PARENTS PICK ORGANIC

Many people decide to ‘go organic’ for the sake of their children.  The issues about chemical use in food production suddenly come into sharp focus, when contemplating their effect on a child’s small body.  

Chemicals are not comical

The latest government study of non-organic produced foods found pesticide residues in nearly a 27 per cent of foods overall.  Even baby foods are not immune from these chemicals which may give rise to health concerns and eleven per cent of baby foods have pesticide residues in them.  Official spokespeople will always mention that the majority of these residues are well within the safe limits which have been set.  The main criticism of this stance, by people such as Professor John Wargo author of Our Children’s Toxic Legacy is that little is known of the cumulative effects of eating a cocktail of different residues, particularly on the bodies of small children.

Organic food has proved itself in the eyes of many parents by not being subject to many of the food scares which have come to a head in the last three decades.  To date there have been no cases of BSE in totally organic beef herds. Banned chemicals, such as DDT and the recently withdrawn Lindane, about which there are serious health concerns (such as causing cancers), have never been used in organic food production at all.  The current worry that high use of antibiotics in livestock as growth promoters is likely to be contributing significantly to the birth of the ‘superbug’ as bacteria become resistant to existing antibiotics has not been an issue with organic produce as antibiotics are only used (as they should be) for medicinal purposes. 

Organic Junk Food?
However, your children can eat an organic junk food diet just as easily as a non-organic junk food diet, and fresh foods need never pass their lips.  Packaged foods provide high profit margins for the producers which means that they are keen to jump on the bandwagon.  They can also be very seductive to the buyer for many reasons, not least of all convenience, but it may be best to reserve your organic purchasing power for fresh foods. Organic sugar and white flour products are really not worth buying, and it is pretty safe to say that ignoring some products such as organic sweets and organic doughnuts is the best policy (though there could be environmental arguments for using them.

It is well worth reading the labels - don’t assume that because it says organic that it is healthier.  For instance some organic cereals have more sugar or salt than the same brand non-organic version, and this is true of other products.  There are, however, some good quality convenience-food producers who aim their products at the children’s market and who are interested in the ethical issues surrounding our children’s food (such as giving them good quality ingredients).  They make familiar convenience, but organic and additive-free, foods such as burgers, sausages, pizzas, cornflakes and other foods.  These include Organix Favourites who make frozen convenience foods, Pure Organics with their ‘For Georgia’s sake’ range of frozen foods (designed to help the owners’ autistic child’s need for an additive-free diet), and Whole Earth Foods who make a wide range of familiar packet, bottled and canned organic foods.

Taste Test
Recently newspapers have jumped on the widely held belief that organic foods are supposed to taste better, and indeed taste tests have shown mixed results.  Some individual studies show that organic foods taste better, but plenty don’t.  Because of the lower water content organic vegetables do tend to hold their shape better, and so taste better when cooked, when compared to conventional vegetables which can often turn mushy quite quickly, but other food groups, and particularly processed foods, may not necessarily taste better.  I have found that organic chickens perform well on the taste test because better living conditions and more exercise means that the meat is less fatty and stronger tasting.

You can get badly produced organic foods just as much as you can get tasteless non-organic produce, and you may need to persevere to find suppliers, shops or brands that you like.  I have made a number of converts to eating organic vegetables and meat in my area when I have served them to friends who subsequently signed up to the local box scheme (and this includes a few wives of farmers who farm conventionally!).

Nutrient Content
There have been questions raised about whether organic food is nutritionally more beneficial than non-organic produce.  There is no definitive answer to this and some tests have shown for and some against.  We have, however, seen a drop in the nutritional content of conventionally produced foods since the war years (before which organic-type production was the norm and not the exception) and there really needs to be better and more comprehensive testing than has been done to date.  However it does seem that vitamin C levels and levels of a compound called salicilates are higher in organic vegetables and healthy omega-3 fatty acid levels are higher in organic milk.

Buy locally
There is of course always a chance that the huge demand, along with the pressure of supermarkets entering the arena, will mean lower standards.  The drive for perfectly shaped fruit and vegetables and aggressive pricing with suppliers already means that the big supermarkets are choosing to source more produce from overseas.  The bigger the market becomes the more difficult it is likely to become to regulate.  Families can do their bit to support UK farmers who have made the investment in converting to organic production, and in so doing in leading the trend, by buying locally whenever possible.

Cut the cost
Another issue for many families is the question of cost.  There is no doubt that, on average, organic foods cost more than non-organic.  This is probably going to continue as the yields are less on organic farms than on non-organic, precisely because they don’t use intensive rearing and try to squeeze every last gasp out of the land.  However the margins in supermarkets do sometimes seem to be disproportionately high, and again a less expensive basket can usually be obtained by shopping around and using local suppliers.  Another way to cut back on cost is to avoid stocking up with convenience foods and to cook more from scratch, using cheaper, in season, produce and focussing more on inexpensive beans, pulses and grains.