I've rambled before about how much the term "organic" when referring to food irks me,[1] but this is primarily a matter of terminology.

I am all for healthier food. And it may well be that (some) more "old fashioned" methods of raising crops and animals are healthier.

However, I think it a very faulty idea that natural is always better than man-made.[2]

Still, this idea is very ingrained in many people. It is one of the reasons I think that "organic" food is so popular.

Some other reasons people buy "organic" food are that they are scared of pesticides causing health problems and that "organic" food is supposed to be better for the environment.

Personally, being a chemist, I am well aware of the effects of dilution. The odds of any pesticides actually harming me are so low at the dilutions involved that it hardly warrants the outrageous overpricing stores give to "organic" foods. But "organic" food hardly hurts.

The third reason I mentioned for why people buy "organic" is because people are trying to buy "green", that is, they think that buying "organic" food is better for the environment, because the "organic" methods used in raising the crops and animals are better for the environment.

Consider, however, that most "organic" food is shipped from other locations. This means two things:

The food is not going to be as fresh. Whatever health benefits one may have gained from eating such food are most likely forfeited from the food losing its freshness during the travel. It is almost always healthier to eat fresh non-"Organic" food than it is to eat old "organic" food.

The effect on the environment due to the transportation of the food is more damaging than any benefit to the environment from the farming practices used. For more on this, click here.

(This should not really come as a surprise. The reason "organic" foods are becoming easier to buy is not so much because more companies are concerned with the environment, but rather, they want more money.^* They can charge more for "organic" food and get away with it. Furthermore, since the word "organic" is such a meaningless term, they can get away with selling things as "organic" that aren't natural by any stretch of the imagination. For example, some companies have been accused of selling re-hydrated powdered milk as "organic" milk.)

There is never a simple solution to either your own health or to protecting the environment. Don't be fooled by marketers.

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*This reminds me of what I termed "trendy charity".[3]

Tags: environment, food, marketing, nature, synthetic vs natural
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