Organic Foods or Bustback
We do not harp on too many things here at the Land of PureGold. But, one thing
that is important to us is the quality of what we put into our bodies. That is
why organic is so critical in our beliefs. We are concerned about the
nature of what our beloved dogs ingest, as they tend to gulp any and everything
down before we even have a chance to snatch it back. That is why we are thrilled
that there is a new dog
toy line made from organic threads without the use of dyes. And, we always
advocate buying organic foods and treats over that of non-organic, citing the
justification below for our carrying
Snook's Organic Sweet
Potato Chews and Chips rather than their non-organic and less expensive
competitors.
IS THERE
REALLY A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POTATOES THAT ARE ORGANIC AND THOSE THAT
ARE NOT?
Although higher costs are
the initial objection to going organic, people are
essentially unaware of the critical differences between organic &
non-organic products. In a March 2006 article on
produce losing vitamins and minerals over the past
50 years, agriculture and nutrition tradeoffs are detailed."The fruits and
vegetables that our parents ate when they were growing up were more
nutritious than the ones we'll serve our children tonight. As we
have substituted chemical fertilizers, pesticides and monoculture
farming for the natural cycling of nutrients and on-farm
biodiversity, we have lessened the nutritional value of our
produce."
Non-organic fruits and vegetables are repeatedly sprayed and
subjected to much pesticide. In fact, there are pesticides and
chemical compounds commonly utilized to prolong shelf-life. When you
eat non-organic sweet potatoes, you ingest the pesticide botran
along with fungicides imazilil, benomyl, and thiabenzadole.
These
substances are cancer causing and sources of immune system damage. They cannot be removed by
peeling and are used to allow longer shelf life, not fresher or
safer food.
The shelf life for sweet potatoes, because of the application of
these harmful chemicals, is a huge 36 months. That means, the
potatoes you could be buying are not only questionable with respect
to toxicity, they are also lower in nutrients due to the amount of
time they may be waiting for distribution. Organic sweet potatoes,
which do not utilize such
pesticides or fungicides, have a shelf life of only 9 months. Organic fruits and vegetables have been shown to be
higher
in nutrients, and
many
studies have clearly proven the case for organics.
Organic
produce
tastes better and
reduces pesticide exposure. Organic produce
contains 30% higher levels of antioxidants and organic farming can
cut mycotoxin risk by over 50%.
[Further discussion of mycotoxins
can be
found here.]
Non-organic chemical farming methods, which can speed up growth
rates, cause structural changes to the plant─the
plant then containing more water. That means the plant will
contain less nutrients. In other words when you buy organic produce
you get more potato for your potato. Organic plants also
contain10-15% more phenolics, defense compounds believed to be
helpful in preventing diseases such as cancer.
Please be sure to check out our pages on organic basics and more. You never
know, it could one day save yours or your dog's life.
Learning the Organic Basics
Organic meat, poultry,
eggs and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics
or growth hormones, are treated humanely, and given access to outdoors.
Organic food is
produced without using most conventional pesticides, petroleum-based
fertilizers or sewage sludge-based fertilizers, genetic engineering, or ionizing radiation (irradiation).
To be labeled organic,
a USDA-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to
be certain the producer is following all the rules necessary to meet
USDA organic standards.
Companies that handle
or process organic food before it goes to a retail store or restaurant
must be inspected and certified.
Farmers
with organic sales of no more than $5,000 annually need not be certified, but
must comply with all standards as though certified.
Retail stores that do
not engage in handling and processing foods are not required to be
certified, but must comply with all standards as though certified.
Organic Standards Prohibit
1. Genetically modified
organisms (GMOs), seeds or ingredients 2. Bio-solids (sewage
sludge) and synthetic fertilizers 3. Synthetic pesticides,
herbicides or fungicides 4. Antibiotics or added
growth hormones 5. Animal by-products in
animal feed
Understanding Organic Labels Any food with a label that
says "organic" must be certified by a certifying agency accredited by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Furthermore, there are strict rules defining
varying degrees of "organic." The
USDA organic seal — A voluntary label organic producers can choose to place
on their products that meet the federal requirements for "100% Organic" or
"Organic" labeling. It simply provides consumers another level of assurance
of organic integrity. 100 Percent Organic
— The product contains ONLY organically produced raw or processed
material and may display the USDA Organic seal. Organic — The
product has 95% to 100% organic ingredients and may
display the USDA Organic seal. Made with Organic
Ingredients — The product has 70% to 95% organic
ingredients. The label may include the words "Made with (listing up to
three organic ingredients)" on the front panel or main label. The label may not display the USDA Organic seal. Products with less
than 70% organic ingredients may only list the organic
ingredients on the ingredient label, not on the front panel, and may not
display the USDA Organic seal.
