Ask Professor Produce

I read something about the USDA saying that organic foods are unsafe. Did they really say that? Even after they passed the new organic law? -Kyle, Minneapolis

You heard right, Kyle. The war of words between organics and conventional agribusiness is heating up, and the USDA, which "legitimized" the organic food industry with the new federal organic rule, is finding itself caught in the middle.

What you probably read, Kyle, were remarks made by Under Secretary of Food Safety to the USDA, Elsa Murano. Her comments show that despite the new federal organic rule, the USDA still holds a great deal of hostility towards organics. Here's what she had to say:

"Perhaps there's not the evidence to show that one (method of growing food) is safer than another [but] when you don't have those preservatives, you have to be aware of the fact that that's going to cost you something," Murano said. "That's what I think is the challenge for - those folks who produce organic foods and all-natural foods and so forth, to make sure they produce them and process them in such a way that it will not reduce the safety of those products" (Reuters).

First, let's put Murano's open slander in perspective. Organic food is no less safe than conventional. There have been no reputable studies linking food-borne illnesses with organic food or which assert organic food's relative lack of safety. Secondly, Murano's comments wind up putting the federal government's position in a hypocritical bind, since the Environmental Protection Agency has been removing dangerous chemicals from the food supply specifically because they pose potent risks to human health.

A scientific study out of the University of Washington underscores this point. The study, published in the peer-reviewed Environmental Health Perspectives, shows that children who eat organic foods have lower levels of organophosphorous pesticides (OP's) in their bodies than kids who eat "conventional" diets. Only one child out of the 39 tested had no levels of OP's - the kid who ate an entirely organic diet. What a shock.

OP's, which include longtime menaces Parathion and Malathion, are neurotoxins, isolated originally from nerve gas compounds and have been on "most-dangerous pesticides" lists for decades. Sheesh, even the Department of Defense is concerned enough about the OP's relationship to Gulf War Syndrome that they currently have several major research projects underway. OP's have already been scientifically linked to developmental and behavioral problems in children, hence the concern caused by the University of Washington study.

And we're pouring this stuff on our fruits and vegetables. Excuse me, Under Secretary Murano? You're worried about the reduced safety of organics?

The federal government obviously has to come to terms with its divided self about its perceptions of food safety. Which shall it be? Maintain a commitment to pesticides which are repeatedly and scientifically shown to be dangerous to rural communities and the people who ingest them? Or acknowledge that organics, which Americans have made the fastest growing segment of U.S. agriculture, offer a safer alternative to chemical farming?

Getting the Rule passed was, of course, just the beginning of the fight to expand the amount of U.S. farmland devoted to organic agriculture. Now comes the hard part: the defense of organics against petty bureaucrats.

Which foods are safest in regard to pesticides if I can't get organic produce where I live? -Bryan, The Internet

The Professor holds that surface pesticides are the worst, that is, the insecticides that are sprayed directly on produce (this is why conventional strawberries are some of the most badly "poisoned" fruits you can buy - the hated pesticide Malathion is sprayed directly on the berries). Fruits and veggies with a skin or a rind (melons, squash, avocados, etc.) are probably safer since you don't eat that part of the fruit/veggie. But this isn't a fool-proof way to avoid pesticides in conventional produce, since you always run the risk of some chemicals appearing systemically in the product.

But if you want a more detailed analysis of your diet, check out www.ewg.org and click on their FoodNews link. There you can fill a virtual shopping cart with fruits and veggies, make a salad at their cyber salad bar, and calculate the pesticides you'll ingest from organic versus conventional product. They even tell you the health risks involved with the pesticides on your fruits and veggies. There's a ton of great info on this site, including good explanations as to why you'll find pesticides on some organic produce, why farmers use so many pesticides, and how to reduce your general pesticide exposure.