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This Month's Feature Article Going Organic THE ORGANICS INDUSTRY IS IN A STATE OF RAPID EXPANSION THAT’S HARD TO IGNORE. SO WHAT MAKES A PRODUCT ORGANIC AND HOW DO WE KNOW WHETHER IT’S THE GENUINE ARTICLE? WORDS GINA HETHERINGTON

As parents, one of our primary goals is to provide our children with a safe environment so they can grow and develop from vibrant young people into healthy, caring, well-balanced adults. An important aspect of this process is teaching them how to achieve and maintain good health, so they are equipped to make well-informed choices when we are no longer guiding them with their decisions.

In order to do this, we need an understanding of the factors that could be influencing our health. It’s important for us to educate ourselves to ensure we are making the wisest choices for our children, therefore giving them the best possible opportunities now and for their future.
So what is best for our children? If popular demand is any kind of indication, organics would have to be considered. It seems everywhere we turn there is yet another organic product asking to be purchased. More and more organic food and clothing stores are sprouting, both online and offline. Our trips to the supermarket reveal increasing numbers of shelves offering organic versions of just about everything we could possibly need. There are even organic cafes for those of us who appreciate a good, healthy meal prepared with the purest ingredients.

Millions of people worldwide are turning to natural products, resulting in organics being one of the most rapidly expanding industries in the world. ‘The organics industry has had an average compound growth of 23 percent per year over the last eight years,’ says Narelle Chenery, founder of Australia’s Organic and Natural Enterprises Group (ONE Group). Chenery created one of the world’s first extensive ranges of certified organic skin, body, hair, oral and health care products, called Miessence, after discovering that the natural cosmetic industry wasn’t what it was perceived to be. ‘Throughout the last century our methods of production have changed dramatically, resulting in millions of man-made products containing additives of some kind or another,’ she explains. ‘People think you need synthetic ingredients, but we have created an 18-month shelf life for our products using only certified organic ingredients.’

DEFINING ORGANIC
With the term “organic” being boldly displayed on packaging from shampoos to nappies and orange juice to jam, what is it that makes these products apparently so much better, and how can we know to what degree they are, in fact, organic?

There really isn’t a simple answer to this question, which is why consumers can experience so much confusion when it comes to this subject. Basically, for a food or plant to be organic it must have been grown and manufactured in its most natural state, without the use of chemicals or artificial additives. ONE Group defines the term organic as: ‘Grown, cultivated and stored with-out the use of chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, fumigants and other toxins.’ The Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) states that the term “organics” not only defines foods and plants that are free from chemicals, but also refers to the way the food is grown and handled, and that the soil, plants, animals, food, people and environment are all linked. It describes organic farming as utilising innovative, non-chemical techniques for farming in harmony with the environment, providing nutrient-rich soils from which healthy produce is grown.

HOW CAN WE KNOW THAT A PRODUCT IS ORGANIC?
Gone are the days when we could look at the packaging of a product and immediately know what it was. Even if the product claims to be organic because of the use of the word on the packaging, or in its name, it’s not safe to assume that the product is pure. Labels can be misleading. And, if you’ve decided organic products are the best choice for you and your family, it’s important to be able to identify the real thing.

According to Chenery, some products that claim to be “natural” or “organic” are, in fact, largely produced with chemical ingredients. ‘There are several reasons for this,’ she explains. ‘Some companies use the chemistry definition of organic, which is “any compound containing carbon”, but carbon is found in anything that has ever lived. So by using this definition we could say that the toxic petrochemical preservative methyl paraben is “organic” because it was formed by leaves that rotted over thousands of years to become the crude oil used to make it.’ The word “natural” can also be misleading on packaging. While Miessence defines natural as ‘existing in, or formed by nature; not artificial,’ the commercial definition is ‘any ingredient “derived from” a natural substance.’ Chenery explains: ‘We often see long chemical names followed by the phrase “derived from coconut oil”, but to create cocamide DEA from coconut oil requires the utilisation of a synthetic chemical (diethanolamine – DEA), which is thought to be carcinogenic. It is therefore no longer natural or safe. To insinuate that it is a natural substance by adding the phrase “derived from coconut oil” is deceitful. Just because vodka can be made from potatoes doesn’t mean it’s good for you!’

