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Jared Manwell
Prof. Packer
English 1010
26 March 2014
An Organically Grown Belief System
On a normal walk through any grocery store in America we are inundated with
advertisements and gimmicks in an attempt to separate us from our money. The ploys are usually
the same in that they guarantee, promise or even label the superior products differently. Some of
these products bear the label of all labels, organic. With a billion dollar revenue stream and
promises of higher nutrition, how could we even think to sell ourselves or our children short?
Think of the children. I happen to believe that the propaganda machine is in full swing with the
organic movement. Although this movement was possibly rooted with good intentions for the
safety of our food supply and the steering away from harmful pesticides like that of DDT. What
benefits do the organically farmed foods offer us and what are the risks in comparison to
conventional farming? I dont believe spending three times as much gives you a better product
nutritionally, environmentally or provides us with a vastly safer product.
Throughout history farming has always been organic. The fusion of pesticides into
farming didnt come around until WWII when chemicals like nerve gas were discovered to kill
insects. For one reason or another someone thought that nerve gas would be a great idea to spray
on our food. It appears Im not alone in my thinking, in 1962 Silent Spring was published. There
are many who credit Silent Spring for bringing the idea of organic agriculture to the conversation
again. Silent Spring spoke out against the wide use of pesticides and the dangers to the
environment. This by itself couldnt have marked the beginning, but it helped the conversation
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move forward. This started the push to remove DDT in farming. Then in the mid seventies DDT
was banned and the industry of organic farming began to grow. Many attribute this as the start of
the modern day environmental movement (Organic Industry Timeline). Granted, the
aforementioned info was found on the whole foods website so this opinion Silent Spring pushed
the movement forward is theirs to make. But this all seems to be the normal consensus. So now
Im starting to understand the reasons for the willingness to go back to organic farming, I mean
who wants nerve gas sprayed on their produce? So nerve gas was definitely a bad idea, but what
did the pioneers of organic farming have to offer? Thats easymanure.
Manure was reintroduced into farming to fertilize and maintain the soil. Combine that
with composting and the standard was beginning to be set for organic farming. But with the re-
introduction of manure some health risks came back to the surface. Support for organic farming
and its belief in being a better alternative to conventional farming isnt without its drawbacks. In
1996 the CDC brought some data to the table that states that people who eat organic or natural
foods have a higher risk of salmonella and E. coli linked to manure. They go on to say that back
in 1996 organic food made up 1% of the food supply but accounted for 8% of the confirmed E.
coli cases (Roos). That seems to be high in my opinion, but 1996 is a little further back than I
would like. So lets look at a study by the University of Minnesota from 2004. They took
samples from conventional farms, certified organic farms and farms that practiced organic
methods. With 476 samples from 32 organic farms and 129 samples from 8 conventional farms,
all of which were from Minnesota, some startling numbers were found. 9.7% of the organic
samples had E. coli present compared to 1.6% from the conventional produce. But then they took
the organic and split the two into groups. From the certified organic farms 4.3% had E. coli
present and a scary 11.4% from the organic method using farms. I wondered if these were the
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farms that harvest produce for farmers markets and the like. Lets face it, manure is fecal matter.
And with fecal matter contamination precautions need to be made, or Id hope. They do mention
that contamination was 19% higher on farms that used compost manure earlier than one year
(Roos). So it appears that leaving your manure in compost for over a year lessons the risk of
contamination, but the risk is still prevalent. With that out in the open Im sure the congregation
will switch the topic to the environmental benefits of organic farming.
Those devoted to the organic lifestyle often add that organic farming is totally better for
the environment. Some new findings might alter the consensus of the preconceived notions.
Oxford University analyzed some data from seventy-one journals that compared the two types of
farming. Granted the study revealed that organic farming is generally more positive to the land,
its not the case for greenhouse gases. Organic milk uses more land, about 80% more, and has
20% more global warming potential. Methane from cows accounts for more damage per unit
than CO2 to global warming (Bailey). Why does this information seem to be hidden? I remember
some news reports about some E-coli being linked to spinach farms, cant seem to remember the
word organic coming up at all. Im beginning to feel that some information is best kept quiet,
especially if it could damage the organic presumption. So lets move along to one of the best lies
that come out of the camp for organic.
