Article

Watching What We Eat: Health and
Environmental Concerns are Fueling
a Growth in Organic Food Sales
By Anne Ramstetter Wenzel

“If you were to stop for a picnic in the country, you probably wouldn't dream of drinking the water from a nearby stream. All the crop land around you is doused with chemicals: herbicides to control weeds, insecticides to control insects, and fertilizers to stimulate growth” (from “Sustainable Agriculture -- A New Vision,” Union of Concerned Scientists, http://www.ucsusa.org). Water contamination, land use concerns and food safety issues are leading many to conclude that our methods of supplying food are negatively impacting our environment. Arzeema Hamir, agronomist and garden writer for Organic Living Newsletter points out that, “With the EPA's recent phasing out of common pesticides such as Dursban and Diazinon, we are now realizing that many of the chemicals that we thought were ‘safe’ were never actually tested to see what their effect on children, women, and the elderly could be. The time has come to reassess our dependence on pesticides.” Spray drift from pesticide applications can result in pesticide exposures to farm workers, children playing outside, and wildlife and its habitat. Wildlife habitat is destroyed when land is converted to pasture for animal grazing or farms. Many people are switching to organic foods and eating less meat out of concern for their health and the environment.

Meat and poultry farming is very land and water intensive, and produces pollution from the animal wastes generated. In The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices (Three Rivers Press, 1999), authors Michael Brower, Ph.D. and Warren Leon, Ph.D., point out that about 800 million acres of land, or 40% of all land in the United States, is used for grazing livestock for household meat consumption. Another 60 million acres is used for growing grain to feed the livestock. Seven pounds of cattle feed is required to produce a pound of beef, and growing an acre of corn to feed cattle takes 535,000 gallons of water, according to David Pimentel, professor of ecology and agricultural science, co-editor and co-author of Ecological Integrity: Integrating Environment, Conservation, and Health (Island Press, 2000).

Plant foods use fewer environmental resources for the same amount of nutrition as meat. Brower and Leon modeled the effects of U.S. food consumption on the environment, and estimate if the average American household cut their poultry and red meat consumption in half, land use and common water pollution caused by consumers would fall by 30% and 24%, respectively.

Still, traditional food crop farming is polluting, primarily because of fertilizer and pesticides entering nearby waterways as irrigation water drains away. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency points out that pesticides residues may remain in or on fruits, vegetables, grains, and other foods. Consumer exposure to farming chemicals is reduced when people switch to organically grown legumes, grains, vegetables, starch crops, fruits and nuts. Monika Dery, BellaOnline's Alternative Medicine Host, says, “I buy organic produce whenever I can and whenever the prices aren't exorbitant. I think it tastes better but also doesn't have the pesticides and residues that I believe are harmful to health.” Ms. Dery is not alone: more and more consumers are switching to organically grown food.

In, “Healthy Living Means Healthy Business,” (Natural Business LOHAS Journal, Spring 2002), Mary Scott points out that organic growing methods account for less than 2% of the U.S. food supply. However, the US$9 billion U.S. organic food industry is the largest in the world, and has been growing by more than 20% per year over the past decade. Conventional grocery stores now account for 49 percent of total organic sales, about the same as natural food stores (48 percent); direct markets, such as farmers markets and road side stands, account for about 3 percent of total U.S. organic food sales.

The Western European organic food industry is about US$8.8 billion now, and is also growing briskly, about 14% per year. In the United Kingdom, demand outstrips supply and they must import an estimated 75% of organic food consumed. About 60% of organic foods are bought in supermarkets in the United Kingdom. In Japan, organic foods are becoming more popular but growth is much more moderate. The International Trade Center of the United Nations Council on Trade and Development estimates that the Japanese organic food market is about US$2.5 billion, and sales are made primarily through home delivery service companies, and to a lesser extent through supermarkets and food service companies. Sixty percent of Japanese organic food sales are fresh crops such as vegetables and fruits, and 40% are processed food such as frozen food.

But organic is good for the environment, too, not just healthy. Organic farmers manage pests and weeds using beneficial insects and mechanical controls, rather than chemicals. Crops are rotated between fields to improve soil fertility and keep pests from building up. Certified organic meat and dairy products are produced from animals fed only organically grown feed, and hormones and antibiotics may not be used. Ms. Dery, BellaOnline's Alternative Medicine Host, says, “Sometimes I think we North Americans are sticking our heads in the sand vis a vis the harmful effects of chemicals on our environment and on us...so I guess you'd say I believe I eat organic for both [health and environmental] reasons.”

Anne Ramstetter Wenzel is principal with Econosystems.
See our About Us page for her bio.

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Quick Bites that are Good for you, good for the environment: Cedarland Organic Beans & Rice Cheese Style Burrito and Morning Star Farms Chik Nuggets. They’re meatless snacks that heat up in the microwave (and microwave cooking is more energy efficient!).”

Watching What We Eat: Health and Environmental Concerns are Fueling a Growth in Organic Food Sales By Anne Ramstetter Wenzel

Watching What We Eat: Health and
Environmental Concerns are Fueling
a Growth in Organic Food Sales
By Anne Ramstetter Wenzel