KNOWING WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Finding your way through the maze of products claiming to be pure becomes easier when you have a clearer understanding of what to look for.

‘As a basic guide, if you can’t easily say the names of the ingredients, you can be sure they aren’t natural,’ says Chenery. ‘Also, if there are ingredients listed on the label that don’t sound like food, they’re probably not. In this case, if it’s claiming to be a natural product, chances are the ingredients have gone through a synthetic process that may or may not be harmful.’
Some products claiming to be organic may, in fact, only contain a very small proportion of natural or organic ingredients. ‘A manufacturer can add organic herbal extract into the water and then claim on the label to have organic infusions in the product,’ explains Chenery. ‘While this is true, the product may also contain a list of active synthetic ingredients. Some companies also use the word “organic” or “natural” as part of the name of their product, giving the impression that it is a natural product, but it can actually be a chemical cocktail. It’s important to become an ingredient sleuth, or an informed consumer, to avoid toxins disguised as natural ingredients. Once we’re educated we can avoid them.’

WHAT IS CERTIFIED ORGANIC?
The only absolute guarantee that a product is organic is if it displays a certification logo from an accredited organic certifying body. For a product to receive this certification, the methods of its business must be audited to ensure they comply with national or international standards for organic farming and processing. In other words, they have to prove their products are pure.

Australian Certified Organic (ACO), the BFA’s certifying body, sets and maintains stringent quality standards that either comply with or exceed international requirements. Products that qualify for their “bud” certification logo are grown and processed without the use of synthetic chemicals, fertilisers or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This accreditation ensures that certified organic products and systems have the highest possible integrity.

To obtain organic certification for a product with ACO, a minimum of 95 percent of all ingredients of agricultural origin must be certified organic. The remaining five percent of ingredients, however, are also bound by strict guidelines. For example, they are not permitted to be synthetic chemicals or artificially processed ingredients.

Certification appears to be the simplest and best way to be sure that what you’re buying is organic, but with so many different certification logos on display it is sometimes difficult to know which ones to go with. Many people feel there is a need for one governing certification body for the whole organics industry, to regulate the quality standards, thereby giving the consumer a definite guideline to work within when shopping for organic products.

WHY CHOOSE ORGANIC?
An increasing number of people believe that, because of their purity, organic products offer greater health benefits than their non-organic counterparts. The BFA claims that organic fruit and vegetables have been shown, in a number of studies, to contain more vitamins, nutrients and cancer-fighting antioxidants than non-organic foods, having a positive impact on health.

As well as the apparent health benefits, the environmental aspect of organic agriculture is something to consider when exploring the issue of organics. It is now widely accepted that, while the use of chemicals in agriculture provides the benefit of increasing production due to efficient pest control and a reduction in labour costs, it is having a detrimental effect on our soil, water-ways and wildlife. ‘The danger of using products containing chemicals is that we don’t yet know the full extent of any harmful effects they might have on us,’ says Chenery. ‘Currently 89 percent of the 10,500 ingredients used in personal products have never been evaluated for human safety,’ she claims.
Whether you’re a supporter of organic farming or feel indifferent towards it, organic products are undoubtedly becoming more popular and are now readily available. The organics industry is in a state of rapid expansion, fuelled by the belief that the use of natural foods and products allows us to live healthier lives and, perhaps more importantly, restore the delicate balance of our environment for our children’s future.

RESOURCES
• www.bfa.com.au Biological Farmers of Australia website.
• www.australianorganic.com.au Information relating to organic certification.
• www.biodynamics.net.au Information about the methods and benefits of biodynamic agriculture.
• www.onegrp.com ONE Group website. For detailed information about skincare product ingredients.