I love bananas as much as the next mum. But when the grocery store is ready to charge me three times as much because those bananas are organic? You can keep them.
I don’t buy organic, at least not as a rule. There are occasions — when there are no “non-organic” bananas left that aren’t browned and smushed and my daughter is begging for bananas — I might be convinced to make the buy. But our mattresses are not organic. Our clothes are, by and large, not organic. Needless to say, our milk is not organic. So an article on a mother fretting over just how organic the mattress her baby boy is sleeping on should have made me feel bad, right?
Not really. Because for all the maternal guilt I can muster over things I have and haven’t done for my daughter, I have enough other pressing things to worry about: The hole in the ozone layer. The mortgage. The reason the cat has started turning up her tail at the litter box instead of inside of it.
I’m also still grappling with the exact moment when “organic” became interchangeable with “good for us”. Arsenic, after all, is organic.
Dressing my daughter in one hundred percent cotton denim or mixing up a stir-fry of non-organic vegetables and run-of-the-mill brown rice doesn’t quite cut it according to the green-baby parenting books. But whoever said organic and green were the same thing?
Researchers in the Department of Rural Economy at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, found the greenhouse gas emitted when organic produce is transported from great distances mitigates the environmental benefits of growing the food organically. And organically fed cows, which produce organic beef and organic milk, emit the same methane gases as their antibiotic-treated counterparts, which in turn contribute to global warming (the EPA estimates all our livestock — organically-fed included — produce twenty percent of our nation’s methane emissions). So if I can’t buy organic for the environment, surely I’d do it for my child’s health, right?
Sure — if you could tell me that buying organic and only organic was the best thing for my daughter.
Except, no one can.
Not the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS). They oversee organic certification, but they’ve remained mum on putting their own seal of approval on the O word.
Not a lot of scientists either. They say it’s good for you — don’t get me wrong. But better for you than anything else could possibly be? Not yet.
A study by the Danish government’s International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems last summer found no differences in the nutrients present in the crops after harvest; nor was there any evidence that lab rats retained different levels of the nutrients depending on how the foodstuffs were grown. And no matter how many organic ingredients get piled into the mixing bowl, if you’re making a cake, you’re still not making health food.
It’s all compelling evidence. And yet, none of it represents the real reason I’m apathetic about organic. The truth? I can’t afford it.
What I can afford are cotton jeans that breathe versus polyblends that don’t. I can afford healthy foods for my daughter — the whole grains, the fresh vegetables straight from the farmers’ market in the summer and the supermarket in the winter. The more money I save by not buying organic, the more I have left to spend on broccoli and sweet peas — foods that actually fall on the Environmental Working Groups (EWG) list of the dozen “consistently clean” foods they say you can feel pretty safe purchasing, even when they’re not organic.
In case you haven’t heard, the economy is having a few problems at the moment. And considering the Organics Consumer Association itself puts the prices of organic products anywhere from fifty to one hundred percent higher than non-organics, I have had to make some tough choices along the way. As long as buying pesticide-free means making pre-school fees harder to pay this month, or my daughter needs a new pair of shoes, I’m okay with buying that non-organic bunch of bananas.
Hear! Hear! I’ve toyed with the idea of buying organic but balk when I see cruddy looking, brown speckled tiny pink ladies for $9.99 a kilo…
I buy meat and veg from markets where I can but will also buy from the supermarket when I have to. I just can’t justify and basketful of five items from Macro for $100.
Thanks for this article, it’s made me feel good
Try reading “Primal Health” by Michel Odent. But it doesn’t change the argument that organic food is way too expensive.
I try when I can, but not to the point of missing out.
The government (or any government agency) will never give organic the “seal of approval” because most agriculture in Australia is not organic and it would have huge repercussions.
I guess you will always find reasons not to go organic as much as there are reasons to go organic. Another good book to read is Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, if you want to know where your cheap food really comes from.
I’m so saddened to read your blog today. As someone who buys organic, not for all products, but certainly food, and not just for the taste and health benefits for me & my family, but for the water saving, earth-friendly nature of the products. Yes it is more expensive, but actually it is cheaper for our family – we don’t eat take out and We don’t waste what we have, and we don’t (generally) get sick. We grow some of our food too. I am annoyed that your one-sided blog also doesn’t address the fact that your ‘conventional’ produce is probably from halfway around the world or stored for 9 months then waxed or sprayed to look fresh. Are those things you really want in your body? Your body isn’t made to process these things – why do you think we have such a high incidence of autism, ADD/ADHD, cancers etc? Our bodies can’t handle such a toxic lifestlye. Neither can the earth. Wake up people before it’s too late for our earth!
I completely understand where you’re coming from. Funnily enough, I found your site while searching for an organic mattress, but I do think that selecting organic at every turn is fraught with issues.
When it comes to food I generally select organic because I’m opposed to GM foods, but I do also make priorities for what I buy organic vs. non organic. There are some foods which make absolutely no difference buying organic because they don’t absorb as many pesticides or show much difference in end results. That doesn’t really address the issues of non organic farming methods, but my budget just doesn’t stretch far enough to justify the cost.
On the other hand, I’d rather spend an extra 10-20% on a big purchase such as an organic mattress because by the time I do the research, find a local organic alternative and compare prices I can get something almost the same price as the ‘regular’ version which was manufactured somewhere half way around the world by people who get paid peanuts and live/work in horrid conditions. And it makes a huge difference to my health and well being. I’m far from a hippie, but I do notice the difference now I use natural cleaning methods and opt for more natural fibers in my home. It’s really helped my sinus and breathing problems.
But do I stress over wearing pure organic clothing? Nope. I do try to buy from smaller, local suppliers rather than accepting the standard Made in China alternatives. I think it’s about being aware of what’s important to you as an individual and weighing up your choices.