What's on your lettuce?

[Bring4th_Austin]

What organic produce is safe from is any sort of synthetic chemicals used in any part of the production which may be consumed. The standards for organic certification are incredibly intricate and far-reaching. Buying anything certified organic means that there are NO synthetic in any step...if there is coating, it is 100% natural, and the sources of the natural coating themselves must meet organic standards. The organic certification process is incredibly intensive and includes an outrageously thorough audit of all products present on the farm/facility of production, the packaging, the transportation, and basically every other level of production. It would be incredibly hard for any sort of coating or film that could be applied to reduce respiration to be certified organic. I would say, generally, organic produce is much safer to eat than non-organic.

But there is a wider perspective to be taken in viewing the sustainability of organic produce. If organic tomatoes are coming from a farm in the middle of Mexico where water is pumped from miles away and fossil fuels are used to transport them all around the world, and there is little consideration given to the health of the soil, local ecosystem, or even workers, then are these tomatoes really better than local tomatoes sprayed with a low amount of low-toxicity pesticide which is easily washed off? Sure it is synthetic free, but at what cost to the overall well-being of the Earth and humanity?

Apples specifically are a tricky beast. It is incredibly hard to grow organic apples in most climates. A lot of organic fruit has to be grown in ideal conditions free from pests and diseases, usually in mountainous regions. Quite simply, apple demand could not be met if everyone decided to buy organic apples. And what is the environmental impact of importing apples from those ideal climates vs. using synthetic chemicals to grow them more locally? (I don't know the answer to that)

The impact of our diet on the world around us is immense. Buying organic produce from the grocery store may help ease someone's mind a bit, if only their personal health and the health of their family, but you can dive much much deeper into the true effect of your food. And in order for our food production system to really be brought out of the harmful cycle it is in, people will have to start asking questions other than "is it organic?"