THE University of Queensland’s Mythbusters series has enlisted the help of Professor Ian Godwin, Director of UQ’s Centre for Crop Science, to help uncover some dirt on what the real differences are when consumers buy Certified Organic foods….

Key points:

• It’s not true that organic foods are completely free from pesticides – ‘naturally occurring’ chemicals are still used to control pests and some of these can be harmful to humans.
• While there isn’t any significant difference on safety and nutrition, organic-certified foods can have stronger flavour profiles.
• Organic food production isn’t necessarily more environmentally sustainable – it usually has a significantly lower yield, so requires more land and resources.
• In Australia, food labelled as organic might not have been certified or verified – look for certification logos from government-designated Organic Approved Certifying Bodies.

MANY of us reach for foods labelled as ‘Organic’, assuming they’ll be free from chemical nasties and hold a higher nutritional value.

But is this reputation deserved – and is organic food worth the higher price tag it often carries?

Here’s a series of responses to questions from Professor Ian Godwin:

Q: Let’s get back to basics. What’s the definition of ‘Organic’ food?

All food is organic – but the use of the term ‘organic’ on food products actually means that it has been produced using some sort of certified organic standards, which vary from scheme to scheme and nation to nation. In Australia, that is most commonly Australian Certified Organic, which is different to Bio-Dynamic Research Institute or Organic Food Chain for example.

Prof Ian Godwin

Q: Help us set the record straight: is organic food actually healthier – or safer – to eat?

As a rule, most foods produced in Australia are very healthy and safe. There is little, if any, detectable difference between organic and conventional fruit, vegetables, meat and other animal products.

However, because organic yields are usually considerably lower than conventional yields, there is some evidence that some organic produce such as herbs, have higher concentrations of some flavour components. So rather than being healthier they may have more of the flavour and aroma compounds. Which is good if you like coriander, but if you don’t…

Q: Are there foods that contain more pesticides than others?

Some plants do require more pesticides than others. Where genetic resistance is not available to deliver resistance to pathogens and pests, the only choice is to use chemicals to control those. In Europe for example, over 50% of fungicide use is in grapes (wine and table) and potatoes. The sad reality is that there are large numbers of fungal species that can be quite devastating to the production of potatoes and grapes. When these are produced under organic conditions, the chemicals used to combat fungus contain either copper or sulphur. These are allowed within organic production because they are naturally occurring (which does not mean they are safer).

Q: Is it true that organic foods are completely free from pesticides?

No, that is not the case. Most organic food production has strict lists of ‘allowed inputs’, and quite a few of these are for pest and disease control. Copper is the most widely used fungicide in most parts of the world, in the form of copper hydroxide or oxychloride, or copper oxide or tribasic copper sulphate (which contains sulphur as well).

Another allowable and natural input in organic plant and animal agriculture is the ground-up roots of the Derris plant, known as rotenone. This is a very effective insecticide. You can actually buy it in Australia and many pet shops sell it for control of lice in poultry and other birds. It is highly toxic to fish and is known to be a developmental neurotoxin and carcinogen in humans. In the last 10 years it has been banned in much of Europe and the US. I don’t believe it is very widely used in Australia anymore in most food production systems.

Q: Are organic farming methods better for the environment, or are there cases where conventional farming is more sustainable?

Vexingly, the answer is that it depends on what you measure. Imagine a scenario of 2 100-hectare wheat fields. The conventional field will produce about double the yield of the organic field. It will require more nitrogen fertiliser, which can leach into the waterways if not placed sensibly, and may be sprayed for pests. The lower yielding organic field will likely not be sprayed at all, and the organic cattle or poultry manure will be less likely to have excess leaching into waterways which is good, but it may have more weed competition which will also reduce yield.

There are farming methods that are not certified organic that can produce healthy soil outcomes. The greatest problem overall is the lower yield of the organic field, which across different crops and scenarios means overall organic yields are only 30-75 percent of conventional yields. The unintended consequences are:

That organic produce is usually more expensive for the farmer, making it difficult to maintain profitability.

If all production switched to organic farming systems we would have serious food shortages worldwide.

How would we deal with those food shortages? Cut down more forests to grow more food? Doubling the amount of farmed land and reducing forest or grassland is a consequence that we can all understand is not a good outcome for human and planetary health.

Q: Are there any myths about organic labelling that consumers should be aware of?

I think the biggest fallacy is that your organic food is ‘produced without chemicals’ or, worse still, ‘chemical-free’. Food cannot be chemical-free, because it is always packed with delicious chemicals that create flavour and aroma, as well as the carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and fibres that provide us with energy and all those great minerals and vitamins we need to remain alive and functional. We also must consider that the manures, natural pesticides and other treatments are all chemicals whether they are organic or not.

Alarmingly, in Australia you can sell food as organic without it being certified as being the real deal. So, I could go to a farmer’s market and sell you organic tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers for your salad without any verification that what you are buying adheres to any specific certified organic system. Look for an official certification label on the food you purchase from a government-identified body such as Australian Certified Organic.

Q: Any final advice for those who purchase organic because they are worried about exposure to pesticides?

There is significant testing for pesticide residues in Australia and the likelihood is that your food is safe and healthy (which may not be the same in other nations). However, in thinking about what is happening worldwide, perhaps you want to avoid the high fungicide usage products like grapes, strawberries and sometimes other berry fruits and leafy vegetables. The problem we all have as consumers is when we buy a strawberry (or a tomato or melon etc), we don’t know if it was grown on the ground, on raised platforms with hydroponics, or in a glasshouse (what we call protected cropping). These different farming systems require different inputs, and in wet years more fungicides are required. In hot years there may be an increase in insect activity, so more insecticides are used.

My recommendation is to eat a wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and animal products for the best health outcome.

Source: UQ