Organic vs. Non-Organic

Why Choose Organics?• More nutritious• No pesticides are used on them• No hormones or antibiotics are used in their

production• Better animal treatment policies• Better for the environment• Organic agriculture will save family farming

More Nutritious“The many different chemical analyses, carried out on crops and livestock products, revealed no consistent or significant differences between the sections.”

– Lady Eve Balfour (one of the founders of the organic movement) admitted in 1977 at an International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) conference that after more than 30 years of research she could find no nutritional differences between organic and conventional products.

More Nutritious“Let me be clear about one other thing. The organic label is a marketing tool. It is not a statement about food safety. Nor is “organic” a value judgment about nutrition or quality. Organic is how it is produced. Just because something is labeled organic does not mean it is superior, safer, or more healthy than conventional foods. All foods in this country must meet the same high standards of safety regardless of their classification.”

- 2002 USDA Secretary Dan Glickman

More Nutritious• A considerable amount of research has been

conducted on the nutrient content of organic vs. conventional foods over the last century

• Most complete review: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in 1997

• It examined 150 research studies over the last 75 years, including the bad, the good and the untrustworthy

More Nutritious• The results

– Cereals: 30 studies: no clear difference– Potatoes: 22 studies: no clear difference– Vegetables: 70 studies: no clear difference– Fruits, nuts, seeds, oils: 12 studies: no major difference

(one study found higher levels of fungal toxins in organic nut products)

– Wine and Beer: organic beer had slightly lower protein content

– Bread: 6 studies: no clear difference– Milk & Dairy Products: 9 studies: no clear difference– Meat & Meat Products: 5 studies: not enough data to make

a meaningful assessment– Eggs: 1 study: free-range hen eggs had slightly lower

protein content, but slightly higher carotenoid content

More Nutritious• The conclusion of the Journal of the Science

of Food and Agriculture’s study: no clear or consistent difference could be found in the nutritional value

• There is no evidence whatsoever that a diet high in or exclusively of organic foods is any healthier for you than a diet of conventional foods

• There is plenty of evidence however that a diverse diet, high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish is healthy

Pesticides“A cup of coffee contains natural carcinogens equal to at least a years worth of carcinogenic synthetic residues in the diet.”

– Sir (Dr.) John Krebs, Chairman of the United Kingdom’s Food Standard Agency

“While synthetic pesticides are prohibited in organic farming, some ‘natural’ pesticides may still be used, and they are not necessarily less worrisome just because they’re natural.

– Ned Goth, Senior Scientist, Consumers Union (publisher of Consumers Report)

Pesticides• Pesticide: “preparation for destroying plant,

fungal, or animal pests”• USDA has created a National List of

approved and banned substances for organic farming

• Natural substances on list: approved• Synthetic substances not on the list: banned

Pesticides• Organic farming is NOT pesticide free!• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

estimates that 20 pounds of pesticides are used per person per year in the U.S.

• At least 50 of these pesticides are classified as carcinogenic

• Many natural pesticides approved as organic are heavily refined, processed and toxic substances

Pesticides• HORTICULTURE OILS are insecticides

derived from highly refined crude petroleum oil. A few are derived from plant oils.

– Horticulture oils work primarily by suffocating insects physically, although they can also disrupt insect feeding behaviors and insect metabolism chemically

– Horticulture oils are used widely in both organic and non-organic farming

Pesticides• SULFUR is a contact poison used mainly as a

fungicide, but also as an insecticide and rodenticide.

– Sulfur has a relatively low toxicity to humans, birds, fish and bees but is applied heavily

– Because of its inherently heavy application rate, sulfur is believed to represent a greater environmental risk than many synthetic fungicides

– Sulfur is used heavily in the production of grapes and other soft fruits

– 70% of all sulfur used in California is applied to grapes – Synthetic sulfur compounds are more effective fungicides

and generally less toxic to humans and the environment

Pesticides• COPPER COMPOUNDS are used as fungicides and bactericides.

