Organic Foods: Health and Environmental Advantages and Disadvantages
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Guidance for the Clinician in Rendering Pediatric Care CLINICAL REPORT Organic Foods: Health and Environmental Advantages and Disadvantages Joel Forman, MD, Janet Silverstein, MD, COMMITTEE ON abstract NUTRITION, and COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH The US market for organic foods has grown from $3.5 billion in 1996 to KEY WORDS $28.6 billion in 2010, according to the Organic Trade Association. Or- organic food, produce, meat, dairy, growth hormone, antibiotic, farming, diet ganic products are now sold in specialty stores and conventional ABBREVIATIONS supermarkets. Organic products contain numerous marketing claims GH—growth hormone and terms, only some of which are standardized and regulated. NOP—National Organic Program — In terms of health advantages, organic diets have been convincingly USDA US Department of Agriculture demonstrated to expose consumers to fewer pesticides associated This document is copyrighted and is property of the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Board of Directors. All authors with human disease. Organic farming has been demonstrated to have have filed conflict of interest statements with the American less environmental impact than conventional approaches. However, Academy of Pediatrics. Any conflicts have been resolved through current evidence does not support any meaningful nutritional benefits a process approved by the Board of Directors. The American fi Academy of Pediatrics has neither solicited nor accepted any or de cits from eating organic compared with conventionally grown commercial involvement in the development of the content of foods, and there are no well-powered human studies that directly dem- this publication. onstrate health benefits or disease protection as a result of consuming The guidance in this report does not indicate an exclusive an organic diet. Studies also have not demonstrated any detrimental or course of treatment or serve as a standard of medical care. disease-promoting effects from an organic diet. Although organic foods Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate. regularly command a significant price premium, well-designed farm- ing studies demonstrate that costs can be competitive and yields com- parable to those of conventional farming techniques. Pediatricians should incorporate this evidence when discussing the health and en- vironmental impact of organic foods and organic farming while con- tinuing to encourage all patients and their families to attain optimal nutrition and dietary variety consistent with the US Department of Agri- culture’s MyPlate recommendations. This clinical report reviews the health and environmental issues re- lated to organic food production and consumption. It defines the term www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2012-2579 “ ” organic, reviews organic food-labeling standards, describes organic doi:10.1542/peds.2012-2579 and conventional farming practices, and explores the cost and envi- All clinical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics ronmental implications of organic production techniques. It examines automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed, the evidence available on nutritional quality and production contam- revised, or retired at or before that time. inants in conventionally produced and organic foods. Finally, this re- PEDIATRICS (ISSN Numbers: Print, 0031-4005; Online, 1098-4275). port provides guidance for pediatricians to assist them in advising Copyright © 2012 by the American Academy of Pediatrics their patients regarding organic and conventionally produced food choices. Pediatrics 2012;130:e1406–e1415 e1406 FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS Downloaded from www.aappublications.org/news by guest on September 28, 2021 FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS DEFINITION AND REGULATION OF Labeling ingredients or food groups on the ORGANIC FOODS Consumers are confronted with a principal display panel. For example, Definition wide range of food product marketing soup made with at least 70% organic terms, some regulated and some not ingredients and only organic vegetables Organic farming uses an approach to “ (Table 1). The labeling requirements of may be labeled either soup made with growing crops and raising livestock that ” the NOP apply to raw, fresh products organic peas, potatoes, and carrots or avoids synthetic chemicals, hormones, “soup made with organic vegetables.” antibiotic agents, genetic engineering, and processed products that contain and irradiation. In the United States, the organic agricultural ingredients. These labeling requirements are based on Related Terms US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has the percentage of organic ingredients The NOP places no restrictions on the implemented the National Organic Pro- in a product.3 Products labeled “100% use of truthful labeling claims, such as gram (NOP)1 in response to the Organic organic” must contain only organically “no drugs or growth hormones used,” Foods Production Act of 1990.2 The NOP produced ingredients and processing “free range,” or “sustainably har- set labeling standards that have been in aids (excluding water and salt). Prod- vested.”3 The USDA regulates the term effect since October 2002. NOP stand- ucts labeled “organic” must consist of “free range” for poultry products; to ards for organic food production in- at least 95% organically processed use this term, producers must dem- clude many specific requirements for ingredients (excluding water and salt); onstrate that the poultry has been both crops and livestock. To qualify as the remaining 5% of ingredients may allowed “access to the outside.”4 organic, crops must be produced on be conventional or synthetic but must According to Consumers Union’s eval- farms that have not used most synthetic be on the USDA’s approved list. Pro- uation, this means that a poultry pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer for cessed products that contain at least product comes from a bird that had at 3 years before harvest and have a suffi- 70% organic ingredients can use the least 5 minutes of access to the out- cient buffer zone to decrease contami- phrase “made with organic ingredients” doors each day.4,5 No standard defi- nation from adjacent lands. Genetic and list up to 3 of the organic nition exists for all other products engineering, ionizing radiation, and sewage sludge is prohibited. Soil fertil- TABLE 1 Commonly Used Food Product Marketing Terms ity and nutrient content is managed Term Definition primarily with cultivation practices, 100% organic Must contain only organically produced ingredients and crop rotations, and cover crops sup- processing aids (excluding water and salt). Organic Must consist of at least 95% organically produced ingredients plemented with animal and crop waste (excluding water and salt). Any remaining product fertilizers.Pests,weeds,anddiseases ingredients must consist of nonagricultural substances are managed primarily by physical, approved on the National List. Made with organic ingredients Must contain at least 70% organic ingredients. mechanical, and biological controls in- Natural A product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and stead of with synthetic pesticides and that is only minimally processed (a process that does not herbicides. Exceptions are allowed if fundamentally alter the raw product). The label must explain substances are on a national approved the use of the term. Free range Producers must demonstrate to the USDA that the poultry has list. Organic livestock must be reared been allowed access to the outside. without the routine use of antibiotic No hormones (pork or poultry) Hormones are not allowed in raising hogs or poultry. Therefore, agents or growth hormones (GHs) and the claim “no hormones added” cannot be used on the labels of pork or poultry unless it is followed by a statement that must be provided with access to the says “Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones.” outdoors. If an animal is treated for No hormones (beef) The term “no hormones administered” may be approved for disease with antibiotic agents, it cannot use on the label of beef products if sufficient documentation is provided to the USDA by the producer showing no be sold as organic. Preventive health hormones have been used in raising the animals. practices include vaccination and vita- No antibiotics (red meat and poultry) The terms “no antibiotics added” may be used on labels for min and mineral supplementation. The meat or poultry products if sufficient documentation is fi provided by the producer to the USDA demonstrating that USDA certi es organic products accord- the animals were raised without antibiotics. ing to these guidelines. Organic farmers Certified “Certified” implies that the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection must apply for certification, pass a Service and the Agriculture Marketing Service have officially test, and pay a fee. The NOP requires evaluated a meat product. Chemical free This term is not allowed to be used on a label. annual inspections to ensure ongoing There are no restrictions on use of other truthful labeling claims, such as “no drugs or growth hormones used,” or compliance with these standards. “sustainably harvested.” PEDIATRICS Volume 130, Number 5, November 2012 e1407 Downloaded from www.aappublications.org/news by guest on September 28, 2021 carrying the “free range” label, such increased propensity to purchase or- number of nutrients reported in vari- as beef, pork, or eggs; the use of the ganic food is the level of consumer ous articles, the authors grouped the term,