Rick Smith discusses new book and merits of organic vs. conventional foods
The City of Guelph, in collaboration with the University of Guelph, celebrated the 33rd annual Guelph Organic Conference from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2. Author Rick Smith highlighted the weekend, chock-full of events, with the presentation of his findings in the book he co-authored with Bruce Lourie, titled Toxin Toxout.
The conference couldn’t have come to town at a more opportune time, as far as the organic industry in Canada is concerned. Less than a month ago, CBC News analyzed data supplied by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and found that nearly half of organic produce contained pesticide residue.
The smear-campaign against the organic industry was at the front and centre of discussion among attendees and speakers of the Toxin Toxout presentation at the Delta Hotel Guelph.
“If there is trace pesticides in even organic, doesn’t it mean that they [consumers] need to support organic more?” asked Matthew Holmes, Executive Director at the Canada Organic Trade Association, before introducing the evening’s keynote speaker, Smith.
According to Smith, a graduate at the U of G, the answer is a resounding, “yes.”
Smith addressed one of the primary concerns among consumers – because there is trace pesticide found in organic foods, there is no point in buying organic. “There is trace pesticide in your shirt,” said Smith in a facetious tone. This is the byproduct of over 50 years of spraying pesticides on food – we now see trace pesticide showing up on deep-sea fish that habitat the ocean at two-kilometres below sea level.
Hearing about the inescapability of everyday pesticides in our clothes, skin, and foods undoubtedly generates a certain level of pessimism in the everyday consumer, but Smith contends that despite pesticides affecting our food supply, organic foods still test far lower in pesticides than conventional foods.
In a study featuring nine children who switched to all-organic diets, Smith found that their levels of pesticide came down by 2/3; however, when taken off the organic diet, the pesticide levels doubled almost immediately. The results were similar in adults.
These findings were particularly important due to their ability to dispel any notion in consumers that since they have gone their whole life without eating organic, their bodies cannot benefit in the same way a child’s would.
Even in the face of the CBC reports, many within the industry maintain that any publicity is good publicity, and that the organic industry continues to grow. Smith, who told of a day where the extent of the organic industry in Guelph was confined to the basement of a Wyndham Street Cooperative, recollected the growth of the organic industry.
The numbers support the claims of growth in organics: The market is three times as big as it was in 2006, and is now worth $3.7 billion per year, with no signs of slowing. Organic farms have also grown by 66.5 per cent since 2001, while conventional farms declined by 17 per cent in that same time.
“I’ll bet that in a year from now, when we are gathering [in Guelph] again, there will be another study trying to attack the organic industry,” said Smith. “But we’re not a marginal industry any longer, we cannot be ignored…we have to be prepared.”