The Real Problem With Our Food System: A Response to Makenna Goodman

Nothing delights me more than talking about organic to a wide audience, but in your piece, Organic vs Conventional: Have you been robbed?, you are taking aim at the wrong target. Much like the person who frets over which china to use while the house is on fire, you take organic-- which accounts for 2-3% of food sales-- to task while ignoring the rest of our food system.

Organic consumers have certainly not been robbed. On the contrary, they're reaping the documented and well-researched benefits of choosing organic, both in terms of their own health and the health of the planet.

The victims of a robbery here are consumers NOT choosing organic. I'm personally inviting you to be my guest at a screening of FOOD Inc. a new documentary debuting next month that explores exactly what Joel Salatin and others are talking about.

Joel appears in the film - as do I, along with Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser - and what you'll learn is that we've all been hoodwinked, but not by organic. We've been misled by a food system, controlled by a very few, that mass-produces our food. The result is cheaper food, but also mistreated animals, exploited workers, farmers who are criminalized for working their own land, and consumers who don't know what's really in the food sitting on their dinner plate.

FOOD, Inc. also holds out the hope that organic is a solution, since it can offer an equitable system for workers, farmers and consumers. The USDA organic label is reassurance that what they're eating is grown without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers...that the cows producing organic milk are not pumped with artificial growth hormones to speed up milk production and shorten their lives ...that the land on which those cows graze is not saturated with chemicals and carcinogens that seep into our water and pollute our air. We're proud that Stonyfield's organic ingredient purchases -- those include fruits, sugar, as well as organic milk -- support 100,000 acres of organically-managed farmland. Thanks to organic practices, those acres feature healthier soil, greater biodiversity, higher water quality, better yields, and more humane animal treatment -- and organic dairy farmers are being paid more to boot.

After more than 25 years of environmental activism and a life and career dedicated to organic, I can assure readers organic IS better. Even when it comes to health - research finds organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40% more antioxidants than non-organic varieties, and studies show a range of health concerns related to pesticide use, from stillbirths to diabetes to Parkinson's disease.

The fact is organic offers a gold standard few can match. Better still, it's the promise of a healthier planet and a system of sustainable agriculture that supports family farms.

Joel Salatin said it best in FOOD Inc.: "I am amazed at how successful we have been (in this country) at hitting the target of the wrong bull's eye." Those of us who care about having a sustainable food system -and you obviously care a lot---have to keep our eye on the right target.

Comments

[LMPE]

For millennia, people ate organic (there was no other way). No accident that cancer surged once DDT came into wide usage.

[WilliamP]

"The USDA organic label is reassurance that what they're eating is grown without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers...that the cows producing organic milk are not pumped with artificial growth hormones to speed up milk production and shorten their lives ...that the land on which those cows graze is not saturated with chemicals and carcinogens that seep into our water and pollute our air. "

I think Makenna's point was that the "organic" label may still mean that the animals are mistreated and their products are not necessarily any healthier than non-organic food. I don't think she would disagree with what you're saying, and I don't think your response addresses her point.

[cucumber]

Do you know that Stonyfield farms still remove each and every calf from its mother by force on the day of or within days of birth? This is so humans can take the milk. The mother and baby may cry for each other for months. Males may be made into veal, females replace their mothers as milk-producing machines.

This is standard practice on commercial dairy farms, whether organic or conventional. Milk is not humane, no matter what its source. Let's stop thinking only about ourselves and what WE want, and stop victimizing animals for a taste preference.

[drkazmd65]

My Wife & I recently bought two equity shares in the local Common Market Grocery/COOP.

Local & Organic (green) food, at least as much as possible, is the way to go. Might even make a few bucks back and the end of a good year too.

[mouselion]

Great piece.

The conventional world-wide food system is maddening.
When people pay for cheap, cheap cheap food, they have no idea they are paying for that food in a myriad of other ways. So all you people thinking you're being good supporters of fiscal conservatism: support local organic farmers first and foremost. Pay up front, pay less for questionable farm subsidies, pollution clean-up and health costs later.

