When Does Organic Not Mean Organic?
Photo Credit: John/FrenchDuck
Answer: When it refers to fish.
For most foods bought in the United States, "organic" is short-hand for foods that meet the standards for USDA organic certification. For fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods, there are well-crafted standards around soil, pest management, and post-harvest handling and processing required for certification. For animal foods, requirements include the same well-crafted standards involving organically grown feeds, animal husbandry practices, and stringent production and handling specifications. Organic standards also require inspection by state or private agencies working under USDA rules and regulations.
Even though the National Organics Program - started over 15 years ago in 1990 - has done a good job laying out standards for certification, it has continually wrestled with one issue that remains both its strength and its Achilles heel. That issue is sustainability.
Sustainable Is Not the Same as Organic
The word "sustainable" is most familiar to us in the world of energy, where it means energy that can be replenished in a relatively short time and without destroying the environment. Wind-power and solar power are two examples of sustainable energy. Sustainable can also be used in the realm of agriculture, where it means farming that respects ecological cycles, natural patterns in climate and unique aspects of geography.
Even though sustainable agriculture has always lain at the heart of the National Organics Program (NOP) as the guiding spirit that gave birth to the program itself, it's never lain at the center of evolving NOP policy. Especially in the area of animal foods, the NOP has continually wrestled with the role of sustainability. For example, there have never been comprehensive requirements for certified organic beef and dairy cattle to have ongoing access to open pasture and grazing, and the idea of requiring 30% of all food to come from the open pasture for at least 120 days is an idea that's currently being debated within organics-related organizations across the country. The natural patterns that would normally be followed by cattle have never been comprehensively written into the NOP policy on organic beef or milk. This absence of sustainability in the production of organic animal foods does not undermine the indisputable health value of these organically-produced foods, but it does reflect an ongoing challenge in the evolution of organic regulations.
Fish Pose Unique Challenges in Terms of Sustainability
The NOP has never known exactly what to do about fish. Up until now, the NOP has allowed producers of fish to market their fish as organic as long as a third party conducts the certification. Because no one has been allowed to use the green USDA organic logo, most producers have figured organic certification wasn't worthwhile. Still, it's possible to buy certified organic fish right now in the U.S., and two U.S. aquaculture operations produce organic seafood for sale as organic in the marketplace.
But a current controversy is brewing over regulation of seafood as organic, and it's a controversy that brings to light the great challenges of sustainability. First, is it really alright to raise fish inside a fish farm? Isn't that practice tantamount to denying them "open pasture?" Can a fish farm replicate natural patterns and respect ecological cycles, without resorting to chemical treatments of the water or the fish? Won't the isolated fish habitat - however ecological in and of itself - still end up disrupting the wider configuration of lakes and rivers and oceans that surround it?
The Current Marketplace Reality
At present, this sustainability controversy - and the lack of well-defined fish standards by the NOP - has an unpredictable array of fish products in the marketplace currently being sold as organic. There are fish farms with high standards producing high-quality organic farmed fish. There are fish farms producing extremely low-quality farmed fish and hinting at higher-quality. There are wild-caught fish being sold as high-quality but obtained from significantly polluted waters. There are also wild-caught fish from relatively clean water being properly sold as high quality. Clearly, these are murky waters - so murky, in fact, that in 2005 the state of California banned all organic claims on fish until more reliable guidelines can be established. But what about in the meantime?
Here's a summary of our marketplace approach:
Staying On Top of Fish Quality
Because the EPA and USDA guidelines on fish safety can be so variable and confusing, pocket fish lists have become a popular and easy way to stay on top of current recommendations. The most popular and most frequently updated fish list we've seen comes from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Buck Levin, PhD, RD and Matt Brignall, ND
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: organic food, sustainable, fish, health and wellness
For most foods bought in the United States, "organic" is short-hand for foods that meet the standards for USDA organic certification. For fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods, there are well-crafted standards around soil, pest management, and post-harvest handling and processing required for certification. For animal foods, requirements include the same well-crafted standards involving organically grown feeds, animal husbandry practices, and stringent production and handling specifications. Organic standards also require inspection by state or private agencies working under USDA rules and regulations.