– Copper is a broadly toxic heavy metal– Various copper compounds are allowed under the USDA National Organic

Program Standards (NOPS)– Copper “bio-accumulates”, which means it is concentrated in the tissue of

animals, has a very high toxicity to fish, and is toxic to bees – Copper sulfate, one of the more widely used copper-based pesticides, is

caustic and classified as Highly Toxic by the EPA– Vineyard workers have experienced liver disease after three to 15 years of

exposure to copper sulfate – When copper sulfate was given to lab animals it caused reproductive effects,

birth defects, mutagenic effects and cancer causing effects– Copper sulfate has killed humans at doses as low as 11mg per kilogram of

body weight and causes liver disease – The European Union was going to ban copper sulfate in 2003 but was delayed

because organic farmers complained that without copper they had no effective way to control fungal disease

Pesticides• PYRETHRINS are a group of chemical nerve

toxins produced in the flour of African chrysanthemums.

– Pyrethrum breaks down rapidly in the environment– It is toxic to aquatic life and was classified as a

Restricted Use Pesticide by the EPA– In 1999 the EPA reclassified pyrethrum as a “likely

human carcinogenic” after rodent testing showed that it caused tumors in rats

– Pyrethrum has not been tested for birth defects or genetic mutations

Pesticides• ROTENONE is a toxic plant extract obtained from the crushed

roots of several tropic plant species.

– Is one of the most effective fish killers known – Rotenone disrupts key enzymes needed for respiration in cells and

disrupts muscle coordination – Rotenone can cause long term kidney and liver damage and is a

suspected carcinogen; it causes birth defects and kills fetuses– Rotenone causes Parkinson’s like symptoms in rats – Rotenone breaks down rapidly in the environment– Scientists have found 200 to 300 ppb of rotenone on organic lettuce

up to 2 weeks after treatment and 500 ppb in the oil of olives 12 days after it was sprayed

– Instead of calling rotenone a pesticide, USDA and the Soil Association of Britain call it a “botanical extract” or “mineral dust”

Pesticides• BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS is commonly referred to as Bt. It

is a soil bacteria that produces a protein toxic to caterpillars.

– Solutions of the bacteria have been registered for use as a pesticide on crops since 1961

– Organic farmers use Bt extensively – Mammals, birds, and fish do not have the cellular receptors for the

toxin, making them immune to the effects – While Bt is considered safe for consumers, farm workers spraying Bt

solutions have reported respiratory problems, and Bt bacteria has caused fatal lung infections in mice

– Bt is commonly used by non-organic farmers as well, especially in the form of biotech insect-resistant crops that produce Bt protein in the plant

– Eliminates the need to spray crops five to 15 times per season, conserving fuel, eliminating drift spray, and reducing soil compaction and degradation

– According to 2003 data, biotech Bt crops have reduced overall pesticide use by nearly 50 million pounds

Pesticides• SPINOSAD is a new class of biological pesticide

that the National Organics Standard Board approved in 2002.

– Spinosad was developed by Dow AgriScience, part of the Dow Chemical Corporation. It was obtained from a natural fermentation bacteria found in soils

– The active ingredients are insect nerve toxins that cause involuntary muscle contractions and paralysis in insects

– It is both a contact and ingestion poison with high specificity for some insects and consequent low toxicity for mammals, birds, and even many non-target insects

– Because of its safety and specificity, spinosad has been rapidly adapted by both non-organic and organic farmers for use on a wide array of fruits and vegetable crops

– Spinosad has less than 5% of the toxicity of aspirin

Pesticides• NEEM EXTRACT or AZADIRACHTIN is a

botanical insecticide/fungicide obtained primarily from the seeds of the neem tree.

– Little is known about the ways in which azadirachtin works to kill insects and fungi, although its toxicity to mammals appears to be relatively low

Pesticides• SABADILLA is an alkaloid toxin obtained from seeds

of the South American lily.

