The journal article examines the reasons why people in the city of Palermo, Italy consume organic food. It also highlights the issue of the day back in 2016, when Green Party members of the European Union gave urine samples to test for traces of glyphosate, a type of pesticide. It is one of the most widely used types of agricultural chemicals, but the governmental expert committee concluded that it is harmless to humans. However, despite this conclusion, there is still the perceived harmful effects of it. For one, members of the UK Pesticide ActionNetwork disagreed and advised people who wanted to avoid ingesting the substance to eat organic foods.Their advice followed a popular view of organics as as safer, and thus healthier, food. The existence of other chemical fertilisers, GMO food and loss of biodiversity did not help glyphosate’s case either, and people started to become more wary of what was going into their food. 

The consumption of organic food thus became trend because people wanted to offset the contamination risk that is believed to result from living in a polluted urban environment. 

Amongst the Palermitans surveyed, most agreed that organic food was ‘healthier’ compared to inorganic food. They cited fears of cancer, short-term illnesses like food poisoning and allergies. One woman even reasoned that she ate organic food “to try to lower the dose of poisons in my diet”. 

It is thus interesting to find out how pollution can affect the purchasing and consumption choices of consumers, but are they right to assume that organic food is much healthier? 

Not exactly. Food that is ‘organic’ is defined by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as food that has not pesticides on it for at least 3 years. It would be difficult to determine if this buffer period is effective for all types of pesticides, given that there are so many. There could still be trace amounts left and consumers would be none the wiser. Moreover, organic food is not necessarily ‘healthier’ it just contains fewer pesticides and is more expensive. Oftentimes, companies find loopholes and plaster the term ‘organic’ all over their products to generate more sales. For instance, for food to count as organic, it need only 95% of the ingredients to be organic. For it to count as “made with organic…”, that percentage is much lower – 70%. Furthermore, organic food still contain pesticides; ORGANIC pesticides that is. Though the USDA conducts annual sampling to determine pesticide levels, only 41% of ‘organic’ samples contained no pesticides. There were also trace amounts of pesticides that are not considered organic. Foul play on the company’s part? Perhaps; their aim is to profit-maximise after all. 

In this atmosphere of fear, companies benefit the most. Organic food is priced higher than their inorganic counterparts, and can be sold in smaller quantities. So, should you still buy organic food? Sure, if you can afford it, but I must caution you that you may not get all the benefits you expect. 

– Xelyn

References:
ORLANDO, G. 2018. Offsetting Risk: Organic Food, Pollution, and the Transgression of Spatial Boundaries. Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment 40, 45-54.

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