Alumnus of the Week Jan 27-Feb 3: Prof. David Zilberman, Ph.D. '79
Zilberman has made many accomplishments in his study of Agricultural Biotechnology
'Organic' Defined
Mercury News
By Mielikki Org
October 15, 2002
Zilberman thinks "both organic and genetically modified foods are sensible, viable industries".
When Richard Firme, the owner of Firme Farms in the Merced County town of Gustine, started growing organic lettuce and carrots in the 1970s after taking over the family farm, organic farming was a fringe pursuit that hadn't exactly caught on with California's mainstream farmers.
"It was like, 'Only crazy hippies farm organic.' " Firme said, munching on a pea pod at the Berkeley farmers market recently. "At that time, it was very political."
Organic food isn't just for hippies anymore. Once a niche product, organic agricultural and food products are moving into the mainstream, fueled by the popularity of weekend farmers markets, a rise in public awareness about the environment, and the emergence of large companies onto the organic playing field. Although organic foods cost more, and are not necessarily safer or more nutritious, the philosophical movement started by Birkenstock-clad idealists has grown into a $7 billion business -- making up about 2 percent of the nation's agricultural industry -- with a 20 percent annual growth rate.
Next Monday, organic food will take its largest leap ever into mainstream America when the federal government puts into effect a new national system of organic food labeling.
The dramatic growth of the industry demanded formal criteria for organic production and marketing, agreed growers and regulators.
The new rules -- 10 years in the making -- set standards that growers and food companies must follow before they can call anything "organic." For the first time, organic foods will be labeled under federal regulations that ban the use of pesticides, chemicals, genetically modified organisms and other material from all products that use the label "organic."
By locking in consistency on the supermarket shelves between food produced with pesticides and food produced without, the rules increase the legitimacy of organic production -- and are predicted to boost organic sales.
The new standards, the result of 10 years of negotiation between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the organic farming industry, are expected to bring even more organic fruits and vegetables, processed foods, and meat and dairy products to the shelves of supermarkets such as Safeway, Nob Hill and the Southern California grocery chain Vons by establishing more clearly defined rules about what constitutes "organic."
Life's work
"This is a huge deal," said Bob Scowcroft, of the Organic Farming Research Foundation, based in Santa Cruz. "It's been our life's work to bring organics to every person in the United States under a federal regulatory system. All indications are that this could be a historic moment in how we produce and market our foods."
After Monday, shoppers at the supermarket will see one of three USDA-sanctioned labels on all organic products:
- Those labeled "100 percent organic" will contain only organically produced ingredients.
- "Organic" will designate products made up of 95 percent organically produced ingredients.
- Products labeled "Made with Organic Ingredients"will consist of 70 percent organic ingredients.
Certification agencies registered with the government will be responsible for giving producers approval for which label to use.
Marty Traynor Spence, editor of the organic trade publication Natural Food Merchandiser, in Boulder, Colo., said the new labels will ensure sounder production procedures and improve consumer confidence and awareness.
"Before the program was implemented, people would look for organically certified foods at the market," she said. "If you weren't certified, you could still use "organic" and nothing would happen to you. A few years ago, you would have had to trust the manufacturers. With the standards, we now know what it has to be."
The standards of the USDA's National Organic Program were largely based on the 1990 California Organic Foods Act, which outlawed the use of pesticides and chemicals on food labeled "organic" but neglected to regulate the use of other toxic, potentially dangerous procedures in organic farming.
Since certification was strictly voluntary and undertaken only by a handful of certification companies, some growers and certifiers were able to profit from misuse of the term "organic," prompting organic growers to call for federal legislation.
"The organic industry wanted a legal definition of organic, and they requested the laws and the programs," said Ray Green, organic program manager of the the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
"The consumer should now have more confidence in the label, since all certifiers are now accountable and there is one national label and standard," he said.
New standards
Under the new standards, which were revised after 275,000 individual growers and consumers responded to the government's first proposal in late 1997, genetically modified materials, the use of sewage sludge in soil and irradiation will be banned from organic production. The definition of organic will now be uniform throughout the country, which will facilitate national and international organic commerce.
Although farms that make less than $5,000 will be exempt from certification, they will still be expected to make their products organically if they want to use the organic label. Both small and larger farms will be subject to random checks by certification agencies.
Certification will cost from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the size of the farm and the certifier used. Violations of the national standards will be punishable by fines of up to $10,000 per violation.
According to Pam Giacomini, director of natural resources and commodities with the California Farm Bureau Federation, non-organic farmers, who still dominate 98 percent of California's agricultural industry, are raising no objections to the legislation.
"There's just interest," she said. "Non-organic farmers are watching the growth of organics within the industry." Organic industry leaders like Scowcroft believe that the government endorsement and enforcement of the term "organic" will lead to increased consumer awareness.
"There's an agricultural industrial system out there that has for 40 years depended on synthetic, occasionally caustic technology," he said. "Now we're trying to replace them with genetically modified life forms, and `organic' is the only label that says there is a better way."
But not all consumers and scientists are convinced that organic farming is the better way. Several studies in Europe and the United States have shown that organic produce contains more minerals and vitamins. Still, some scientists say organic food provides no added nutritional benefits and may even place consumers at greater risk of contracting the bacteria E. coli.
Some scientists say that vitamin-enhanced genetically modified foods, which can also be grown to resist disease and bacteria, may have even more health benefits than organics. "Golden Rice," which was engineered to be produce beta carotene and other nutrients, has been proposed as a solution to feeding vitamin-deficient children and mothers in poor countries such as India.
David Zilberman, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of California-Berkeley, said he thinks both organic and genetically modified foods are sensible, viable industries.
"Genetically modified foods will eventually become less offensive and more refined," he said. "Certain techniques will be kosher and certain techniques will be non-kosher. You have to educate people."
In the future, he expects consumers and farmers to support both.
Environmental effects
A growing body of evidence, however, is showing that organic food does provide some indisputable environmental benefits. According to a 21-year study published by Swiss scientists in the May issue of the journal Science, organic farming is more energy-efficient than conventional farming and preserves soil quality, thereby making it a better long-term alternative.
Scientists also agree that organic farming creates less groundwater pollution than conventional farming, poses fewer risks of developing antibiotic resistance and reduces exposure of farmworkers to toxic chemicals and pesticides.
"According to government studies, agriculture today is the largest non-point-polluter of water throughout the country. Agricultural practices have created a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico the size of New Jersey," said Katherine DiMatteo, chief executive of the Organic Trade Association in Greenfield, Mass.
Such environmental hazards should be one of the greatest incentives for farmers and consumers to support organic farming, DiMatteo said.
But one of the greatest benefits of buying organic food, many buyers say, is in the consumption of the food.
"It tastes better," said Thom Donelly from Oakland, while rummaging through a basket of carrots at the Berkeley farmers market. "I started shopping here a long time ago for the health of me and my family. I also discovered that there's really a difference" in taste. "I don't mind paying 20 percent more."
Additional Links
Zilberman's Accomplishments
Selected Papers by Zilberman
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Prof. David Zilberman, Ph.D. '79
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