[wallyone]

How far from the Northeast Corridor does local extend? I imagine you might have to go west into Ohio and south into Georgia (at least) to feed the DC to Balto. to Phila. to NYC to Boston population.

I also question the scientific basis for conventional wisdom among even admirable environmental groups about antibiotic, hormone and pesticide residues, as well as crop, fuel, fertilizer, greenhouse gas production and water use in agriculture.

[mouselion]

DC/Baltimore has PA, MD, OH. VA (plus itself)
Boston has VT, MA, NY, NJ, CT, RI (plus itself)
NYC has NY, VT, MA, NJ, CT, RI (plus itself)

Question environmental groups on conventional practices?
Take all of your spare time for one year and visit as many different types of farms as you can and then come back and tell us whether you still question their wisdom.

[rudybasilicostepson]

Alternative movements attempt to re-establish links between producer and consumers . The Slow Food movement promotes awareness of products that are locally and organically produced, and sustainable in opposition to the impersonality of mass produced foods. In 2007, Jeff Pratt argued that the only connection to organic products is the histories often constructed within a romantic discourse of the local, the traditional and the authentic; I would like to emphasize the "romantic" part: I purchase for a large company and unless I fell victim of a nefarious spell cast by a local coven of local farmers, it appears that the cost of "organic" produce is prohibitive for the masses. These products, and association with these products, generate an elaborate body of writing, much of it transferred to labels, all of them hymns to the notion of quality. The oxymoron is that only a lucky few can enjoy the luxury of artisanal products. Limited access to these products, or its opposite: lack of access, guarantees their desiderabilty. Local, organic, sustainable are definitions in opposition to agribusiness, but how ethical the entire process is when you need to rely on established networks to distribute the manna? Local is community driven, is Oxnard part of the Pasadena community? Or are we talking about imagined community? The slow food movement is preaching to the choir, educated, above $60K income, a rather comfortable niche market. Of course organic food is better, Hercule Poirot needs not to be consulted, but is it a fair deal?

[AKSag]

Mr. Hirshberg,

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but your parent company is a big part of problem. Stoneyfield Farms is owned by Danone. According to coopamerica.org:

Danone is a global producer of food products including dairy products, beverages, and bottled waters.

• Bottled water giants, including Danone, are usurping a public resource for corporate gain, and adding massive amounts of plastic to the waste stream.

• Danone's Evian brand water is distributed in the US by Coca-Cola, giving the company close ties to this soft drink giant, which is accused of human rights violations.

• Danone owns Stonyfield Farms’, a sustainable dairy company, yet continues to make this business model an exception within the company.

I hope that Danone starts changing their behavior before shooting down those who are critical of supposedly organic companies. As my mother used to tell me: you're judged by the company you keep.

[Gary Hirshberg - Huffpost Blogger]

I agree with your mom: you ARE judged by the company you keep. Stonyfield and Danone have been keeping company since 2001 and been busy with many major environmental initiatives.

We’ve launched sister organic brands in Canada and France, and partnered with an organic yogurt company in Ireland. This means more organic acreage and exposing more consumers to organic’s health and environmental benefits. We at Stonyfield also applaud other recent Danone initiatives:

• In a pilot project, about 1,000 managers across the company already have one-sixth of their annual bonuses linked to their performance meeting environmental targets, like we do at Stonyfield through our Mission Action Plan.
• Danone is working on a census of carbon emissions and water consumption by its businesses, prior to rolling out a carbon-reduction plan. Stonyfield was the 1st to offset 100% of emissions from facility energy use, and we continue to track emissions and energy use across our supply chain.
• While bottled water is indeed a complex industry, Danone has pioneered sustainable and biological packaging and ecosystem and aquifer protection. Learn more at http://www.danone.com/en/sustainable-development/water.html

The reality is that the largest companies in the world can do more to help advance positive change with a couple of purchase orders than most of us will do in our lifetimes. Major corporations like Danone can do much by emulating and partnering with companies like Stonyfield. We think that's great news -- and great company to keep.

