Sunday, November 21, 2010

Organic? To Buy or Not to Buy

I just had lunch at "Yeah! Burger," a gourmet burger shop run by one of Atlanta's top chef's, Shaun Doty.  Richard Blais, of actual Top Chef fame, has a similar place, Flip, on the other side of town.  Both of these chefs, renowned for their talent in the kitchen, have given up their fine-dining restaurants to run burger joints, because, I presume, that's where money can be made in the restaurant industry in this economy.  For the record, my cobb salad with "all-natural, free-range" chicken was fantastic as were the hand-cut fries I nipped off my son's plate.  When I go some day for dinner I plan to try to either the "all-natural" turkey or bison burger. To me this restaurant embodied the two trends going on around food right now - wanting to eat high quality food but needing to eat affordable food during a tough economy.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how the positive trend of increased awareness around proper nutrition (and the dangers of our industrial food supply) can co-exist with the other trend on every one's mind - our unstable global economy.  Just as we finally see a willingness in politicians of both parties to tackle the childhood obesity crisis, we also see an uptick in advertising from fast food chains like Pizza Hut promising to feed a family of 4 a nutritionally empty meal (large pizza, a liter of Pepsi and cinnamon sticks) for something like $10, which is no doubt appealing to a struggling family.  The standard argument against higher taxes on sodas and other nutritionally empty foods is that it is a "regressive tax" that will hurt those that can least afford it the most. While most people reading this blog are probably fortunate enough not to have to choose between putting cheap food or no food on the table, some of us probably still ask ourselves how important it is to eat high-priced organic and fresh food during a bad economy.  I won't claim to be an expert on the topic of organic food, but I will share with you what I believe to be the real reason to eat organic food and my list of the foods I believe you should buy organic or not buy at all.

The main reason to buy "USDA certified organic" food is because the growth, production and distribution processes for these foods are inspected and have to meet rigorous standards to get stamped with the organic seal.  No other foods, including those labeled "all-natural" or "hormone free" or "humanely raised" have to meet any standards other than those of the farmer or producer if they are not labeled "certified organic."  Most farmers and food producers are not inspected at all. For the most part, if a brand claims to be "all-natural" or "free-range" it is probably a little better than something that doesn't claim to be that but there is no guarantee. Now, does "organic" always mean healthy? No. Ask any of the overweight people I see at the Whole Foods hot bar piling up their plates with organic mac and cheese, fried chicken and pizza.  If I am craving something like that, I do feel better if I eat it somewhere like Whole Foods rather than out of a frozen box from the supermarket because it is fresher, taste better and free of unnecessary additives, preservatives and fillers.  I believe that organic and natural food is greeted with more kindness and efficiency by our digestive systems and less likely to make us feel crappy, but I think too much organic mac and cheese will make you fat just like too much processed mac and cheese will.

So, if organic foods are raised and produced with higher standards, it makes sense that the foods you would most want to buy organic are those that are otherwise grown and produced under very poor or questionable circumstances.  For this reason, I ALWAYS BUY organic eggs, dairy products and meat.  The animals raised under conventional methods are treated in a detestable fashion (stuffed into spaces they can't move in and given large quantities of food that is not natural to their systems -- remember, cows are herbivores but the ones raised in factory farms are fed grain) and they often become sick because of it and are treated with multiple courses of antibiotics.  Eating meat with antibiotics is now thought to be part of the reason for the recent increase in antibiotic resistant bacterial infections in animals and humans.  Also, industrial farmers trying to get the most meat from their animals for profit reasons often give their animals growth hormones. The amount of growth hormones people consume by eating animal products is thought to be a reason why girls menstruate so much earlier than they used to, as well as a possible reason for the increased likelihood of developing certain types of cancer when one consumes a diet high in red meat.  For these reasons, I always buy organic eggs, meat and dairy.  When dining out, I occasionally eat meat that is not organic or humanely raised (if it doesn't say it is, it's not) and I am not proud of that, but I find it hard to live up to even my own high standards all the time.  The more I learn, the less likely I am to eat things of unknown origin, but it still happens from time to time because I am human, occasionally hormonal and have cravings.

After doing a fair amount of research on organic foods, I have come to the conclusion that it is not necessary to eat organic fruits and vegetables IF you take the time to wash them and peel them. Research has shown that washing produce removes the majority of potentially dangerous microbes found on it.  I buy organic apples because my son will just grab one and eat it with the peel on and I know that the peel is where most of the residue from the pesticides would linger in a conventionally grown apple.  While I think organic bananas taste better than regular (some may dispute that), I would not hesitate to eat a non-organic banana because I would peel it first - same with an orange or an avocado.  I don't eat many raw vegetables, but if you like to eat raw carrots multiple times a week, you should buy organic because of the quantity you are consuming (any risk posed from pesticides certainly adds up if you are eating something frequently).  If you are cooking your vegetables, you are most likely killing off any dangerous microbes anyway.  I typically spend the extra money on organic fruits and vegetables because I think they taste better and I am willing to sacrifice some material things like new shoes or jeans for better tasting food. There is also some evidence that organic fruits and vegetables contain slightly more nutrients (likely because they are grown in richer soil), but if you are on a budget, the difference is not significant enough to worry about in my opinion.

It is also helpful to know about "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Clean Fifteen" a list put together by EWG (the Environmental Working Group) of the most and least contaminated fruit and vegetables.  This shopping guide (also available as an iphone app) is great to have in your wallet so you know what fruits and vegetables to buy organic, or wash extra carefully or not buy at all if you cannot afford to buy organic. Also, if you are pregnant or nursing you might want to be more vigilant about not allowing any chemicals into your body and the easiest way to do this is to buy certified organic if you can afford it.

So, if you are feeling the squeeze financially but still want to eat a healthy diet, the advice is similar for anyone who wants to be healthy and cut their risk of preventable disease - eat less animal products and processed foods and more plant foods, just wash them first!

Just a reminder this holiday season that 37 million people in the United States do not have enough to eat right now.  To help, consider volunteering at your local food bank or giving a holiday donation to an organization like Feeding America. While we can debate the politics and benefits of organics, some families are just trying to figure out how to put food on the table so if you can, help those less fortunate this holiday season.

For more information on how to eat, feel and live better, consider hiring a health coach.  Visit my website for more information on my programs.

Cheers to your health!