More about Labels Each organically
produced ingredient in a product labeled organic must be listed and
modified by the word "organic" in the ingredient panel. Truthful labeling has
no restrictions. Claims such as "no chemical pesticides used" or "no
growth hormones used" are acceptable and encouraged. The appearance of the
USDA organic seal will phase in as old food labels run out of stock &
manufacturers start using new ones. All products that use
organic ingredients must provide the name & address of the USDA
accredited certifier.
Organic Pet Foods Dishing Up Organic Pet Foods By Elaine Lipson,
Natural Foods Merchandiser, Volume XXVI/Number 3/p. 80, 84, March 1, 2005
High-end pet foods meet USDA standards for organic human foods Diet affects health. That premise leads many humans to choose organic foods,
produced without pesticides and chemicals and with safer environmental
practices than conventional foods. Now pet owners want the same benefits in
the foods they buy for beloved dogs and cats, and manufacturers are
answering the call with foods made not only with organic ingredients, but
also with optimal nutritional profiles. With 377.8 million pets in the
United States, total estimated sales of pet foods came to $14.3 billion in
2004, according to the Greenwich, Conn.-based American Pet Products
Manufacturers Association. In 2003, organic pet food accounted for only
about $14 million of that, according to the Organic Trade Association of
Greenfield, Mass., but the brand-new category is growing fast; sales in 2003
increased 64.5 percent over 2002.
OTA forecasts an average annual growth rate of 17 percent from 2004 to 2008
in the organic pet food category. Yet some manufacturers of organic pet
foods say they expect sales to double this year—and natural products
retailers are likely to benefit from a new focus on these high-quality
foods. Where’s the beef? Though most veterinarians say dogs do well on a diet in which meat is a
main ingredient, and cats are obligate (true) carnivores, many commercial
pet foods are composed primarily of low-cost grains. “The No. 1, now
documented, problem with pet food, especially bagged pet food, is that it’s
carbohydrate and carbohydrate-by-product-based,” says Martin Goldstein, DVM,
a veterinarian in South Salem, N.Y., and the author of The Nature of Animal
Healing (Random House, 2000). “Dogs and cats are true carnivores. They ate a
minimal amount of carbs in nature.”
Critics of grain-based pet foods say that they contribute to animal obesity,
which can lead to diabetes, general poor health, symptoms of food allergies,
and even to rising cancer rates and shorter longevity in pets. But even pet
foods made with meat may give you pause. Animals that are dead, dying,
diseased or disabled—known as “4-D”—are used in many commercial pet foods,
as are “meat-based” ingredients and “meat by-products” that include
virtually all parts of the slaughtered animal. Organic a step up A number of “natural” and “holistic” pet food products have entered the
marketplace, sold primarily at natural products stores and specialty pet
shops, for shoppers troubled by both ingredient quality and formulations of
commercial pet foods. The “natural” label is unregulated for these products,
just as with human foods, leaving consumers to evaluate individual products
for themselves.
But the advent of U.S. Department of Agriculture organic standards in late
2002 opened the door for pet foods made with organic ingredients, giving pet
owners the added comfort of regulated production standards (see sidebar,
“Organic pet foods and USDA standards”). Encouraged by the standards, Brian
Connolly and his wife, co-founders of Castor & Pollux, based in Portland,
Ore., launched their Organix brand of dog and cat foods made with organic
ingredients.
“We wanted a product that we felt gave pets the very best of nutrition,”
Connolly says. “We wanted to go beyond a natural diet, and had been using
some organic ingredients for about two years. There are a lot of natural or
holistic pet foods, but it means so many different things to different
people; but with organic, it means something. Prior [to USDA standards],
there were products with just a whiff of organic ingredients, with ‘organic’
all over the label.” Organix Canine Formula uses organic chicken, barley,
brown rice, flaxseeds, peas and soybean seeds. “The market we’re really
targeting is where the pet is the child,” he says, and customers are “very
concerned about quality, nutrition and know a great deal about how to read a
pet food label.”
Savvy consumers Peter Meehan, chief executive officer of Newman’s Own Organics, based in
Aptos, Calif., has also been struck by how informed his customers are since
the company launched Newman’s Own Organics Premium Pet Food, made with 70
percent organic ingredients. “They know their facts, and they want to know
that we know our facts,” Meehan says. “There’s a lot to know in being a
consumer for your pet. With that in mind, organic food isn’t grown with
pesticides. We don’t use organic chicken in our dry food, but we use a
chicken supplier [Bell & Evans] that uses no hormones, no antibiotics, a
free-roaming situation and a vegetarian diet.” Newman’s Own Organics adheres
to a “no wheat, no corn, no soy” doctrine to protect against allergies, and
organic ingredients include brown rice, barley, milo, flaxseed meal, oats,
carrots and potatoes.
