Are You Going
Yet
Organic ?
By Jade Tan
The organic food movement
has been gathering steam
in recent years and many
parents swear by it, not just
for themselves but for their
children. We cut through the
clutter to tell you whether
organic food is everything
that it makes itself out to be.
As the health and eco movement
gathers momentum in Singapore,
so has our consumption of organic
produce. Many local organic food
and health stores report seeing
their clientele grow from a primarily
expat market to a significantly more
local one, with more young parents
adopting an organic lifestyle for their
whole family.
It’s easy to see why these parents
have jumped onto the organic
bandwagon – they want the best
for their families, especially if
their children are still developing,
and organic produce, defined as
food produced without the use of
pesticides, synthetic fertilisers,
sewage sludge, GMOs (genetically
modified organisms) or ionising
radiation, is as good as it gets. Even
animals products can be organic,
derived from livestock that live under
humane conditions, consume organic
feed, and are not injected with
antibiotics and growth hormones.
However, one of the main concerns
with organic food is its prohibitively
high cost, which begs the question:
do the benefits they purportedly offer
justify their retail price?
Let’s find out.
Some organic foods contain
higher amounts of antioxidants,
substances that aid in child
development and boost immune
systems. Also, organic fruit
have been found to contain more
flavonoids and up to 90% more
Vitamin C!
In addition, organic food might
be able to prime your child’s
body to better absorb nutrients
by helping it build resilience
against illnesses. This is
because a healthy body that
spends less energy battling
bacteria is able to focus more on
reaping the nutritional benefits
of its food intake!
However, it is vital to
acknowledge the distinct
difference between food safety
and food nutrition; safe, organic
food does not automatically mean
a wholesome meal. Also, although
organic food might be superior
to conventional food, that doesn’t
mean that it is always healthy.
Many of us overlook the fact that
there are some organic snacks
that contain very high sugar, salt
and fat levels!
To ensure that your family gets
the most out of each meal,
consider the following factors:
• Freshness
• Cut (fatty vs. lean meat)
• The nature of its nutrients
(foods containing heatsensitive nutrients should be
cooked differently from ones
that contain water-soluble
nutrients)
• Meal composition (are all
nutrients well-represented?)
Chemicals in Food
– Acceptable or Not?
Conventionally bred livestock produce
contains antibiotic residue, which
can lead to the emergence of strains
of bacteria that are resistant to the
antibiotic. As such, antibiotics will
be less effective in treating a person
whose body comes under attack of
such bacteria. Moreover, antibiotics
can disrupt the natural balance of our
intestinal flora by reducing both bad
and good bacteria, ironically resulting
in higher vulnerability to harmful ones.
Children especially become more
susceptible to illnesses since their
immune systems and body organs are
not fully developed yet.
Besides antibiotics, a University
of Washington study revealed
that children who maintained a
conventional diet were exposed to
six to nine times more pesticide than
their peers who ate organic food. And
since children usually consume more
food than adults, they ingest relatively
higher amounts of chemicals, which
puts them at a higher risk of ailments
such as developmental delays,
behavioural disorders and motor
dysfunction.
However, there is no need to panic
as the amount of chemicals a child
consumes is not dangerously alarming.
Scientists have yet to discover any
negative health effects that are due
to the low-level chronic exposure
of pesticides – the amount that
our children eat every day – in our
conventionally farmed produce.
Says Joel Forman of the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Committee on Environmental Health,
“Although we know that children,
especially young children whose
brains are developing, are uniquely
vulnerable to chemical exposures, at
this point, we simply do not have the
scientific evidence to know whether the
difference in pesticide levels will impact
a person’s health over a lifetime.”
The Dirty Dozen
Organic food is often sold at a premium (up to twice the price of
its conventional counterpart!), which can take a toll on those on a
budget. Fortunately, the Environmental Working Group has sieved out
the different types of food, known as the \