Organic Foods

Definition:

• Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Organic foods are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.

MYTH #1: ORGANIC FOOD IS ALWAYS BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.

• Since organic farming is only about half as productive as conventional farming, it requires far more land to produce the same amount of food. Dennis Avery of the Hudson Institute's Center for Global Food Issues estimates that modern high-yield farming has saved 15 million square miles of wildlife habitat, and that if the world switched to organic farming, we'd need to cut down 10 million square miles of forest. Less-productive farming could also lead to even less food for the world's undernourished

MYTH #2: IT'S MORE NUTRITIOUS.

• Studies keep flip-flopping on this: One found more vitamin C in organic tomatoes than in conventional ones; another found more cancer-fighting flavonoids in organic corn and strawberries. But other studies haven't found organics to have a nutritional edge. What makes the biggest difference in nutrients is how long produce sits on the shelf. Spinach, for instance, loses about half of its foliate within a week.

MYTH #4: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AS CAREFUL ABOUT WASHING IT.

• All produce, whether purchased from a grocery mega chain or your local organic farm, is susceptible to nasty bacteria, such as E. coli (the news-maker that's also been known to kill people). Soil and runoff water that's contaminated with E. coli-harboring animal poop can get onto produce —particularly melons, lettuce, sprouts, tomatoes, spinach, and green onions, since they grow close to the ground. Your best defense: Wash everything thoroughly under running water. * To rid produce of pesticide residue just mix equal parts water and vinegar and rinse.

MYTH #5: YOU'RE SUPPORTING SMALL FARMS OR ECO-COMPANIES.

• General Mills owns the Cascadian Farms brand, Kraft owns Back to Nature and Boca Burger, and Kellogg's owns Morningstar Farms, to name a few conglomerates basking in organics' glow (and dough). And with such high demand (in the past year, the market for organic milk outstripped the supply by 10 percent), these giant companies are importing organic ingredients as cheaply as possible —often from other countries. Whole Foods sold roughly $1 billion in produce last year; only about 16 percent was locally grown. So with all the CO2spent in transport, some organics have questionable eco-virtues.

MYTH #6: IT'S BETTER FOR YOU.

• Not if it's organic chips, organic soda, or organic cookies. Cane sugar is still sugar and fried chips are still fried, no matter what kind of compost was or wasn't heaped onto the potatoes. Sorry!

HOW "ORGANIC" IS IT?

• Products labeled "organic" must consist of 95 percent organically produced ingredients, but products that contain only 70 percent organic ingredients can use the phrase "Made with organic ingredients." Read carefully.