The Truth About Buying Organic Food

You see organic vs non-organic food in the grocery store all the time—but what does "organic" actually mean? The common thought is that organic automatically means better for you—but turns out, food with that label might not be as healthy or environmentally friendly as you think. Join Hank Green and learn more in this episode of SciShow!

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[TommoCarroll]

Grocery stores should really be divided into two sections: "Organic" and "Things I can Afford" 🥕

[drewpamon]

As a mini farmer I use a lot of organic techniques in order to preserve the soil and to try and make the farm more efficient. Like having chickens roam freely to eat the bugs and collecting their poop for my hot compost pile.

[thomasbecker]

As a produce grower for a local farmers market, we don't grow or market organic products. We do our best to use insecticides responsibly and as few times as possible through out the growing season. We would not be able to get a high yeilding crop or a very high quality crop from our gardens. Also, I always like to keep in mind that GMO could be something as simple as cross pollination, it's not always splicing genes. Even in that case it is typically to give a plant resistance to disease or to increase yield. Fancy lables on our food increase the price of things that raised conventionally, would be just as safe.

[garethdean]

I always buy 'chemical free' food.

I survive on dark matter.

[kirstenpaff]

As an agricultural engineer, I really appreciate videos like this. More sustainable agriculture (i.e. producing more food with fewer inputs and less environmental damage) is critical for the health of the human population, but terms like organic and natural often have more marketing behind them than science. Consumers associate organic with all that is good, and marketers take full advantage of that. Even products that are not organic certified take advantage of this association by using terms that sound like they mean the same thing as organic (i.e. natural, pure, etc) or by using specific packaging (green containers, muted colors, pictures of leaves or idyllic farms, etc). If you choose to spend the extra money on organic products, please do yourself a favor and look at the science rather than the marketing campaigns.

[BadHabitMarco]

This is very informative! Thank you SciShow for many arguments pro and contra organic foods - much appreciated to help me understand its usefulness and value (or the opposite).

[naomilovenpeace]

I think it's important to make it clear that in America the USDA ONLY certifies food. So anything that says it's organic and is not food (beauty products are a good example) is probably lying

[ethanrey]

I think that GMO's are like rapidly evolved food. So why does it have a bad reputation?

[laurahrobinson]

I wish you had talked about organic vs conventional meat more -- the lack of growth hormones and antibiotics in organic meat seems like it would be an important health benefit. Maybe another video?

[thomasr.jackson]

I refuse to pay for the meaningless, unscientific, and irrational “organic” marketing label. Come up with a meaningful “sustainable” label, or a “locally sourced” standard, I will take a look.

[electronicsNmore]

Unfortunately there's no way to know if you're really getting organic food.

[josephdestaubin]

It seems to me that because of a mix of what's available and what a supermarket is willing to carry there are certain foods that are more or less consistently better tasting from the organic section as compared to its non-organic counterpart, green onions, tomatoes, garlic, just to name a few. The difference in taste is huge. The quality of tast in cooking is such that I can use a LOT less of the organic garlic than I would use of regular garlic. You're get it garlic that I've been able to find is Floral and Rich slightly sweet and believe it or not you can actually bite into it because it locks the acidity and bitterness of non-organic garlic. And I could go on about other vegetables, but I think a lot of it is just the way the market selects for availability. In the end though I have to challenge your assertion that you shouldn't choose organic for taste because if one is using less material to accomplish the same thing true Organics then one is having less of an impact on the environment.

[pinkwings]

Thanks for all being concise, and having good sources! This clears up a lot of stuff.

[Dalewoodian]

This is the most even-handed breakdown of one of the most controversial issues in science I could imagine. Thank you so much for it

[sjcross]

When Hank talked about “grape man” I literally paused the video, stopped doing the dishes I was in the middle of, and ran up to my sister to make her watch it so we could laugh about it together. 😂

[isixqueenxofxmadness]

Just a thought, what if there was some sort of organized worm composting, where industrial and home organic wastes are managed in a way that they can be turned into rich soil back again, instead of anaerobically decomposing in a landfill? Would that be enough fertilizer?
I just found out about worm composting and seeing how much plant and animal matter goes to the trash I think the amounts needed to grow crops could be easily met with good waste management.

