For a few years I fell prey to the fear mongering of chemicals and organic foods. The arguments were compelling and sparked concern about what I was eating. Chemicals are bad! Look at these ingredients! You can’t even pronounce these, think about what they are doing to you!
So we spent extra money on mostly organic foods and ran from anything “chemical”, but over time and with some investigation, a different story began to emerge.
Something that started to help was a simple phrase, “life is chemicals.” Everything that we interact with is chemical: the water we drink, the air we breathe, our homes, and our food. So what does the word chemical really tell us? Not much. You have to dig into what the actual chemical is and does.
From here we started looking at food. What differences are there between organic and non-organic foods? Nothing other than the word(s) organic. The same chemicals were there, just prefaced with the word organic. Well maybe the organic version of this chemical is better than the synthetic? Turns out, it's not. Whether a chemical is man-made or naturally occurring does nothing in telling us if it’s safe to consume; our body doesn't know the difference. It responds to the chemical structure and does what needs to be done.
So we spent extra money on mostly organic foods and ran from anything “chemical”, but over time and with some investigation, a different story began to emerge.
Something that started to help was a simple phrase, “life is chemicals.” Everything that we interact with is chemical: the water we drink, the air we breathe, our homes, and our food. So what does the word chemical really tell us? Not much. You have to dig into what the actual chemical is and does.
From here we started looking at food. What differences are there between organic and non-organic foods? Nothing other than the word(s) organic. The same chemicals were there, just prefaced with the word organic. Well maybe the organic version of this chemical is better than the synthetic? Turns out, it's not. Whether a chemical is man-made or naturally occurring does nothing in telling us if it’s safe to consume; our body doesn't know the difference. It responds to the chemical structure and does what needs to be done.
When looking at the research, there appears to be no discernible difference in organic versus non-organic foods. Most differences can be attributed to things such as ripeness, or weather during growing, and these differences are extremely small.
What about pesticides?
@foodsciencebabe said it best. “Well first a pesticide is a chemical, whether it’s natural or manmade, that is designed to kill another organism. So plants produce insecticides, like caffeine and nicotine, to keep those obnoxious, six-legged vegetarians away. We also produce pesticides to keep the furry four legged vegetarians away, too.”
Again we have a word that does nothing to convey safety or lack thereof but rather function. With that said, pesticides are also used on organic foods, and organic foods have shown the same level of pesticides as non-organic foods. The levels on both are 100s to 1000s of times below the no-observable-adverse-effect level. These levels are tested regularly and held to strict regulations. Year after year, the USDA has demonstrated that our food is safe.
Now all of this isn't to discourage you from purchasing organic food if you want to, but it does demonstrate that organic food is not superior to conventional food. You don’t have to spend the extra money or live in fear that the food you can afford may be harming you.
Resources:
Chemistry Facts Everyone Should Understand Before Talking Science
DPR Scientists Say Most Fresh California Produce Has Little/No Detectable Pesticide Residues
Study Finds Little Evidence of Health Benefits From Organic Foods
Pesticide Residue Calculator
Resources:
Chemistry Facts Everyone Should Understand Before Talking Science
DPR Scientists Say Most Fresh California Produce Has Little/No Detectable Pesticide Residues
Study Finds Little Evidence of Health Benefits From Organic Foods
Pesticide Residue Calculator
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