Recently the label “organic” has been springing up on food labels everywhere around the grocery store. People want to eat organic, but why? In the seven and a half years since the government began certifying food as organic, sales have more than doubled with more than 30 percent of Americans buying organic food on occasion.

Many believe organic food to be better for the body and the environment than processed food, but is that true? It depends. “We’re not clear if there is a huge difference between organic products and whole or processed products,” says Dr. Kaye-Ann Taylor, a local registered dietician of 19 years. “There is not enough real data that says there is a huge difference in regards to benefits.”

To be defined as USDA Organic, foods must not contain any preservatives, added chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides. Meat cannot be given antibiotics or growth hormones. Without using pesticides, farmers protect lands naturally without being exposed to harmful chemicals themselves. Organic products are then able to keep synthetic and enriched foods out of our diets.

“From the growing process and even how much packaging the food has are things that have an effect on our footprint,” says Taylor. “Generally, the more packaging food has, the less nutritional value.”

Taylor uses an apple as an example. By converting an apple into apple sauce it loses the skin and generally adds some preservatives to keep the sauce on the shelf longer, losing fiber and other nutrients along the way. “Then if you go to the next phase, apple juice, you’ve now lost all of the fiber and nutrients that travel along with the fiber polyps,” she says.

Keeping the food organic generally means keeping synthetic, “food like substances” out of your body. Many of these ingredients are found in processed foods, or foods that are allowed to use pesticides and preservatives. These foods can be grown, raised and engineered for a number of reasons. Benefits include stopping bacteria growth, preserving shelf life, increasing flavor and killing harmful pathogens.

“One of the major benefits with processed foods is cost,” says Taylor. “We can make the food last longer and travel across greater distances so it’s often a tradeoff between value and nutrition.”

Environmental advocates argue that many of the processes used to create processed foods are harmful for the planet. “All of those chemicals seep into the soil and groundwater, not to mention many of the animals are treated inhumanly,” says Stephen Briz, an environmental activist and UCF graduate student.

So, organic food seems like an obvious choice right? Well, not necessarily. So far we’ve talked about a lot of things that organic foods are, but there are a lot of things they aren’t. For one, they aren’t cheap. “The whole process of getting the organic product to market is very different, which tends to make it cost more,” says Taylor. “Not being able to use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers tends to drive the cost as well.”

It’s also important to note that just because food is organic doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Junk food that has been certified as organic is still junk food, just like their processed food counterparts. “Organic has become synonymous with healthy to some people, but that’s not always the case,” says Taylor.

Organic doesn’t mean local or sustainable, either. Frozen fish or vegetables from China can be certified organic, but that doesn’t mean the farming process was a green one. “Major corporations are involved in the organic food market now and their mass production assembly lines aren’t any better than their processed food counterparts,” says Briz.

The bottom line when shopping or trying to help the environment is to remember that whatever you decide to eat, there is a process behind it. Organic does not automatically mean “healthy” or “safe” just as processed doesn’t always mean “bad” or “unethical.”

“To be safe, go back to basics,” says Taylor. “If a food label looks like something made in a lab and you can’t figure out what the ingredients are, that’s probably something to stay away from.”

Article by Corey Gehrold