La Montaita Co-Op

913 W Alameda St, Santa Fe, NM 87501

March 21, 2015

Sarah Boss
Board Member
La Montaita Co-Op
913 W. Alameda St.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Dear Sarah Boss,

As you requested, I researched and wrote this paper regarding organic foods. Our
customers and member-owners are very concerned with the quality of the food they are
buying. Many of them eat organic to avoid added chemicals (including pesticides) and
genetically modified foods.
I hope that you will be able to use this information to improve our business.
Please contact me if you have questions, I am more than willing to further discuss this
with you.

Sincerely,
Claire Noonan
Marketing Intern

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Claire Noonan
Breanne Potter
English 120
March 22, 2015
Food Labeled as Organic May Not be Superior
At grocery stores across America, consumers are presented with an overwhelming
amount of choices. Shopping can be so confusing. Many people want to eat healthy
foods, but are not sure what to buy. The labels cry out: Natural! Zero calories! No trans
fats! No high-fructose corn syrup! Non GMO! Low fat! Low sugar! Humanely produced!
Environmentally friendly! Cage free! Nitrate free! Gluten free! No artificial
preservatives! and No worries! One of the only labels that is actually regulated is
organic (Scialabba 3). Organic foods are supposed to be free of synthetic pesticides and
additives, good for the earth, and good for the body. The concept of organic food is
incredibly appealing to consumers. Less than appealing is the combination of misleading
marketing, deceptive labeling, accidental mishaps resulting in cross contamination,
outright fraud, permitted nonorganic additives, price inflation, increasing corporatization,
and a lack of data supporting the idea that organic food is superior to conventional. Many
products that are labeled as organic on store shelves are not necessarily always the high
quality foods that consumers may imagine they are buying.

What Exactly Does Certified Organic Mean?

By definition, Organic farming is a production method that is intended to be
sustainable and harmonious with the environment (Blair 3). Another definition:

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Organic agricultural technologies have been used for about 6000 years to make
agriculture sustainable while conserving soil, water, energy, and biological resources
(Pimentel 579). According to the standards set by the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization, organic food is defined in the Codex Alimentarius as being
produced within ecosystems which achieve sustainable productivity, and provide weed,
pest and disease control through a diverse mix of mutually dependent life forms,
recycling plant and animal residues, crop selection and rotation, water management,
tillage and cultivation. Soil fertility is maintained and enhanced (Codex 5-6). However,
the Codex Alimentarius is only a guide and is not enacted law. There is currently no
internationally agreed upon standard for what constitutes organic practice (Blair 4). Many
developed countries enact their own organic standards, based upon the Codex
Alimentarius (Blair 4; Scialabba 18). Here in America, the USDA is in cooperation with
the FDA and the EPA to regulate, monitor, and update organic standards and labeling
(Blair 25-26). The US enacted the Organic Foods Act in 1990 and further updated it in
2005 (Organic Foods).
In order to achieve certified organic status, an organic producer or handler is
certified through local regulators and agencies that enact the standards set forth by the
USDA (Organic Foods 25-5). It is contingent upon the application, adherence,
certification, and verification to organic principles, regulations, and agencies (Blair 4;
Organic Foods). Organic certification relies on records kept by the producer (Blair 4).
Periodic testing is only warranted if it is suspected that a certified organic farm or handler
is in violation of the certification rules (Organic Foods 25-7). Consumers rely heavily on
certification labeling to verify organic claims (Scialabba 18).

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Higher Prices for Organic Foods

Organic food is in demand. People are willing to pay higher prices for organic
food (Pimentel 581). Consumers are attracted to the ideals behind sustainably produced
food, and are further seduced by promises of better nutrition and lack of synthetic
chemicals. In many instances, more expensive items are supposed to be of higher quality.
Organic foods are more expensive at the market for many other reasons, including: the
branding of organic products, certification and inspection costs, costly handling efforts to
avoid cross contamination and spoilage, and most understandably because organic food is
generally more costly to produce (Scialabba 12). Organic farming is also significantly
labor intensive when compared to conventional farming (Scialabba 14). While organic
food is indeed more expensive to produce than conventional food, the price that
consumers pay has become inflated by the increasing demand (Blair 3). Consumers are
willing to pay more money for organic foods because they believe that they are buying
superior products.
Corporatization and Big Organic
When consumers imagine organic food production, intimate family farms and
animals roaming free on green pastures come to mind. This picture is far from reality as
small organic businesses and farms are increasingly bought out by large food
corporations (Strom). Organic agriculture has been growing quickly and this trend is only
continuing (Pimentel 574). Organic food in America has become vastly corporate as large
companies recognize how profitable selling organic food can be (Strom).
Cross Contamination and Fraud

