/Organically Yours
by camilleThe word organic brings to my mind all the health food stores I’ve roamed
through over the years, which seem to have the same aroma no matter how
many miles lie between them: sweet, earthy hints of protein powder, bulk
cereal, fresh fruit, and hemp. I guess the word means different things to dif-
ferent people. When applied to food (not a college sophomore’s most
dreaded chemistry class), “organic” originally described a specific style of
agriculture, but now it has come to imply a lifestyle, complete with maga-
zines and brands of clothing. The word has sneaked onto a pretty loose-
knit array of food labels too, tiptoeing from “100% organic” over to
“contains organic ingredients.” Like overused slang, the term has been
muddled by rising popularity. It’s true, for example, that cookies “made
with organic cocoa” have no residue of chemical pesticides or additives in
the chocolate powder, but that doesn’t vouch for the flour, milk, eggs, and
spices that are also in each cookie.
Why should we care which ingredients, or how many, are organic? The
reasons go beyond carcinogenic residues. Organic produce actually deliv-
ers more nutritional bang for the buck. These fruits and vegetables are
tougher creatures than those labeled “conventional,” precisely because
they’ve had to fight off predators themselves. Plants live hard lives. They
don’t have to run around looking for food or building nests to raise their
young, but they still have their worries. There’s no hiding from predators
when you have roots in the ground, and leaves that require direct contact
with sunlight. You’re stuck, right out in the open. Imagine the Lifetime
Original movie: the helpless mother soy plant watching in agony, unable to
speak or move, as a loathsome groundhog gobbles down her baby beans
one at a time. Starting to tear up yet?
Next plant- kingdom heartache: there is no personal space for the gar-
den vegetable. If you’re planted in a row of other tomatoes, there you’ll stay