Facts and fiction about organic foods

Are organic foods safer?
They certainly have fewer synthetic chemicals than regular fruit and vegetables, and this has been confirmed by government testing in both Victoria and NSW. For all other food safety and health risks organic foods must comply with the same standards as conventional foods. Organic standards also prohibit the use of irradiation, GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) and nano technology.

Are organic foods healthier?
Getting fewer chemicals with your food is likely to be healthier, but for actual amounts of nutrients in the food there are differing opinions. The nutrients in foods depend on many things such as where it was grown, the variety used, the season, when it was picked, length of storage and so on.
An increasing amount of research is being undertaken across the world with results that indicate that organic foods can have higher nutritional benefits.
Organic standards also prohibit the use of many food additives and intensive processing methods, meaning less health risk problems associated with some food additives and highly processed foods.

Do organic foods taste better?
Many people do believe that organic foods taste better with a fuller, richer flavour. This may be due to the flavour being more concentrated because growth is not forced by excessive fertiliser or growth promotants. Organic produce is often chosen in preference to conventional products for processing as quality and flavour is found to be superior.

Do organic foods last longer?
Again this depends on many variables but a freshly picked product, grown in a healthy environment with minimal travel distance and handling until the point of sale will always last longer in the correct storage.

Is organic production kinder to animals?
The natural behaviour of animals is central to organic animal farming. Animals must be allowed to free range and cannot be force fed in feedlots with unnatural diets of grain and growth promotants. There are also special provisions for livestock numbers per hectare, housing, handling and transport to ensure better animal welfare.

Is organic farming free from genetic modification organisms (GMO’s)?
Genetically Modified Organisms are not allowed in certified organic farming or processing.

Is organic farming better for the environment?
Scientific studies are now showing that organic farming can be more sustainable and better for the environment that regular farming. The key environmental issues are:

• Water – all living things need water. Organic methods typically can use less water than regular farming because of the way organic methods improve the soil.  Good organic soils rich in humus can absorb and hold more water so less water runs off the surface of the soil and less irrigation is needed. Also because organic farming does not use highly soluble fertilisers like super phosphate and ammonium nitrate or synthetic pesticides, less of these chemicals are lost from the farmland to end up polluting our drinking water and rivers.

• Soil – our food supply is dependent on good soil conditions and fertility. Organic farming regenerates soil fertility by building soil organic matter (carbon) levels and promoting healthy soil biology. This results in soils that are less prone to erosion and poor soil structure. Also healthy organic soils allow plants to make better use of fertilisers so less fertiliser is required which means less fossil fuel (energy) is required and less greenhouse gas is produced.
• Biodiversity – nature has a remarkable number of different plants, animals and other organisms. Very few of these we use to produce food, fibre and shelter. However, the vast majority are relatively unknown and their potential value in the development of foods, medicines and materials is yet to be discovered. Organic farming has been shown to increase biodiversity on and around the farm, partly because no synthetic chemicals are used. Synthetic chemicals can be toxic to insects, frogs, birds etc. Organic production actually encourages biodiversity as a natural method to prevent pests and diseases becoming a problem. The National Organic Standard has a requirement for farmers to set aside a percentage of their land from intensive production to encourage biodiversity.

• Climate Change - we are all affected by climate change. Organic farming can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in many ways, and by significant amounts. Scientific studies have shown that organic farms can store more carbon in the soil as organic matter, use less fuel energy, have less emissions from herbicides and fertilisers (especially nitrous oxide from nitrogen fertiliser) and pasture based livestock emit less methane than grain fed high nitrogen feedlot methods. Also organic production tends to be more resilient to extremes of weather like floods and droughts.