As with all Newman’s Own products, after-tax profits go to charitable
causes, and profits from pet foods go directly to animal-related
organizations. “What we love, and what separates us too, is organic food—so
if we can create another avenue of demand for organic farmers, and we can
raise money for animal causes, from shelters to all sorts of preservation of
land for wild animals, we really feel we can do some wonderful things,”
Meehan says.
Nature’s Variety, a natural pet food division of M.I. Industries, makes
Prairie Brand Organic Raw Diet for Dogs and Cats, a 95 percent organic,
frozen, high-meat-content product, at its certified organic plant in
Lincoln, Neb. “With the new USDA rules, we’ve been able to move in [the
organic] direction,” says Scott Freeman, executive vice president for new
product and new business development. “Ten [percent] to 15 percent of our
e-mails are about the quality of our ingredients: Are they organic? How are
the animals raised? That’s an indication to us that people are looking for
these types of diets and that they care about them. We’re continuing to
source raw ingredients because 10 [percent] to 15 percent of our business
could be organic, and grow from there. As organic and natural foods grow,
pet foods will too.” The biggest challenge, Freeman says, is sourcing enough
certified organic meat. The future for organic pets Though there are significant price premiums for organic pet foods,
demand is growing, fueled by the quality of the products and increasing
awareness and education. At Castor & Pollux, Connolly plans new product
introductions and retailer training seminars. He says he expects a doubling
of the market this year. Similarly, Meehan at Newman’s Own Organics sees
enormous potential among the 60 percent of natural foods consumers who have
one or more pets. “Pets don’t make out shopping lists, so to be successful
you have to influence the consumer [who isn’t eating the food] to make a
decision. We are confident that we can win over consumers and their pets
when given the opportunity.”
The raw and the cooked Should pets be on a raw foods diet? Many experts believe that raw foods
are the ideal choice for optimal pet health, and that a combination of
cooked and raw foods is the next best thing. “The market for raw food has
grown from almost nothing to 8 percent of pet owners, and it’s growing
exponentially,” says Steve Brown, author of See Spot Live Longer (Creekobear
Press, 2004). “The reason it’s growing is word of mouth, because it works.
Allergies go away, diabetes is minimized, [as are] obesity and irritable
bowel syndrome and flea problems.”
Critics of raw pet food diets cite the risk of food borne illnesses, but
proponents say that pets’ digestive tracts are designed to withstand
bacteria in raw foods. Martin Goldstein, DVM, a veterinarian in practice in
South Salem, N.Y., and the author of The Nature of Animal Healing (Random
House, 2000), says he has not seen problems from food borne bacteria in his
practice. “A raw diet is what nature intended them to eat. Some animals
won’t acclimate to it, but if they can, it’s what they should be eating,” he
says.
Manufacturers are formulating raw frozen foods that can make up all or part
of a pet’s diet, including organic options, such as Nature’s Variety. “Some
homemade diets do not contain all the micronutrients, such as selenium, that
are required,” Brown cautions. “It’s very important that we combine modern
nutritional science with the natural diet of the dogs and cats and combine
the best of both worlds.”
Organic pet foods and USDA standards The USDA National Organic Program has not yet written a separate set of
standards specific to pet food, according to James A. Riddle, endowed chair
in agricultural systems at the University of Minnesota and a member of the
National Organic Standards Board. In “Organic
Pet Foods,” Riddle’s white paper on the proceedings of Pet Food Forum of
March 2004, he writes: “The NOP has not engaged in rulemaking to establish
specific pet food standards ... Because of this, certification of pet food
is optional. However, if the word organic is used anywhere on a pet food
label, the organic ingredient(s) must have been produced by certified
operations, following all of the applicable requirements [of USDA standards
for organic products]. If your company wants to seek certification, then the
product composition and labeling provisions [of USDA standards] for the
labeling categories of processed products apply to pet foods. For instance,
if your product contains over 95 percent organic ingredients and approved
nonagricultural substances on the National List, then you could receive
certification and display the USDA Organic logo on your product’s front
panel.”
The Organic Trade Association has recommended, as a guiding principle, that
“organic pet foods should meet human food standards, with the exception that
synthetic forms of nutrients required for various species should be
allowed.” See www.ota.com for more
information.