– Sabadilla works by disrupting nerve cells, leading to the loss of nerve function, paralysis and eventually death

– Sabadilla is the least toxic of the botanical insecticides – The purified alkaloid however is very toxic and is a severe

skin irritant – Small amounts may cause headaches, nausea, vomiting,

etc. Large doses may cause convulsions and cardiac & respiratory failure

– It is used as a broad spectrum contact and stomach poison – Sabadilla is effective against many insects including honey

bees

Pesticides• Organic farmers claim to use a combination of

techniques to avoid having to “resort” to using pesticides, such as:– Planting resistant crop varieties– Using bio-control organisms– Rotating crops– Keeping crops healthy

• All farmers use these techniques in varying degrees and combinations

• These techniques are only partially effective in preventing pests and/or disease outbreaks

• The biggest difference in pest management between organic and non-organic farmers is that organic farmers generally accept higher amount of crop damage and crop loss before resorting to using pesticides

Pesticides• Organic farmers may spray ten times more

pesticides than non-organic farmers• Why?

– Many organic pesticides break down quickly so they are sprayed more often

– Organic pesticides are generally less effective so they are sprayed at higher concentrations

• Organic pesticides pose exactly the same sort of environmental and health risks as do non-organic pesticides and often pose more risks than synthetics

• The difference between organic and synthetic pesticides is not their toxicity to pests, people or the environment, but rather their origin

Pesticides• It is hardly even acknowledged that organic

farmers use pesticides let alone keep track of their farms pesticide use

• How much of which “organic” pesticides organic farmers use is a huge mystery because no one keeps track of it

• When it comes to pesticide use by organic farmers its essentially a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy

• There are no publicly available data either private or governmental sources on pesticides used by organic farmers

Pesticides• Farm Management Plans (FMPs)• FMPs must state what measures farmers are taking

to avoid using pesticides, as well as why, when and how much organic pesticides will be used

• There is not a single report or study of organic farm pesticide use

• In contrast- USDA and the EPA compile statistics on non-organic farm pesticide use

• Nobody can claim to know specifically how much or how little organic farmers use pesticides

• No agency of the US government has any immediate plans to compile statistics of organic farms

Pesticides• CU and OMRI analyzed 26,000 samples of

conventional foods and only 194 samples of organic produce

• ¼ of organic fruits and vegetables contained measureable traces of synthetic pesticides

• USDA found synthetic pesticides on half of the organic peaches, broccoli and celery it tested, As well as 1/3 of organic cantaloupe and lettuce.

• Nearly 10% of organic produce contained higher levels of synthetic pesticides

Pesticides• One reason why organic (and non-organic)

foods show pesticides is that traces of older banned pesticides remain in our environment

• If you’re worried about synthetic pesticides you should also worry about organic pesticide residues

• NRC concluded in 1999 that synthetic pesticide residue poses a lower theoretical cancer risk than the natural plant pesticides and other chemicals found in our food

Pesticides• Pesticide risks are tiny and purely theoretical• The traces of synthetic pesticides found on

both conventional and organic foods were far below government established safety levels

• Every substance is toxic at a high enough dose

• EPA establishes reference doses based on extensive animal testing

• The agency looks at both long term and short term effects

Pesticides• How cautious is the EPA?

– Allow one two-thousandths of a totally non-toxic daily dose

• One aspirin is one-seventieth of an immediate toxic dose, so these exposures are incredibly safe

• Analytical testing methods now show residues in the parts per billion

• That’s the equivalent of one second in 32 years

• All foods are perfectly safe to eat!

Antibiotics/HormonesThe following bottom line statistic from recent testing by USDA: Conventional milk in the US is 100% free of artificial hormones and 99.999% free of antibiotics.

-National Milk Drug Residue Data Base: Fiscal Year 2005 Annual Report. 2006. Food and Drug Administration for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Hormones in Milk• Organic milk and non-organic milk are

essentially identical• Hormones appear naturally in all milk, eggs

and soy products• Soy and other plants contain estrogen

chemicals at higher levels than meat, milk and eggs

Hormones in Milk• Hormones allowed for dairy cows: a biotech

“nature-identical” copy of the cows natural growth hormone (bGH)

• The biotech version rbGH is used roughly in 1/3 of US dairy cows

• rbGH extends peak milk production and results in 15 to 20% higher total milk yields