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Accidental cross contamination and instances of intentional fraud result in foods

that are not actually organic being marketed and labeled as certified organic, when in fact
they are not. In the case of industrialized organic agriculture, there are many
opportunities for contamination... [it] can occur in the field or orchard, during
harvesting, post-harvest handling, processing, shipping or marketing (Blair 42). As
previously discussed, consumers willingly pay more for organic foods. As such,
producers and grocers are incentivized to market their goods as being organic in order to
increase profits, regardless of whether the foods were grown following organic practices.
Several cases of fraud have been reported, sellers passing off regular food as the more
expensive organic food (Blair 6). Fraud and cross contamination both result in food
being blatantly and falsely labeled as organic.
Nonorganic Ingredients in Organic Foods
Foods that are certified organic are routinely permitted to contain nonorganic
additives. Under the US Organic Foods Act, the National Organic Standards Board
(NOSB) is responsible for regulating organic production and defining exactly how
organic labeling can be used (Organic Foods Act; Pimentel 573; Strom). The people who
staff the NOSB represent major agricultural corporations, not small family farms. Not
surprisingly, the NOSB has enacted policies that allow for a growing list of nonorganic
ingredients that can be used in products with the coveted 'certified organic' label... more
than 250 nonorganic substances are on the list (Strom). Most people are not aware these
added ingredients are allowed in organic products.
Comparing Organic and Conventional Foods

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Certified organic foods are not necessarily free from contamination from chemical
pesticides and other residues. Organic food is not and never has been routinely tested to
determine whether or not it was produced following established organic standards (Blair
6). Even more surprising is that while conventional produce is tested to ensure that any
chemical residues present safety standards, organic produce is not (Blair 21). Also, the
NOSB admits, Organic agriculture practices cannot ensure that products are completely
free of residues (Gold). Several international studies have concluded organic produce is
generally free from pesticide residues, while a majority of conventional produce is also
free from pesticide residues (Blair 28-33). These findings suggest that conventional foods
actually are quite similar to organic foods, and additionally conventional foods are more
likely to be routinely tested for contamination.
Even though organic food is touted as superior and has become increasingly
popular, there have only been few documented and legitimate studies comparing organic
food to conventional. The toxicities of high levels of pesticides and other common food
additives are well documented (D'Mello). However, very few foods, whether
conventional or organic, violate established regulations on acceptable levels of chemical
contamination. Studies that do comparisons have mixed results (Blair). Not much data is
available regarding the production of organic foods (Scialabba 73). Generally, there is so
much variation in agricultural operations, not to mention the differences in microclimates,
feed practices and fertilizer application, year-to-year fluctuations, species differences, and
individual organisms' variability. Current research reveals few documented differences
between conventional and organic foods (Blair). There is a definite need for more

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recorded data in order to better understand the differences and make detailed
comparisons.
Conclusion
Organic food is presented as being superior to conventional food, and this is not
necessarily the case. Organic food is subjected to certification processes but not strict
quality testing. Organic foods are prone to contamination, are occasionally fraudulently
mislabeled, can legally contain nonorganic ingredients, and have not been proven to be
significantly different from conventional foods. Products labeled as organic are not
always the high quality foods that consumers expect them to be.

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Works Cited
Blair, Robert. Organic Production and Food Quality : A Down to Earth Analysis.
Hoboken: Wiley, 2011. Digital File.
Codex Alimentarius, organically produced foods. Rome: Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations World Health Organization, 2001. Digital File.
D'Mello, J P. F. Food Safety: Contaminants and Toxins. Oxon, UK: CABI Pub, 2003.
Digital File.
Gold, Mary V. Organic Production/Organic Food: Information Access Tools. USDA
National Agricultural Library. 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2015
Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. Pub. L. 109-97. 104 Stat. 3935. 5 Nov. 2005.
Web. 18 Mar. 2015.
Pimentel, David, et. al. Environmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of
Organic and Conventional Farming Systems. BioScience. 55.1 (2005): 573-582.
Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
Scialabba, Nadia El-Hage, and Caroline Hattam eds. Environment and Natural Resources
Series. Vol. 4. Organic Agriculture, Environment and Food Security. Rome: Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2002. Digital File.
Strom, Stephanie. Has Organic Been Oversized? The New York Times. The New York
Times, 7 Jul. 2012. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.