Q. What exactly is organic food? What are the benefits of organic food? Should I go organic? What do you think?

Myrna L., Makati City

A. Organic food refers to food that is produced without the use of synthetic chemicals (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones, etc.) and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Many first world countries, notably the US, Japan, Canada, and several European countries have certification standards for producing organic food. In these countries, it is illegal to label food with the word “organic” if it was not produced within the strictly regulated certification framework.

Organic food can either be fresh or processed. Fresh organic food includes fresh produce (vegetables and fruits) and unprocessed animal products (meat, eggs, and dairy) while processed organic food refers to canned goods, frozen vegetables, etc. that were processed without artificial methods, materials, or conditions (e.g., chemical ripening and food irradiation) and which contain no artificial additives.

Currently, organic food accounts for only one to two percent of total food sales worldwide, but the market is growing rapidly, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, possibly because of the supposed benefits of organic food to the health of humans and the environment. But what are these supposed benefits?

Foremost is safety. Organic food advocates say that chemical residues of pesticides and herbicides used in conventional farming, many of which are known carcinogens, accumulate within the body and that these can become harmful especially to children and fetuses. Likewise, these chemicals can damage soil, water, and local terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.

Another reason in favor of safety of organic food is the fact that organic foods are not genetically modified and that they are produced without using genetically modified organisms which, conceivably, could introduce new allergens to foods and even contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Organic food supporters also claim that organic food tastes better and is more nutritious than conventionally produced food. A blind study conducted in 2001 indeed concluded that organic apples are sweeter. Likewise, results of several studies on organic fruits and vegetables suggest that they have significantly higher nutrients and cancer-fighting antioxidants.

The benefits of organic food that its advocates claim are actually being refuted by conventional food producers point by point. For example, in so far as safety is concerned, organic food critics argue that diet surveys consistently find pesticide and herbicide residues in diets consisting of conventional food to be well below Acceptable Daily Intakes. In fact, governments all over the world consider conventional food safe. With regard to genetically modified food and genetically-modified organisms, conventional food producers claim the health risk attributed to these are mostly, and indeed are, unproven.

Some conventional food producers even claim that organic food can be more toxic than conventional food. They say that plants grown using organic farming techniques produce their own natural toxins to defend themselves against insects and pests. This natural toxin production can give rise to levels in organic foods that are dangerous to human health. In fact, scientific studies indeed show that pesticides reduce natural defensive toxins of plants, making them safer for human consumption.

With regard to the environment, critics aver that organic farms require more land to produce the same amount of food as conventional farms and this could potentially destroy the rainforests and wipe out many ecosystems.

As for taste, the better taste of organic food, according to critics, is nothing more than placebo effect.

Should you go organic? If you want to and can afford the additional cost (the price of organic foods is 10 to 40 percent higher than conventional food), I won’t advise against it. However, I doubt if going organic will significantly contribute to your general health and well-being.

(E-mail inquiries on health matters to: medical_notes@yahoo.com)