We explain what it really means for a food to be “organic”.
Nowadays it is common to go through the supermarket and find that some of the foods are classified as “organic“, “bio” or “organic”. The meaning of these terms is not usually known, but their association with the natural makes us have more confidence in this type of products, which are treated as if they were of higher quality.
In this article we will talk about the differences that exist between foods classified as organic and those that are not, so that we know exactly what we are buying.
What are organic foods?
Organic foods are those that adhere to a greater or lesser extent to specific production practices, the so-called organic agriculture. It is a type of agriculture that appeared in the early twentieth century, as a response to the rapid development and implementation of technology in the agricultural sector.
In the European Union, products containing more than 95% organically obtained ingredientscan carry the “organic product” mark on their packaging, always together with an indication of the place of origin of these products.
Organic farming rejects the use of most synthetic substances, such as pesticides or herbicides (or in the case of organic livestock, antibiotics). Nor do they use synthetic compounds to fertilize or nitrogen their fields, for example.
Organic foods of plant and animal originmeet quality standards in terms of production, which try to be a sustainable production, with local resources and that produces the minimum possible ecological disruption. Even so, today we have no evidence that organic eating is a health benefit.
The main differences between organic and “normal” foods
The production of organic food is carried out following strict guidelines, which govern the species that can be used, their feeding, care, waste management and even the ecological sustainability of the production activity. This becomes clear when we see the differences with the most common production of food:
1. Organic foods only use natural fertilizers
Fertilizer is a fundamental part of agriculture. As plants grow in the same field, they deplete part of the nutrients that are deposited in the soil.
Organic crops only use natural manure, such as manure. For this, it is often essential that next to the agricultural exploitation a parallel livestock farm is also carried out, from which to take advantage of the fertilizer to recover the nutrients of the field.
2. They ban most synthetic substances
In the production of organic foodthe use of synthetic compounds is not welcome. In plants, this means not being able to use the most effective fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. With animals, this means banning the use of hormones, growth factors or antibiotics in feed production.
3. Crop planning and architecture
Losing access to some of the most cutting-edge agricultural technologies makes the agricultural production model used in most modern farms unfeasible, for various reasons. Among them, we can highlightthe “wear and tear” of farmland, as well as vulnerability to attacks by parasites or infectious diseases. They are problems that can be bridged with technology, but organic farming also takes them into account.
To improve the productive capacity of organic farms, traditional cultivation techniques are used, left behind because they represent added difficulties to food production. For example, crop rotation, which is an agricultural technique that allows the better use of soil nutrients by changing the type of plant used in the same piece of land.
Other techniques, such as mixed crops, protect the plantation from diseases that consume the entire production. Mixed crops add a certain degree of “ecological protection”, in addition to attracting greater numbers of pollinating insects and other useful animals, such as predators of insects that parasitize plants.
4. Management of waste from production
Waste produced during the process of obtaining foodis a problem. Today’s agricultural industry has difficulty managing environmentally polluting substances, such as pesticides or slurry, which leach into groundwater contaminating large water systems.
Organic production should take into account as much as possible thatany waste produced should ideally be recycled for the benefit of the farm. This is facilitated by having a livestock farm and an agricultural farm in the same area, since vegetable waste can serve as feed, while animal waste can function as fertilizer.
5. They cannot contain genetically modified organisms -GMOs-
One of the most important characteristics of organic products is that under no circumstances can they contain genetically modified organisms. Organic agriculture renounces the most advanced technologies of food production, and genetically modified organisms are part of these technologies.
6. Higher incidence of pests and diseases
Unfortunately, not everything is advantages in organic fields. Especially if great care is not taken in choosing compatible species, from which certain synergistic effects are obtained for the health of agricultural production, it is common for this type of plantations and livestock farmsto suffer from a greater number of diseases and pests.
Not using pesticides or antibiotics has as an implicit risk the higher incidence of diseases and various pests on the organic farm. This can be remedied in multiple ways, such as by promoting the presence of organisms beneficial to exploitation (insect predators, for example), as well as using the technique of mixed crops, which protects to some degree from the spread of diseases.
References
- Smith-Spangler, C., Brandeau, M., Hunter, G., Bavinger, J., Pearson, M., & Eschbach, P. et al. (2012). Are Organic Foods Safer or Healthier Than Conventional Alternatives?. Annals Of Internal Medicine, 157(5), 348. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-157-5-201209040-00007,
- Dangour, A., Lock, K., Hayter, A., Aikenhead, A., Allen, E., & Uauy, R. (2010). Nutrition-related health effects of organic foods: a systematic review. The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, 92(1), 203-210. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2010.29269.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.