Is Organic Food worth the $$$?

Short answer – Yes!  Unlike most misleading health claims that end up on food labels, a ‘USDA Organic’ stamp is generally of value when it comes to deciding which foods should make it home to your refrigerator and pantry.  The organic certification defines standards with which produce is grown and animals are raised.  Potentially harmful chemicals, pesticides, and dyes are in allowed in organic farming practices.  

Numerous chemicals and pesticides used in conventionally grown foods have been demonstrated to be carcinogenic, or cancer causing.  Still other chemicals are endocrine disrupters, or chemicals which interrupt normal human hormone pathways.  Regarding the dyes allowed in non-organic foods, emerging research highlights probable associations with cancer and developmental delays in children. Research out of Harvard suggests decreased all cause mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer with decreased pesticide intake.  

But shouldn’t the FDA restrict the use of such chemicals in food products?  One might think that.  But enter the “Generally Recognized as Safe”, or GRAS, designation.  This is the pathway used in the US by which chemicals achieve approval to be included in our foods.  The bar for research conducted to verify safety of such chemicals is extremely low, and the safety confirming research is most often conducted by the same food company or chemical company which stands to profit from the product approval.  Biased much?  GRAS is even considered by some a s a ‘loophole’ to skirt proper FDA approval without significant safety vetting.  As a result, 10,000+ chemicals are deemed “generally recognized as safe” on shoddy, inherently biased research.  Compare this to the 400 additives and chemicals approved in Europe!  It has become more and more commonplace for dyes, chemicals, and pesticides to be removed from use in other countries due to knowledge of harmful effects, and yet, they continue to be “recognized as safe” here.  Some companies with international distribution even have different recipes including flavor and color enhancers in the US recipe which are banned and therefore removed from the recipe elsewhere! 

What does ‘Organic’ define in animal products?

This is a loaded topic, but in brief, health benefits can also be found in organic animal products.  Traditionally raised farm animals are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics with significant detrimental downstream effects in human metabolism and antibiotic resistance.  The quality of meat, eggs, and dairy varies greatly dependent upon what the animals are fed.  Non-organic livestock and poultry are raised on an ultra-processed, grain based diet (not too dissimilar from that which plagues modern humans). “You are what you eat” is an accurate adage for farm animals.  When we eat grain fed metabolically unhealthy meat, this can directly contribute to our own metabolic disease.  Organic and “grass fed” animals conversely are metabolically healthier themselves, and therefore their meat and eggs confer better Omega-3 and anti-oxidant content relative to grain fed alternatives.  Organic farming practices are also more environmentally responsible and in most instances offer improved animal welfare.   

Circling back to the title, is organic food worth the cost?  If financially feasible, absolutely, a thousand times yes is the answer.  Think of all the other things that we spend loads of money on for health or healthcare – this is not the place to cut corners.  Organic food is infinitely cheaper than disease.  

That being said, food prices are continually and painfully on the rise, so here are two important things to consider.  First, non-organic whole foods (fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds) are of course better than ultra-processed junk food.  And second, everyone should know and check out the Environmental Working Group website (EWG.org).  EWG is a phenomenal resource for up to date environment and health research and also has a searchable resource to check on the safety of cosmetic products.  I encourage any readers with any semblance of an interest in this topic to run to their site for a deeper dive!  Regarding saving some money on organic vs. non-organic foods, the EWG publishes a “Clean 15” and “Dirty Dozen”.  The “Clean 15” represents the produce typically with the lowest chemical and pesticide content (usually due to being covered by an inedible outside i.e. avocado).  Conversely, the “Dirty Dozen” represent the 12 most chemical laden produce items which should be non-negotiably organic in your shopping cart.