Elaine Lipson (emlipson@aol.com) is a Boulder, Colo.-based writer and
editor.
10 Reasons to Go Organic We have tried to go organic
more and more here t the Land of PureGold Foundation. For those folks trying to
decide, here are 10 very important reasons why to go organic.
1.Organic
Products Meet Stringent StandardsKeeping
Chemicals off your Plate Organic
certification is the public’s assurance that specific products have
been grown and handled according to strict procedures without
persistent toxic chemical inputs. The EPA considers 60% of all
herbicides, 90% of all fungicides and 30% of all insecticides to be
carcinogenic. Pesticides are designed to kill living organisms, and
therefore can harm humans. In addition to cancer, pesticides have
been implicated in birth defects, nerve damage, and genetic
mutation.
2. Organic Food
Tastes Better Well-balanced soils produce strong, healthy plants that become
nourishing food for people and animals. Many chefs actually use
organic foods in their recipes because they taste better. Organic
farming nourishes the soil, which nourishes the plant, and then
ultimately nourishes our bodies. In contrast, industrial farming
creates produce for uniformity, ease of shipping, and cosmetic
appearance, not that of flavor.
3. Organic
Production Reduces Health Risks and Protects Future Generations Many
EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive
research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases.
Organic agriculture is one way to prevent more of these chemicals
from getting into the air, earth and water that sustain us. Children
receive four times more exposure than an adult to at least eight
widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. In other words, the
food choices you make now will impact your child's health in the
future.
4. Organic Farms
Respect our Water Resources & Protect its Quality The
elimination of polluting chemicals and nitrogen leaching, done in
combination with soil building, helps to protect and conserve water
resources. The EPA estimates that pesticides (some cancer causing)
contaminate the groundwater in 38 states. And, they pollute the
primary source of drinking water for more than 50% of the country's
population. However, organic practices eliminate polluting chemicals
and nitrogen leaching.
5. Organic Farmers
Build Healthy Soil and Prevent Soil Erosion Soil is the
very foundation of the food chain. The primary focus of organic
farming is to use practices that build healthy soils. Healthy,
nutrient-rich topsoil is the foundation of organic farming and the
farmer's greatest ally. In conventional farming, soil is merely used
to hold plants up so that they can then be chemically fertilized.
Sadly, conventional American farms are suffering from the worst
topsoil erosion in history.
6. Organic Farmers, Leaders in Innovative Research,
Work in Harmony with Nature Organic
agricultural respects the balance demanded of a healthy ecosystem.
In other words, wildlife is encouraged by including forage crops in
rotation and by retaining fence rows, wetlands, and other natural
areas. Organic farmers have actually led the way, largely at their
own expense, with innovative on-farm research aimed at reducing
pesticide use and minimizing agriculture’s impact on the
environment.
7. Organic Farmers
Save Energy and Support a True Economy Conventional farming uses more petroleum than any other single
industry (greater than 12% of the nation's energy supply). However,
organic farming relies primarily on labor-intensive practices such
as hand weeding, using green manures and crop covers, rather than
synthetic fertilizers to build up soil. While organic foods seem
more expensive, conventional food prices do not reflect those hidden
costs borne by taxpayers in federal subsidies. Furthermore, other
hidden costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous
waste disposal and clean-up, and environmental damage.
8. Organic
Producers Strive to Preserve Biodiversity The loss of
a large variety of species (biodiversity) is one of our most
pressing environmental concerns. The good news is that many organic
farmers and gardeners have been collecting and preserving seeds, and
growing unusual varieties for decades. They have also refrained from
mono-cropping, which is the practice of planting large plots of land
with the same crop year after year. The lack of natural diversity
(including crop rotation) leaves the soil depleted of natural
minerals and nutrients. This system then relies more on pesticides
while creating insects genetically resistant to certain pesticides.
9. Organic Farming
Helps Keep Rural Communities Healthy The USDA
reported that in 1997, half of U.S. farm production came from only
2% of farms. It was estimated that by the year 2000, that half of
the U.S. farm production would come from only one percent of farms.
It is estimated that the U.S. has lost more than 650,000 family
farms in the past decade. Organic agriculture can be a lifeline for
small farms because it offers an alternative market where sellers
can command fair prices for crops. And, value-added premium pricing
enables many small family farms to thrive.
10. There is an
Organic AbundanceFoods
& Non-Foods Alike Every food
category has an organic alternative. And, non-food agricultural
products are being grown organicallyeven cotton, which experts
felt could not be grown this way.