• rbGH does not increase the size of a cows udder or cause swollen, over-full udders

Hormones in Milk• rbGH is injected into the cows muscle, not

the udder• It does not alter levels of natural hormones

or add any “artificial hormones” to the milk• The milk remains indistinguishable because

the biotech hormone is identical to natural hormones

Hormones in Milk• Meat from dairy cows given rbGH is also

safe for consumption• Extensive testing was done before the use of

rbGH • All testing of rbGH was done by 3rd party

scientists and reviewed by FDA• All scientists said it was safe and none of the

studies showed the hormone to appear in or alter the milk or meat

Hormones in Milk• rbGH has no effect on cows or people if

eaten• Our digestive system breaks it down like all

other proteins consumed• “synthetic growth hormone”? FALSE• rbGH is made in bacteria using the DNA

blueprint from cows; it is 95% identical to the cows natural bGH

Antibiotics in Milk• Protecting Consumers

1.FDA withdraw periods

2.Milk getting delivered is tested

3.Processors test milk in storage

4.Milk leaving plants gets random testing

Antibiotics in Milk• 2005 – 0.3% of all milk processed in US

tested positive for antibiotics• One out of every 3,000 pounds of milk has

traces of antibiotics, but this has never entered the food chain

• Scientists contracted by FDA compiled and analyzed data which stated that US milk supply is 99.999% free of antibiotic residue

• There simply isn’t a food sold that is assured of being more pure

Hormones in Meat Products• No supplements allowed or sold for use in

pigs and poultry• 2% of beef has detectable traces of synthetic

hormones• 6 hormones allowed in beef production in US

and Canada• 3 of the 6 are natural• 3 of the 6 are synthetic and mimic the activity

of the natural hormones

Hormones in Meat Products• Melegestrol (MGA) mimics progestrone

• Trenbolone acetate (TBA) mimics testosterone

• Zeranol mimics estradoil

• Synthetic hormones are allowed because:– Improve beef quality

– Improve growth rates

– Improve feed conversion

• Hormones are lost during castration

• Replacing those hormones with supplements resulted in leaner beef

Hormones in Meat Products• Hormone implants approved by FDA in 1956• FDA regulates hormones to be administered through

time-released implants• Implants ensure hormones are released slowly so

the concentration of hormones in the animal is consistent and low

• 13 pounds of beef from implanted steer = estradiol in one egg

• One glass of milk has 9 times as much estradiol as a ½ pound of implanted beef

• ½ pound of potatoes has 245ng of estrogen equivalent compared to 1.3ng from ¼ pound of untreated beef and 1.9ng of treated beef

Hormones in Meat Products• Estradiol is so safe the World Health

Organization, UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization Expert Committee and FDA didn’t even establish a Maximum Residue Limit

• 1 pound of beef raised using estradiol contains 15,000 times less of the hormone than produced daily by the average man and 9 million times less than pregnant women

Hormones in Meat Products• 2004: Melegestrol (MGA) was found in 20

samples out of 238 tested at levels less than 0.1 millionth of a gram

• USDA in 2003: found MGA in 7 out of 187 fat samples at just over 5 millionths of a gram

• FDA’s Maximum Residue Limit is 25 millionths of a gram

• Prepubertal boys produce about 150 millionths of a gram per day of progestrone, 150 times more than the contaminated beef

• All groups that have examined tissue found no realistic health threats from the natural or synthetic hormones

Antibiotics in Meat Products• Humane animal treatment laws• Every animal has to deal with disease• Antibiotic residues have been found in less

than 2% of the US meat supply• Less than 0.1% had antibiotic residues

above the FDA limit

Antibiotics in Meat Products

• 1 in 20 chance of finding any antibiotic residue in conventional pork (5%)

• 1 in 1,000 chance of there being residue over the FDA limit

• Beef and chicken have a 1% detection rate and 0.1% residue being higher than FDA limit

% of samples that have antibiotic residue detection

% of samples with antibiotic residue above FDA limit

BEEF 0.32% 0.09%

PORK 4.75% 0.13%

CHICKEN 0.90% 0.03%

Antibiotics in Meat Products• Debate over sub-therapeutic antibiotics vs.

