While some people think of traditional dinners like meatloaf and mashed potatoes as food of the 1950s, the one food everyone ate back then is considered new and modern today—organic food.
According to Kathleen Glass, UW-Madison research scientist for food microbiology and toxicology, organic foods are produced with a technique that avoids the use of any synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. People technically began eating organic foods years before such chemicals existed.
However, recent research on the health benefits of organic over conventional food, have caused it to become a controversial issue.
""One [benefit to eating organically] is reducing the chemicals you are ingesting,"" said Bradley Bohlen, Madison Whole Foods Market in-store marketing coordinator.
""No. 2 is that if you're supporting organic farming, you're supporting a much more sustainable approach to agriculture. Organic farmers don't pollute the environment, conventional farmers do. Organic farmers nurture, sustain and improve the land. Conventional farming destroys the land.""
There are many more reasons why some choose to eat organically. UW-Madison freshman Rachel Smith was forced to eat organically when she was diagnosed with a stomach disorder because she lacked the enzymes needed to digest processed foods. Still, Smith said she is a proponent for organic food not only for its health benefits, but because of Fair Trade and better treatment to animals.
""It was really hard for me for the first few years because, first of all, I was like, ‘What the hell is organic?' I was totally freaked out,"" Smith said. ""I was like, ‘What? Am I going to eat grass?''
However, Smith said that once she tried eating organic, she realized most organic food tastes the same as conventional food, if not better.
While taste is a factor in deciding whether or not to eat organic, Glass said people should decide based on personal reasons, not because they think organic means it is healthier or fresher.
""If I'm going to the farmers' market and I happen to be buying organic because it's local [and] fresh, then that quality is worth that money,"" Glass said. ""If I go to the regular grocery store, and I happen to see something that is organic that was produced in California, the quality isn't necessarily any better because it's not any fresher than traditional food.""
Bohlen agrees, but also maintains the belief that organic food is healthier than conventional food in general.
""I think you get a buildup of persistent carcinogenic chemicals in your bloodstream [from conventional food]. It stores itself in your fat,"" said Bohlen. ""There is some evidence that's really new that, in fact, organic foods on average are going to have a higher nutritional content. There is not a lot of research that has been done on that.""
Although Bohlen is correct that some studies point to a higher nutritional value, Glass said that this is only true in certain conditions.
""There is some research that shows that there are certain organics that might be higher in micronutrients, but that depends on soil, location and other kinds of environmental conditions,"" Glass said. ""Another thing is that once you process them, cook them and things like that [the nutrients] may disappear, so there is no difference between organic and conventionally grown.""
No matter what the reasons are that students choose to eat organic, if they are on a budget, they can be forced to decide which items are more important to purchase organic.
""Even in conventional farming they don't use a lot of persistent chemicals in broccoli,"" Bohlen said. ""There's one where you can say, ‘I'll go with conventional to save the money.'""
Smith said she believes fruits with skin such as bananas and apples, can be purchased conventionally because the chemicals are prevented from penetrating into the fruit.
""Definitely with dairy try to go with organic because it's pretty nasty what goes into milk,"" Smith said. ""You can get blood and pus and all that stuff from cows in your milk.""
""The persistent pesticides used on strawberries are actually taken up through the root of the plant and are inside of the fruit,"" Bohlen said. ""So you cannot wash the chemicals off of strawberries.""
Despite these claims, Glass maintains the belief that eating organic is more of a personal choice than a nutritional one.
""There's not an overwhelming nutritional or safety reason for someone to choose organic over conventional, but there's certainly a personal choice as far as supporting certain kinds of lifestyles,"" Glass said. ""What [the consumer] perceives as being important for the environment and being important for animal welfare—that's certainly a personal choice. A person should look at it from both sides of the story and then make a choice.""
While many are choosing to eat organic, Glass said she believes there will always be the option of conventional food.
""The organic movement is probably beneficial because of the changes it might exert throughout the farming community and the food production community,"" Glass said. ""But it's not necessarily going to completely eliminate the traditional one because of the low efficiency and the need for the Mr. and Mrs. Smith to feed their family economically. Organic food shouldn't be elitist and that's what I think it is now.""
While it may be expensive, Bohlen said organic food is trying to affect the issues conventional food ignores, and Whole Foods Market wants to help support these issues.
""The organic movement is about much more than not using chemicals on the farm,"" Bohlen said. ""It's about sustainable agriculture. It's about a fair price being paid for the products so that farmers are able to make a decent living. It's a holistic circle. Its more than, ‘Do I eat apples with chemicals?' And we're trying to address those things.""
