#58: Is Organic Food Healthier?

Hey Friends,

There are several misconceptions surrounding what organic foods are and their health benefits.

Today, I’m going to discuss what it actually means for a food to be certified organic and the advantages organic foods have over standard foods.

Weekly Action Point

At the start of every day this week, before you do anything else, I want you to write down one short intention for the day.

It could be a goal, a task you want to complete that day, or really anything.

Just write down one thing that you are working towards or that you are looking to accomplish that day.

It doesn’t have to be more than a sentence, and can realistically take under 30 seconds to do this.

But, writing something down brings attention to it and helps to actually make it happen. These can be 30 seconds that have a profound impact on how you approach your day.

What is an organic food?

Is organic food healthier?

Short answer: yes… kinda?

Before I get into why organic food is or is not healthier, it’s first important to understand what an organic food is.

The organic label applies to the farming practices used while growing the food. It does not have anything to do with the nutrient quality of the food, purely how it is grown (or raised in the case of meat).

According to the USDA, organic foods must use “approved practices that promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity.”

Organic foods must be grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The keyword there is “synthetic”. The most common misconception surrounding organic food: people often believe that organic foods are grown without any pesticides. This just isn’t the case.

Organic farming is allowed to use natural or “naturally derived” chemicals on their crops.

Some examples of these “natural” chemicals that are used in organic farming include: Copper sulfate, kaolin clay, neem oil, and pyrethrin - look them up if you’re curious.

So I’ll say it again: organic does not mean chemical-free. It means the chemicals are derived from natural compounds.

Natural doesn’t always mean harmless. These chemicals generally break down faster than synthetic ones and so are more friendly on the environment, however can still be toxic with overuse.

Copper sulfate, for example, can be toxic to soil and aquatic life.

For meats, organic foods relate to how the animal is raised and fed. Organic animals are not allowed to be given any antibiotics or growth hormones, and must eat organic feed. Additionally, organic animals must “have access to the outdoors”.

Rules don’t necessarily specify how much access to the outdoors these animals must have, so as you can imagine, many companies push this restriction to the extreme.

Access to the outdoors could range from an entirely open pasture-raised setting to a large barn with a small door to the outside.

The only set rule that I could find while researching this was for organic cows. During the grazing season (120 days), they are required to have 30% of their intake come from pasture grazing.

For some overly simplified math: 30% of 120 days is about 36 days. So effectively, 36 days out of the 365 in the year come from pasture grazing for the cows. Again, that’s way over-simplified, but it puts it into perspective a bit for you.

Key Takeaways:

• The organic food label relates to how the food is grown or how the animal is raised, not the nutrient quality of the food

• Organic foods don’t have more protein, fewer calories, or better nutrients

• The organic label is primarily an environmental label to promote biodiversity. Generally speaking, organically produced foods are healthier for the environment.

Is organic food healthier?

So, now that we have a general idea of what an organic food is, back to the main question. Are organic foods healthier?

I gave my short answer already: yes… kinda?

Eating organic foods is healthier, not because of the organic label on the food, but rather it’s the category that organic foods fall into.

Let me explain what I mean.

Generally speaking, foods that come with an organic option are fruits, vegetables, lean meats, dairy, eggs, etc.

When you compare these categories of foods to things like chips, cookies, fast food, soda, or ice cream, yes, organic foods are much healthier.

However, I believe most of the health benefits are coming from the types of foods that you are eating when you choose to eat organic.

Eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats in general will be far healthier, whether they have the organic label or not.

I would say that organic foods are better for the environment, but I don’t think it’s as drastic a difference as some people believe. As I tried to highlight in the above section, the rules for qualifying as an organic food are somewhat murky.

The main goal for food companies is to make money. So you best believe that many of them are pushing the limits on what qualifies as an organic food because they want to sell their product for more.

So yes, generally organic foods are probably better for the environment. But it isn’t a night-and-day difference like many people believe.

And as I already mentioned, there is no difference in the nutrient profile between organic and standard foods.

Most synthetic pesticides used in standard farming can be removed if you thoroughly wash your produce.

I say all of this to arrive at one major conclusion:

If you have the financial means to afford organic food, go for it!

However, I think the vast majority of the health benefits come from just prioritizing fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and real foods, regardless of whether they are organic or not.

So if you can’t afford organic food, don’t stress. Just buy regular produce/meats. Organic is just a small bonus for the environment if you can afford it.

Hopefully, this is at least somewhat helpful. Organic food is a huge topic, one that is extremely difficult for me to keep under 1000 words in a newsletter that’s supposed to be a 5-10 min read.

So keep in mind that I oversimplified this entire discussion so that it didn’t get insanely long :)

Ben’s Best

If you are tired of boring meal preps, give this one a try. It takes just a little bit more effort and time, but it will be something you can look forward to all week.

mishkamakesfood

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Podcast I enjoyed this week:

Mind Pump 2680: The Fitness Obstacles Women Face and How to Solve Them

*it says women in the title, but honestly, I thought there were great reminders in there for both men and women

Have a great week y’all!

Remind yourself that you are doing awesome :)

Ben