therapeutic• Claims that sub-therapeutic antibiotics

increase antibiotic-resistant microbes in food• These bacteria rarely cause human

infections• Of the 20 most serious bacterial infections,

12 cannot be acquired from food • Remaining 8 account for 1% of all cases of

antibiotic-resistance illness in people

Antibiotics in Meat Products• Europe has banned sub-therapeutic use of

antibiotics and has seen an increase of food-borne illness

• NOT a single person has become allergic to antibiotics from food exposure

• Those allergic to antibiotics are not threatened by traces occasionally found in food

Animal Treatment• National Organics Standards :

– Must have access to outdoors, including pastures– May be temporarily confined for health, safety,

the animals stage of life, or to protect soil and water quality

Animal Treatment• The only non-organic animal raised in cages

is egg-laying hens. – 3 to 5 per cage– Prevents cannibalism– Eases egg collecting– Reduce disease

• Mother sows are kept in farrowing crates to prevent them from rolling onto the little piglets

• Other than these circumstances no cages are used

Animal Treatment• Confinement Farms:

– Cows roam within a barn– Cooler in summer, warmer in winter– Eat and drink at will

• Pigs:– 5 to 10 in open pens– Climate controlled house– More than enough room to move around

• Turkey and Chicken – Houses where interior is wide open– More comfortable– Less loss of birds to weather or predators– Safer for human consumption

Family Farming• Many organic products come from large

corporate farms– Cascadian Farms and Muir Glen = General Mills– Morningstar Farms and Kashi = Kellogg– Back to Nature and Boca Burgers = Kraft– Odwalla = Coca-Cola– Seeds of Change = M&M/Mars– Silk, White Wave, Alta Dean and Horizons =

Dean Products– Ben & Jerry’s and Ragu Organics = Unilever– Knudson Juices = Smuckers

Family Farming• Not enough supply of domestically grown

organics for increase in demand• Many organic products are being shipped

from overseas– 1/3 of organic products sold in the United States

is imported from Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, China and Central and South America

Food Safety“Experts say that increased consumption of organically grown, unprocessed foods produced without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or preservatives may also be contributing to the problem of increased food borne illness from produce. Organic means ‘a food grown in animal manure’.”

-Robert V. Tauxe, M.D., MPH, chief of the CDC’s food borne and diarrheal disease branch.

Food Safety“The real bad news for you organics buyers is that the average concentration of E. coli in the contaminated organic spring mix was much larger…the organics tested were twice as likely to have E. coli and had larger amounts.”

-ABC News 20/20, How good is organic food?, February 20,2000

Food Safety• Organics have a higher risk of food borne illness

and fungal toxins• Even though the risk is higher it is still low in

historical and global terms• 70 million people in the US are afflicted with food

borne illness each year• Animal manures are primary sources for

infectious microbes• Conventional farms use manure as well, but

mainly for livestock feed

Food Safety – E. coli• University of Minnesota Research• Compared 32 organic farms to 8 non-organic

looking for E. coli and Salmonella– Organic produce 6 times more likely to be

contaminated with generic E. coli – Generic E. coli present in 2 out of 129 samples of

conventional produce (about 1.6%)– Generic E. coli present in 46 out of 476 samples

of organic produce (9.7%)

Food Safety – E. coli• Minnesota Research

– 1/3 of organic onions were present with E. coli compared to 0 conventional

– Organic cabbage, zucchini and bok choy had E. coli 10% of the time compared to 0 conventional

– 1 in 4 heads of organic lettuce was contaminated with E. coli (22.4%) compared to 1 in 6 conventional (16.7%)

• All 32 organic farms used “aged or composted animal manure as a main source of fertilizer”

• Only 4 out of 8 conventional farms used manure at all

Food Safety – E. coli• USDA National Organic Standards allows

raw, uncomposted manure to be applied as close to 90 to 120 days before harvest

• Composted manure can be applied after as little as 3 to 15 days of composting

• E. coli can survive in cow manure for 70 days and can multiply in foods grown in manure unless heat, additives, or preservatives kill the microbes