[birdie2]

I do not want to eat pesticides, fertilizers or GMOs, so until someone makes big agriculture produce real food, organic labeling is about all I have.

[SworldPeas]

Thank you for your rebuttal to Makenna Goodman's op ed piece "Organic vs conventional..."
2 days ago she was calling "Farmers Markets the stores of the future" and they would save you money. Although she doesn't say specifically, I'm assuming that she talking about "organic" simply by the nature of a farmer's market.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/makenna-goodman/farmers-markets-are-the-s_b_202566.html

Is she refuting her own story? I don't know it makes no sense...

[Pearlswan]

Stonyfield Farms Yogurt--the best yogurt on the market, by far! Great taste, great texture, great nutrition, 6 live organisms, low sugar content and organic at a low price (WFM price, that is). I eat this stuff every day without fail. Love it! My favorite flavors are lemon and blueberry and mixed berry. Good stuff. This is not an ad, just a goodness guarantee by a loyal long-term customer. Kids love it too!

[NABNYC]

There is so much wrong with the world's food system. But to start, we need to return to a locally-based form of agriculture. If we simply had every country raising food only for local consumption, prohibit exporting food, assist third world residents in developing local farming to feed their own communities, stop the trucking and shipping and specialty foods markets, we could go a long way to creating a more healthy world, eliminate starvationg, as well as cutting back on wasted energy.

Our entire agricultural and food system is being taken over by an unethical system of "patents" being obtained by chemical companies such as Monsanto and now Dupont. They genetically modify seeds which form the basic food for the world, then make everyone pay them a fee everytime they eat rice, corn, wheat -- the basic food. Now they're doing the genetic modifications to livestock, and soon will claim they "own" that as well.

See http://nabnyc.blogspot.com/2009/05/patent-con-us-corporations-claim-to-own.html

We wouldn't need a separate designation of "organic" if we took control of our food system including the seeds, and prohibit using chemicals in the food growing process. Organic is good, but national control of our entire food system for the benefit of the people would be better. My local grocery store sells "organic" carrots for $4/bag. Not to me because I can't afford it. So I buy the other kind and just hope they don't poison me.

[thnk4selfagain]

Goodman takes a very narrow situation and applies it generally. If we all could live in a semi-rural town, where one knows Goodman, of her husbandry techniques and the quality of her chicken's eggs, most who are inclined to pay for quality would purchase them. Alas, most Americans live in urban environments, in which Farmer's markets or the grocery store is as close as is practical for a person to get to the source of their foods. Organic, for urbanites especially, is just another tool for judging quality of food. Personally, when when I have a choice of "grass-fed" or pasture raised versus organic, I go for the "grass-fed." But this choice is only as good as the the grocer; so choose an entity that is your trustworthy intermediary in the world of food.

[Mnemanth]

While I'm sure we'd all love to enjoy more "organic" items, it's become clear that "organic" doesn't mean anything any more. Lobbying has rendered the term empty, and a tin can of generic dog food or a plastic bottle of detergent can proudly display the label. I can't wait to roll up to the pump to see gas advertised as "organic".
Grow your own or invest in community based agriculture!

[IndianaJohn]

Hmm, organic ethanol. I hadn't thought of it before. Could be a profitable new business model.

[laucarlson]

I raise organic chickens, and the feed is 4 times the cost of the cheap, chemical-laden feed. People don't want to pay more for quality food, but think costly pharmaceuticals are the answer. I encounter people who seem to brag that their medications run over $200/month for a variety of mundane health problems that could be resolved with better diet. Yet, they balk at paying more for organicall­y-produced eggs, meat, and milk. I don't have insurance, must pay for my own healthcare, therefore eat only organic foods. I take no meds; am nearly 60 years old.