The organic belief that their produce is greater in nutritional content is quite the tall tale
considering the facts paint a different story all together. There have been numerous studies from
accredited universities and researchers. Lets cite one of them, Stanford University. They
published a study in the Annals of Medicine and concluded that Consumers purchase organic
foods for many reasons. Despite the widespread perception that organically produced foods are
more nutritious than conventionally alternatives, we did not find robust evidence to support this
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perception (Annals of Internal Medicine). Im sorry to say that this little gem levels the playing
ground. Im still curious though, why would we all be so willing to spend so much more on
produce and milk. Now granted some think that organic food tastes better and that its all about
supporting your local farmers and agriculture. About how it tastes, I can see that as possibly
being an argument until you look around at blind taste tests available all over the web and notice
the results are inconclusive. Many organic followers choose the non organic and vice versa. So
what right, it seems to be a good thing to support your local farmers at the community level.
These farmers are part of the organic movement and need our supportright?
For me to properly introduce that big business has been buying up organic farms at a
staggering pace I need to bring to light the some often overlooked downfalls. Not only are a
majority of the organic items you can find at the grocery store not local, or even from small
organic farms, theyre from some of the big players in conventional farming. Still I raise the
question, who cares right? Being organic is the same no matter how big or who runs the farms.
While that may true, I pose an argument that should make you think a little bit harder about that
notion. So lets go back to the farm bill of 1990. When the bill was passed it set up a National
Organics Standard Board that was to be the sheriff, so to speak, of organic farms. This over sight
board would decide the processes and chemicals allowed in the farming of organic products. If
you use something banned on the list or use a process deemed unfit, you wouldnt get to use the
prized organic label on your product. And with organic food becoming a multi-billion dollar
business the label is gold. The bill also set up the guidelines for who could be on this board.
Most importantly you have to have some farmers, processors, scientists, advocates and retailers
needed to be within the organic community. If you owned an organic farm you could be
considered. If you owned an organic processing facility or retailer you could be considered. So,
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as organic farming became more and more profitable the food giants started buying these small
farms and their brand names under the umbrella of such companies as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle,
Dean foods and Kellogg to name a few. If you really want to look at the potential scope, Nike is
planning on making organic cotton tees. Cornacopia.org tells us that in 1990 there were 81
independent organic processing companies, in 2001 there were 15. What does all this mean to
John Smith organic shopper? Well simply put, if you own a farm, you are considered for seats on
the board. With industry pull and the ability to sway a congressman here and there, the potential
for the entire organic label to be tainted is present. Add a chemical here, a process there and all
of a sudden the organic label is flawed. Itll be nothing more than a tool to charge three times as
much for the same thing. Although its farmed differently, its nutritionally the same as
conventional produce.
Many Studies have compared both organic and conventional farming and found no real
nutritional difference between the two. The farming practices give some good as well as some
bad. Corporations bought up most of the farms in a billion dollar sell out by the organic
community. In my opinion the movement saw dollars and the adage that everyone has a price
was proved again. This movement was to be a philosophical movement toward something
bigger, but alas the farmers still bowed to the almighty dollar. I conclude that reading labels and
tracking your food is still the best option for your personal health and diet. You can never have
too much information when it comes to what you put into your body. Following a movement that
you dont take a strong look at is the best way to get disappointed. Organically grown food is in
no way different and couldnt be expected to live up to the incredible claims by the most devout
followers.

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Annals of Internal Medicine. 9/4/2012, Vol. 157 Issue 5, following p348-366. 22p. 6 Diagrams,
2 Charts, 1 Graph.
Bailey, Ronald. "HIT & RUN BLOG." Reason.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Carson, Rachel, Lois Darling, and Louis Darling. Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962.
Print.
Organic Industry Timeline." Whole Foods Market. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Roos,Robert. "Study Yields Mixed Findings about Microbes on Organic Produce."CIDRAP.
N.p., 19 May 2004. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.