Food Safety – E. coli/Salmonella• University of Georgia research

– E. coli in 16.7% (8 out of 48 samples) in organic “spring mix” lettuce

– 8.3% in conventional– Salmonella was found in 7.7% (3 out of 39

samples) of organic sprouts– 0 in 39 samples of conventional

Food Safety – E. coli• Organic lettuce caused outbreaks of E. coli in

Connecticut and Illinois in May and June of 1996• Traced back to rinse water at organic lettuce farm in

California• 24% of all E. coli H0157:H7 cases that were traced

back to a source by the CDC in 1996 were attributed to organic and natural foods

• More than 1/3 of all traced cases were from organic and natural foods

• The Journal of Applied Environmental Microbiology indicated that E. coli H0157:H7 can enter crops through the root and migrate to edible portions

• Washing fruits and vegetables alone may not be sufficient enough

Food Safety - Salmonella• Salmonella and Campylobacter has been known

to come from organic and free-range chickens• 2001 study in Denmark found organic chickens

3 times as likely to be contaminated with campylobacter

• All 22 chicken flocks were infected (100%), but only 29 out of 79 conventional were infected (36.7%)

• British Food Standard Agency found in 2002 that 99% of flocks tested were contaminated and 56% of conventional flocks were as well

Food Safety - Salmonella• Theory that higher contamination rates of

salmonella and campylobacter rates is due to more time spent outdoors– Wild bird feces– Other bacteria– Twice as long to reach marketable weight

• Proper cooking will kill these bacteria• Stringent food safety and hygiene must be

practiced

Food Safety – Fungal Toxins• Fungal toxin risks range from birth defects,

cancer, liver and kidney damage• Fungal toxins also called myotoxins:

produced by fungi growing on grains, fruits, and vegetables

• Myotoxins are a serious food safety risk and should be avoided and minimized as much as possible

Food Safety – Fungal Toxins• Problem in organic foods because they are

prohibited from using the most effective fungicides

• Allowable fungicides are sulfur and copper• They are not very effective• UK food safety officials are making new

limits on fumonisin in grains, especially corn• British Food Standard Agency showed

organic corn meal had radically higher contamination rates for fumonisin

Food Safety – Fungal Toxins• All brands of organic corn meal tested were

beyond safety limits and had to be recalled

• 6 organic corn meals failed with averages of 9,000 ppb of fumonisin that’s 100% failure rate

• 2 of the 6 had levels of 16,000 ppb

• 4 out of 27 conventional corn meals were also above safety limits

• 23 that didn’t fail had levels of only 120 ppb

• The FSA’s limit is 500 ppb of fumonisin in food

Food Safety – Fungal Toxins• Fumonisin causes excess tumors somewhere

between 25,000 ppb and 50,000 ppb • Some of the organic corn meal tested had levels

over 1/3 the level proven to cause cancer in rodents

• South African officials have established a link between high fumonisin levels in corn and esophageal cancer

• Fumonisin contamination of homemade corn tortillas has been linked to an outbreak of birth defects near Brownsville, Tx.

Food Safety – Fungal Toxins• More than 3,000 mycotoxins known produce

350 different food-associated molds and fungi

• Aside from fumonisin there is ergotomine, aflatoxin, patulin, ochratoxin, and vomitoxin

• Very strict regulations prevent aflatoxin in organic and non-organic produce

• Ergot poisoning killed hundreds of thousands in Europe between the 10th and 16th century

Food Safety – Fungal Toxins• Patulin is of particular concern in apple juice• Patulin causes premature death in rats• FDA’s action limit for juice and cider is 50

ppb• Organic apple juice has been found to have

10 times higher amount of patulin than conventional juice

Sustainable and Locally Grown• Another option is to purchase sustainable or

locally grown foods• Sustainable farms do not follow USDA’s

organic standards• Instead they incorporate ways that will not

deplete or permanently damage resources• Locally grown foods are described as those

grown within 100 miles of your home• Farmers grow what they have a demand for• CSA’s and Home-Delivery options