■ Certmed organic food is
grown with balanced soils
and no pesticides, and its
popularity is catching on
By Jessica Etheridge
for the Emerald
Forty dollars at the grocery
store will give you the option of
eating well or just eating.
If you’re tired of macaroni and
cheese, Big Macs and frozen piz
za, organic foods offer a diet alter
native that can be pleasing to both
your health and your taste buds.
With the substantial increase in
the popularity of organic foods,
some larger companies are jump
ing onto the bandwagon. General
Mills recently acquired Small
Planet Foods, the producer of Cas
cadian Farms and other organic
brands. Meanwhile, H.J. Heinz re
cently bought 19 percent of the
Hain Food Group, which makes a
variety of organic and other natu
ral products.
Katherine DiMatteo, director of
the Organic Trade Association,
said it may be awhile before or
ganic foods become the norm.
“Getting to 5 percent of food
sales in 10 years would be miracu
lous,” she said.
Organic foods are found at nat
ural foods stores such as Sun
dance Foods or Oasis, but the big
ger chains, such as Fred Meyer,
also have health food sections
where organic foods can be pur
chased. Another location to find
organic foods is at the Eugene
Farmers’ Market.
According to the Organic Foods
Production Association of North
America, “organic” refers not to
the food itself, but to how it is pro
duced. Organic food production
is based on a system of farming
that maintains and replenishes
the fertility of the soil. Natural
foods are produced without the
use of toxic pesticides’and fertil
izers. These products are mini
mally processed to maintain the
integrity ot the tood without artm
cial ingredients or preservatives.
Many farmers will advertise or
ganic practices, such as not using
pesticides, and siphon off poten
tial organic customers, DiMatteo
said. But they will do this without
making the commitment to hav
ing their products comply with
the certification requirements of
monitoring groups.
“Certified” means that the food
has been grown according to strict
uniform standards, which are ver
ified by independent state or pri
vate organizations. Certification
includes inspections of farms,
fields and processing facilities,
detailed record keeping and peri
odic testing of soil and water to
ensure that growers and handlers
are meeting the standards that
have been set.
The pressing question that
everyone seems to be asking is “Is
organic food better for you?”
OFPANA states that there is no
conclusive evidence at this time
to suggest that organically pro
duced foods are more nutritious.
However, well-balanced soils
grow strong healthy plants, which
many believe taste better and con
tain more nutrients.
Many restaurants across the
country, such as Holy Cow, located
at the University, are using organic
produce because they think it tastes
better and is healthier for the con
sumer. Organic growers often select
varieties to grow for their flavor, not
only their appearance.
Prices for organic foods reflect
many of the same costs as conven
tional foods in terms of growing
harvesting, transportation and stor
age. But organically produced
foods must meet stricter regula
tions governing all these steps,
making the process more labor and
management intensive. Also, farm
ing tends to be on a smaller scale.
To test the organic option for
yourself, visit the Holy Cow, locat
ed on the second floor of the EMU.
Hiroshi Nakamura Emerald
(above) Melissa Morgan works at
Holy Cow, a vegetarian restau
rant located in the EMU. (right)
The restaurant offers an array of
organically produced foods, in
cluding a salad bar, which is of
fered daily.
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