FDA has approved many new methods of producing commonly-consumed food, such as the use of new artificial sweeteners as ingredients, chemical-laden methods of growing and harvesting crops, and the use of growth hormones for cattle. So what many skeptics don’t realize is that if they grew up before the early 2000s, they were actually probably eating much more like what “organic” is today.

I also want to note that some types of pesticides actually penetrate foods. Many of us were raised thinking that washing produce would remove any nasty residue, but that’s not always true. Produce actually absorbs certain types of pesticides (systemic pesticides) from the soil and through its skin, so there is just no way to wash it away (although washing your produce is always a good idea!).¹

Conventional farming and ranching practices can include thousands of pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals, particularly in the United States (72 of the around 400 pesticides in use in the U.S. are banned in the EU).²,³ While many of these can be harmful, one that is worth discussing is glyphosate because of its rapidly increased use in the past 20 years and its environmental persistence (it doesn’t biodegrade as quickly as once thought).⁴ If you recognize the name, it’s because it’s the active ingredient in RoundUp.

Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, meaning it will kill most plants. It’s very effective but if it’s sprayed on crops, they’ll die along with the weeds. Then, in 1996, Monsanto (the parent company of RoundUp and other glyphosate herbicides, now owned by Bayer) began selling genetically modified crops (GMOs) that could withstand being sprayed with glyphosate. To conventional farmers everywhere, this was a huge cost-saving victory. Monsanto rolled out a variety of GMOs over the next several years, including soy, corn, canola, and sugar beets–read any ingredient label, and chances are, one or more of these are in a product. ⁵,⁶

It’s not just GMO crops that are sprayed with glyphosate, though; many other crops are as well. For example, nearly all conventionally-grown wheat is sprayed with glyphosate to dry it out for harvest. Easy for the conventional farms–they can time harvest down to the day–but it means that if you’re eating any non-organic product containing wheat, you’re also eating glyphosate.⁷

But is glyphosate harmful? This topic can be a bit controversial, but in my (non-medical) opinion, the evidence is convincing enough to avoid glyphosate. A few facts that have convinced me:

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the WHO) classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” It arrived at this conclusion by reviewing about 1,000 studies, which indicated “limited” evidence of cancer in humans, “sufficient” evidence of cancer in animal studies, and “strong” evidence for genotoxicity in general.⁸
A University of Washington study published in 2019 found that glyphosate increases cancer risk, particularly risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, by 41%. It is a limited study, as acknowledged by the authors, but experts agree that its alarming findings need to prompt better meta-studies.⁹
As of April 2022, Monsanto (original parent company of RoundUp) has reached settlement agreements in nearly 100,000 RoundUp lawsuits alleging that the herbicide caused cancer. Around 30,000 lawsuits are still outstanding, and more are still being filed. Now, this doesn’t mean that RoundUp has actually caused cancer in all of those cases–I consider RoundUp lawyers a new brand of “ambulance chasers”—but the sheer volume of claims (not to mention the eagerness of a massive corporation to pay out huge settlements rather than go to court) is worth consideration.¹⁰,¹¹
Three plaintiffs alleging that Monsanto’s RoundUp led to their development of cancer actual went to trial, and in each case the juries issued verdicts in favor of the plaintiffs and required Monsanto to pay the them millions, and in one case billions, in damages.¹²
In 2021, Bayer–now the parent company of Monsanto and RoundUp–announced that it will phase out all glyphosate-based herbicides for residential use by 2023 (note that agricultural use will still be approved, though).¹³

I should note that formulas such as RoundUp contain additional ingredients that drastically increase the absorption and effectiveness of glyphosate—good for killing those weeds, but bad when it’s in your body. While there are indications that glyphosate can have impacts on respiratory health, reproductive health (particularly for males), and cancer rates, its impact on gut health has been studied the most (and remember, much of our health–including neurological and reproductive–is tied to our gut).⁷ Combine the fact that glyphosate most clearly impacts gut health with the fact that practically all conventional food has glyphosate residue, and you get a scary combination.

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about glyphosate because it’s so prevalent in our food supply, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other harmful chemicals lurking in our foods. For example, conventional coffee is one of the most chemically-treated foods today; the processes of growing, harvesting, and roasting coffee present numerous opportunities for contamination.¹⁴ All that to say, when you choose to consume organic and responsibility grown/raised foods, you’re limiting your exposure to hundreds of potentially harmful chemicals.

What does “organic” actually mean?
The organic label has different meanings for produce, dry goods, and animal products. It is important to note that just because a food product is labeled “organic” doesn’t mean it is totally free of synthetic chemical compounds; however, those that are used have to pass strenuous testing to assure no risk to human, animal, or environmental health. While some people aren’t comfortable eating any food produced at-scale, even organic food, because of this, the organic label is good enough for me.

Here is an overview of what the label means for different types of foods. Note that I don’t include every single requirement for a food to be considered organic, but I hit the main points. One of my favorite nutritionist bloggers, Karalynne Call, has a more thorough post on this topic if you’re interested in learning more.

Produce
Produce is considered organic if it is raised in soil that has not had any application of banned substances for the three years prior to harvest. If a farmer does need to apply a substance, it must be selected from a limited approved list. Bioengineering (i.e. GMOs) is prohibited. The USDA Organic seal may appear on stickers or packaging.

