More and more frequently, American consumers are inquiring about the story of how the food on their dinner plates came to be. This is evident in part by the increase in the number of products on store shelves bearing the “certified organic” label.
Brandi Knox, executive director of Paw Patrol in Dayton, purchases organic produce and has been vegan and/or vegetarian for many years.
“Once you start really looking into the way that a lot of the products are made … you realize that it’s a real issue — I definitely think organic is much better for you,” Knox said.
Knox points to startup companies like Green Bean Delivery, which specializes in home-delivery of locally-grown organic produce and groceries as evidence of the growing awareness among consumers of the importance of sustainable food-production.
More and more frequently, American consumers are inquiring about the story of how the food on their dinner plates came to be. This is evident in part by the increase in the number of products on store shelves bearing the “certified organic” label.
Brandi Knox, executive director of Paw Patrol in Dayton, purchases organic produce and has been vegan and/or vegetarian for many years.
“Once you start really looking into the way that a lot of the products are made … you realize that it’s a real issue — I definitely think organic is much better for you,” Knox said.
Knox points to startup companies like Green Bean Delivery, which specializes in home-delivery of locally-grown organic produce and groceries as evidence of the growing awareness among consumers of the importance of sustainable food-production.
In addition to the growing popularity of organic produce, consumers like Knox also want to know that they are supporting humane and ethical methods when it comes to producing the food that they purchase for themselves and their families. You might say we want our food-production techniques to make good sense — from a nutritional standpoint, of course, but also socially, financially and environmentally. Some might even go as far as to say that as consumers we have a responsibility to hold our food-producers accountable for their practices.
But is it really worth all that extra money and effort?
Eli Jones thinks so. Jones is from Yellow Springs and works at a garden-supply retailer in Dayton. He has lived in Colorado, Florida and the Dominican Republic, where he says many families eat organically-grown produce from their own backyard gardens.
“Organic just tastes better — even though it’s more expensive, it pays off in the long-run for my family’s health,” Jones said. “I have friends that are sort of ‘bah-humbug’ about organic, but every time those people come to my house, they say, ‘oh my God, this food is so good!’”
However, Jones said he isn’t impressed with many of today’s large-scale commercial organic operations.
“Local farming is still way better,” he said. “When you look at a pastured egg, you can see the yolk is bright orange — the egg has a lot more vitamins.”
Jones says there is a big difference between free-range and pastured, and that even though many commercial operations are able to obtain a “free-range” label for their eggs, that label may not be very meaningful to the consumer in terms of the quality of the product, the treatment of the animals or the sustainability of the business model.
I tend to agree with Jones that it is definitely worth the extra effort and expense to “shop local,” and support sustainable organic farming practices. For one thing, organically-grown heirloom varieties taste better, look better, and are usually just a lot more fun than their commercially-grown counterparts. Did you ever hang out in the kitchen with an heirloom tomato from the farmer’s market? Good times, good times.
Seriously though, organically-grown produce is just plain better for you. A conventionally-grown fruit or vegetable may look nice, and sometimes it may even taste good, but it is my sincere belief that organically-grown varieties typically undergo a more complete and natural nutritional regimen, and therefore are more complete nutritionally themselves.
Perhaps most importantly, organic produce doesn’t come in contact with toxic chemical pesticides. Who wants to eat that stuff? Yuck. We won’t even get into the miraculous “mystery components” of the various chemical fertilizers and soil amendments used by the commercial agricultural industry. Those icky ingredients aren’t just bad for us, they are bad for the soil and all the critters in the soil, and everybody downstream too.
When I looked it up in the dictionary, I found this definition for sustainable: “conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.” Sustainable may also mean “able to be maintained, upheld or defended.”
I think most of us can agree on the value of protecting our ecology and managing our natural resources wisely. With that in mind, I believe that sustainable farming practices are able to be upheld and defended because they produce a better result for the people who consume those products. The benefits of sustainable food-production don’t just affect us here in the short-term, but they are relevant for future generations as well.
For example, using natural organic fertilizers like worm castings and organic compost helps farmers avoid, or at least minimize the use of chemical fertilizers, which can contain undesirable ingredients that may end up in the fruits and vegetables that we eat. Many consumers would rather not take that risk. In addition, chemical fertilizers can have adverse effects on soil health over time, whereas natural, organic amendments tend to enrich the soil.
Soil health isn’t the only thing to consider, though. Our own health is largely dependent on the quality of nutrition that we receive, and many organic farmers and consumers are of the opinion that organically-grown products are nutritionally superior to their commercially-grown counterparts.
Maggi Lynn Zobel is a Dayton-area jewelry-designer who also works part-time at a local grocery store that sells organic produce. She tells me that her father farmed approximately 1,000 acres when she was a child. Zobel avoids genetically-modified foods and purchases organic products whenever possible, in part because her daughter has celiac disease, which means she has a severe reaction to gluten, which is found in wheat products.
“Our move toward organics is a good thing,” Zobel said. “The healthiest [diets are] the Mediterranean and Indian. The Indians use wonderful spices, very healing spices. The Mediterraneans eat nuts and lots of olive oil. I think we need to get back to basics — we’re shooting ourselves in the foot with all these pesticides. I think that’s why organic is so popular — people don’t want all those pesticides in their food.”
Jessie, who wishes to be identified by her first name only, works at a Dayton-area health-food store. She, too, avoids genetically-modified foods, and purchases organic almost exclusively because “it’s guaranteed to be non-GMO if it’s organic.” Jessie said she and her husband usually aren’t satisfied with a label of “all-natural,” because it’s not always clear what that means for the consumer.
“If something becomes more common, it’s going to cost less,” Jessie said about the price difference between conventional and organic produce. “I feel like we overproduce as a society anyway — we throw away so much food,” she said.
Jessie also sees a direct connection between our food choices and our personal health:
“Hopefully it will cut down on your medical bills,” she said. “Somebody who is [habitually] eating low-quality fast-food will eventually have some kind of problem in the end.” Jessie believes that investing today in a higher-quality diet that includes organically-grown produce might help alleviate health-care costs down the road, and I tend to agree.
With that in mind, how can we afford not to go organic?
Mahatma Gandhi said: “It is health that is real wealth, and not pieces of gold and silver.” If organically-grown produce really is healthier and more nutritious, as many of us believe it is, then paying a little bit more at the grocery store is a small sacrifice, considering that you may get to enjoy a longer and more vibrant life because of that investment.
Bon appetit!