Bad Organic

You knew it had to come to this. A plant based diet requires, well, plants. And plenty of them. I switched to eating mostly organic plants to lower my environmental burden.With my fork in hand, I poked polluting, inhumane CAFOs in the eye and reduced the drain on our dwindling fresh water supply. And that’s a big deal. Really. It takes 1,799 gallons of water to raise a pound of beef. No beef = water and environment saved. Or so you’d think. But oh no, nothing is ever that simple. It’s the dawn of a new year, so I need to make sure I have something new to feel guilty about.

Like this from today's New York Times.

Tomatoes like those lovely little organic medleys from Trader Joe’s, are grown in Mexico at a substantial environmental cost. Baja is the epicenter of the Mexican organic produce market. Mexican farmers, cultivating all the land they can to satisfy the U.S. market and beyond, have put at-risk a third of southern Baja’s aquifers. Farmers are getting better at minimizing water waste but it’s a stretch to say that they are farming sustainably. Since there isn’t any sustainability requirement to earn the coveted “organic” label, buying organic doesn’t guarantee much more than pesticide or hormone free.

Yet again, my choices, made in good faith, are muddled by reality. The upside to the organic downside is that a poor Mexican farmer is better sustaining himself and his family by serving the organic market. But like most people, that farmer’s urge to make a living will likely dampen his willingness to make long-term investments in sustainable farming practices.

Eating has become far too complex. We are all interconnected in unexpected ways. I can reduce consumption of organic Mexican food to save the earth. But a Mexican family may slip back into poverty when I make that choice. “Local” isn’t often sustainably grown either, which erodes the health of my own neighborhood. How to choose?

The little organic sticker above the “grown in Mexico” label isn’t supporting much of my intent to eat responsibly. “Organic” must be reliably regulated on a global scale and incorporate environmental goals or it will continue to mean little. Early adopters like me assumed that organic was more than chemical-free. Maybe next year.