Dry goods
Dry goods are considered organic if all of their ingredients are organic (with some minor exceptions, such as baking soda), and if they are free from artificial preservatives, colors, and flavors. The label “100% organic” is straightforward; the label “organic” means that 95% of the ingredients are organic; the label “made with organic _____” must include at least 70% organic ingredients. The USDA Organic seal may appear on stickers or packaging for the first two label examples, but not the last.

Meat, Eggs, and Dairy
Meat is considered organic if the animal is raised in conditions that mirror typical behavior (e.g. grazing), is fed 100% organic feed (in addition to foraging on organic land), and is not given antibiotics or hormones. The requirements chickens that produce organic eggs are similar. There are additional regulations for dairy cows that produce organic milk (e.g. regulations for the cows that birth the cows that will be producing the dairy), but the guidelines are similar. Note: in my opinion, for beef, the grass-fed label is more important than the organic one; however, I’ll save that topic for another day!

¹⁵,¹⁶,¹⁷,¹⁸,¹⁹

I can’t afford to buy organic. Am I poisoning my family?
Let me say this loud and clear: eating conventionally produced food is far better than forgoing nutritious foods just because they are not organic.²⁰ Nutritional deficiencies are FAR worse than the small amount of chemicals you are exposed to from conventionally produced food. If you can’t afford organic, THAT IS OK. This post is not intended to make you feel guilty; it’s merely meant to educate you should you ever have the means to buy organic (and if not, that is ok! God made our bodies to be resilient and excellent at detoxing).

Organic is expensive. There is no way to sugarcoat it. I want to share several tactics I use to save money and make practical choices about buying organic food, but also want to share that our family doesn’t eat organic 100% of the time. We do when money allows and organic options are available in our area, but we don’t worry about it the rest of the time.

Tip #1: Focus on the Dirty Dozen / Clean Fifteen
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes a list every year of the twelve varieties of produce that have tested the highest for pesticide residue, and the fifteen varieties that have tested the lowest. If you have a limited budget, prioritize buying organic varieties of the “Dirty Dozen.” Even when we have the budget to buy any organic produce, I still typically buy conventionally-grown Clean Fifteen because I’d rather save that money to use on organic meat or dry goods.

Tip #2: Buy in-season produce
In-season produce is typically much less expensive and much more nutritious than out-of-season produce. It’s easy to look up what’s in-season online before heading to the store (you can find a good list here). Often organic produce that is in-season is the same price or only slightly more expensive than conventional produce that is out-of-season.

Tip #3: Buy frozen food
Frozen organic food is often cheaper per ounce than fresh organic food. Frozen produce often has the added benefit of being harvested during peak season and thus being most nutritionally dense.

Tip #4: Buy in bulk or from reduced-price retailers
If you’re a club store-type person, Costco has a great selection of organic food at a reasonable price. Even if Costco is a bit of a drive, you can always stock up on dry goods, as well as meat and produce that freezes well. Investing in a deep freezer to do so likely will pay for itself quickly.

Thrive Market is another option, especially if you live in an area where organic food options are difficult to find. While I have enjoyed my Thrive Market membership, I do always check prices against local retailers, because sometimes Thrive can’t beat them. (P.S. if you’re a student, teacher, veteran, first responder, nurse, or family in need you can qualify for a free year of membership. Apply here).

There are also a number of online food delivery services such as Misfits Market and Imperfect Foods that can be other cost-saving (and convenient) options. They’ll deliver boxes of high quality foods that are deemed too “imperfect” to sell in a typical grocery setting (think, disfigured bell-peppers, meat packs with a crooked label, etc.). Some of these services let you customize what you want to receive in your delivery box; others just send you what they have on-hand.

Finally, buying part of a cow (e.g. ¼ of a cow) from a local rancher is a great option for meat. The rancher may not be certified organic (it is a very expensive process to become certified), but you can discuss his ranching practices with him/her and they very likely will be in-line with organic guidelines.

Final summary
To sum it all up, I personally believe that the evidence of harm from conventional farming and ranching practices is compelling enough to buy organic. Many of the pesticides used today are relatively new, so we are just beginning to study their long-term health effects. However, the nutrition one gains from food is far more important than limiting chemical exposure, so if you are unable to afford organic at this time, don’t limit your consumption of conventionally produced grocery items (as long as they’re considered nutritious!).

Sources

¹https://lilynicholsrdn.com/does-washing-produce-remove-pesticides/

²https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-019-0488-0

³https://thecounter.org/the-us-still-uses-many-pesticides-banned-in-other-countries/

⁴https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/glyphosate-persistence-raises-questions/9510.article

⁵https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/05/30/727914874/safe-or-scary-the-shifting-reputation-of-glyphosate-aka-roundup

⁶https://www.instagram.com/p/CcguCkVMV5W/

⁷https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.556729/full

⁸https://www.iarc.who.int/featured-news/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate/

⁹https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/14/health/us-glyphosate-cancer-study-scli-intl/index.html

¹⁰https://www.lawsuit-information-center.com/roundup-mdl-judge-question-10-billion-settlement-proposal.html

¹¹https://www.millerandzois.com/roundup-cancer-attorneys.html