Is organic food really better for your health?
We continue our investigation and find out what two other women think about organic products.
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Alexandra O’Sullivan, 27, is married to Harry, also 27, who runs a bar group. The couple live in Hastings, East Sussex, and have a son, Charlie, aged seven months. Alexandra says:
I have become increasingly skeptical of the whole organic food issue. I started buying it three years ago, spending at least £50 a week on groceries, which is probably almost double what I used to spend. But I thought I would buy the best one because it was organic and would be much healthier.
But over time, I began to question my food bill and asked myself, “Why am I paying almost twice as much for this diet of carrots?” »
Not only that, but I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between organic and non-organic foods in a taste test. I certainly haven’t read anything that conclusively proves that it’s better for me.
As a new mom, I’m passionate about giving Charlie the best start in life, but I don’t think it’s necessary to feed him a completely organic diet. I like to know exactly what’s in Charlie’s food, so I use normal fruits and vegetables that I wash very well.
Additionally, I don’t think the standards governing organic foods are strict enough. All of these factors have made me question the organic food industry – and if I feel that way, why pay double the price?
Sigrid Cragoe, 41, is a stylist and mother of two children, Emilienne, six, and Maximilian, three. She is married to Harry, 37,
who owns a fruit juice company. The family live in Wandsworth, southwest London. Sigrid says:
As a child, I lived on a farm in California, where we ate delicious organic, home-grown food. You could tell the difference in taste, but I don’t think that’s the case with organic food in Britain today.
I went through a stage where I only bought organic fruits and vegetables, until I realized that you just couldn’t tell the difference in taste, and yet I was paying up to three times the price .
But then I became very suspicious of organic products: they look too perfect in terms of shape and color. I’ve known since I was a child that most homegrown foods come in all shapes and sizes.
So I don’t buy it. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about my family eating a healthy diet. The only processed foods I buy are canned tomatoes, ketchup and baked beans. I buy fresh produce locally every day.
We start the day with smoothies full of vitamins and minerals. And then in the evening, we all eat together. We have fish, chicken, vegetables and pasta.
My children never seem to be sick. The only organic thing I insist on is milk, because I worry about the hormones in non-organic milk.
I think we have all been swept up in the organic revolution. In doing so, we have put more money into supermarket coffers – but have we really improved our diet and health?
What makes food “organic”?
Organic food has not been sprayed with chemical fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides or pesticides, or post-harvest treatment such as waxing. In the case of meat, animals should not be given medications such as antibiotics or dewormers and should be fed pesticide-free feed.
Can everyone sell organic food?
It is an offense to use this word unless the product has been certified by a recognized organic agency. The best known is the Soil Association, which certifies up to 70 percent of all foods organic.
Who buys organic food?
Three in four households in the UK buy organic food, and the organic market is worth more than £1 billion a year. Organic food sales in the UK are the second highest in Europe. The number of approved organic farms increased by 5 percent to almost 4,000.