[brandontheis]

I know this video is 2 years + old but I just saw it, or rather my son saw it and brought it to my attention. First - everything in this video has to do with large farms and does not take into account the very large amount of small farms (3 acres or less). I farm, on a micro farm, 2.66 acres total land area but we run 50 to 80 beds a year. We are not OMRI certified and never will be but we practice organic methods.
The video says that organic farms cannot produce the same amount as conventional farms....on large scales this is true... because of their field model. But we annually out produce larger farms by factors of 10 easily. 2 Reasons for this -
1. We use a 2 wheel walk behind tractor
2. Our field model - 30 inch wide 50 and 100 ft raised beds.
Both of these provide MUCH higher yields per square ft than conventional or large scale organic farming. An example
Conventional farms grow carrots in rows with an avg of 6 rows between their tractor wheels - We get 12 rows per bed
On every crop we grow, we at LEAST double that of a conventional farm on yields and number of plants.

We have a MUCH smaller carbon footprint due to the use of the walk behind two wheel tractor combined with broad forking which further decreases the use of the two wheel tractor.
We use low tunnnels and Catterpillar tunnels to extend our seasons and many farms run year round with this model.

Crop rotation does virtually nothing to assist in pest control. It does help with soil borne disease control.
OMRI certified or legal "organic" certification DOES NOT mean they do not use use a LOT of like Spinosad for broad based insect control. Spinosad is a bacteria that was found at an abandoned rum distillery in Cuba and was found to kill everything...including bees...which it is extremely toxic to. To me, calling this product organic is like going to Chernobyl and digging around and finding some new bacteria and saying "Hey its organic"....no its not ....not even close. And i sure as hell wouldnt eat it. Spinosad is listed as OMRI certified....so is are a lot of products which are obviously not organic in any sense. The point - Organic DOES NOT mean pesticide free.

At one time "Organic" was more than just marketing...but no more....its just marketing and a money game. It allows more room for grants and allready bloated federal and state ag departments more funds. Large scale organic operations offer little to no benefit vs conventional farming. To see any real benefit youll have to go to local small and micro farms either through your local farmers market or buy directly from local farms. Question how they grow, do they use pesticides, if so what kinds, do they use Fungicides, if so what kinds. Visit the farm and take a look at their you dont see hoop houses or plastic covered tunnels or any size, if you dont see crops covered in finely meshed suspicious of what they tell you.

If they say they are not using pesticides or fungicides your looking for tunnels or covering over the crops...if you dont see it ask about how they are managing pests and have them explain thier methods. If it does not include "insect netting" "low tunnels" "caterpillar tunnels" "High tunnels" then just walk away as they are using fungicides and pesticides and lying about it.

If your serious about your food you have to educate yourself...and if you want the full benifit of low carbon footprint, helping your local economy, pesticide free and fungicide free food, your only options at this point in time are your local farmers market and buying directly from small and micro farms in your community. And even then you need to check the farms your dealing with to make sure your getting what you want.

[sturmey]

Very nice analysis as usual. But three important points left out:
1. antibiotics in farming seem to be playing and important role in generating antibiotic resistance
2. Animal hormones: could they interfere with human neuroimmunoendocrine system?
3. Ethics of animal exploitation. It is now clear animals can suffer, be stressed, etc. These perceptions and feelings are not unique to humans.

[voland.eduard]

It will be nice to have a bit deeper dive on organic meat and diary.

[mj]

I find some specific food items taste better organic, such as fresh fruits. I always thought it was because gmo foods might be selected to grow bigger or faster, so lose some flavor density, but maybe it's just because the irradiated stuff is slightly older. But if it's not going to be eaten raw, I usually won't buy organic because you're adding spices and breaking down the molecules anyway. Better to try to buy local than organic, I think.