Organic versus Non-organic foods

Hello again, I’m bombarded with this question every day I shop for my customers, "Are your fruits and veggies organic?" I honestly cannot answer that question because our foods are not labelled in Nigeria and we have no traceability system in place.

I did some research to educate myself about organic and non-organic farming in Nigeria so that I could better serve my customers in identifying the foods before I buy and supply them but I was not able to get any verifiable information so I went online.

So much information on the internet I couldn’t possibly copy all here but I will try to summarize what I was able to understand.

The word "organic" refers to the way farmers grow and process  agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat. Organic farming practices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution. Farmers who grow organic produce and meat don't use conventional methods to fertilize, control weeds or prevent livestock disease. For example, rather than using chemical weedkillers, organic farmers may conduct more sophisticated crop rotations and spread mulch or manure to keep weeds at bay.

When talking about animals, organically raised animals are those raised with organic feed and kept free from growth hormones and antibiotics, as well as oftentimes treated more humanely and given better areas to roam than their non-organic counterparts. E.g. Chickens, cows, pigs etc.

Some people choose organically grown foods over conventionally grown foods because they have little or no pesticide residue left on produce and they believe organically grown foods have higher levels of nutrients.

While many studies have stated organic food is not necessarily healthier than non-organic in terms of nutritional value, the concerns for those who purchase organic tend to focus on the pesticides that can be ingested along with their fruits and vegetables.

There are other studies that show organic produce boasted up to 40 percent higher levels of some nutrients (including vitamin C, zinc and iron) than its conventional counterparts.

Comparing these two methods of farming take a different dimension if we introduce Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) foods into the mix. GMOs is used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. They are plants that have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides, pest resistance or improved nutritional content. This type of farming is mostly practiced in the United States of America and even though it has a lot of promises to help reduce world hunger and reduce cost of farming, European environmental organizations and International public interest groups have been actively protesting against GM foods and recent controversial studies about the effects of genetically-modified foods on our health and environment has been called to question.

To scare me further, I read in today’s Guardian newspaper that our government is seriously looking to import GM technology via U. S. into the country. I have read all the positives of GM farming but from what I can understand the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. Other well enlightened societies are rejecting it so I don’t think we should submit ourselves to experiments; we have not yet gotten over the Pfizer saga that happened in the north of Nigeria a while back. Yes, if it will help increase our farm yields but I’m sure there are safer alternatives we can import. We have to be alive to eat.

In Nigeria of today, I cannot categorically tell my customers which farm produce is pure organic or not because we have no labeling standards and no one is checking. Every year our government distributes fertilizers to farmers and no one regulates usage of chemicals on the farms for plants and use of antibiotics etc for animals.Our eggs yolks keep getting whiter and our chickens softer and bigger, God help us. although studies abroad say there is no difference we need studies in Nigeria because I don't think we are using these chemicals right.

We have the weekly farmers market supposedly organic farmers all over the country but if the honey they sell can be adulterated what else can you expect.

So we are back to our original quest for food safety, without proper food safety standards that emphasizes labeling, traceability and regulates farm practice we cannot know the difference between organic and non-organic foods in the market place, we are left with whatever the farmer/sales person tells us that cannot be verified.