Even though the National Organics Program - started over 15 years ago in 1990 - has done a good job laying out standards for certification, it has continually wrestled with one issue that remains both its strength and its Achilles heel. That issue is sustainability.
Sustainable Is Not the Same as Organic
The word "sustainable" is most familiar to us in the world of energy, where it means energy that can be replenished in a relatively short time and without destroying the environment. Wind-power and solar power are two examples of sustainable energy. Sustainable can also be used in the realm of agriculture, where it means farming that respects ecological cycles, natural patterns in climate and unique aspects of geography.
Even though sustainable agriculture has always lain at the heart of the National Organics Program (NOP) as the guiding spirit that gave birth to the program itself, it's never lain at the center of evolving NOP policy. Especially in the area of animal foods, the NOP has continually wrestled with the role of sustainability. For example, there have never been comprehensive requirements for certified organic beef and dairy cattle to have ongoing access to open pasture and grazing, and the idea of requiring 30% of all food to come from the open pasture for at least 120 days is an idea that's currently being debated within organics-related organizations across the country. The natural patterns that would normally be followed by cattle have never been comprehensively written into the NOP policy on organic beef or milk. This absence of sustainability in the production of organic animal foods does not undermine the indisputable health value of these organically-produced foods, but it does reflect an ongoing challenge in the evolution of organic regulations.
Fish Pose Unique Challenges in Terms of Sustainability
The NOP has never known exactly what to do about fish. Up until now, the NOP has allowed producers of fish to market their fish as organic as long as a third party conducts the certification. Because no one has been allowed to use the green USDA organic logo, most producers have figured organic certification wasn't worthwhile. Still, it's possible to buy certified organic fish right now in the U.S., and two U.S. aquaculture operations produce organic seafood for sale as organic in the marketplace.
But a current controversy is brewing over regulation of seafood as organic, and it's a controversy that brings to light the great challenges of sustainability. First, is it really alright to raise fish inside a fish farm? Isn't that practice tantamount to denying them "open pasture?" Can a fish farm replicate natural patterns and respect ecological cycles, without resorting to chemical treatments of the water or the fish? Won't the isolated fish habitat - however ecological in and of itself - still end up disrupting the wider configuration of lakes and rivers and oceans that surround it?
The Current Marketplace Reality
At present, this sustainability controversy - and the lack of well-defined fish standards by the NOP - has an unpredictable array of fish products in the marketplace currently being sold as organic. There are fish farms with high standards producing high-quality organic farmed fish. There are fish farms producing extremely low-quality farmed fish and hinting at higher-quality. There are wild-caught fish being sold as high-quality but obtained from significantly polluted waters. There are also wild-caught fish from relatively clean water being properly sold as high quality. Clearly, these are murky waters - so murky, in fact, that in 2005 the state of California banned all organic claims on fish until more reliable guidelines can be established. But what about in the meantime?
Here's a summary of our marketplace approach:
- In general, it's worth paying extra for foods that display the organic logo.
- With fish, you're not going to find the organic logo.
- Until clearer guidelines are established and the logo can be displayed, paying for foods that make organic claims may not be worth extra cost. The reliability of these claims is just too much in doubt.
- At present, your best bet is to find a grocery or fish seller who can document fish quality, spend time talking with that person, and ask about the issues raised in this article. If you get satisfactory answers, stick with that seller, even if you have to pay a premium price. We would not be hesitant to buy certified organic fish from certain vendors who are extremely careful and fully public about their practices and quality control. Included here would be fish from several organic fish farms, as well as certain wild-caught fish.
- If you can't find a high-quality seller, move fish lower down in your meal plan, to 1-2 times a week at most, and focus on the quality of the other 95% of your meal plan.
Staying On Top of Fish Quality
Because the EPA and USDA guidelines on fish safety can be so variable and confusing, pocket fish lists have become a popular and easy way to stay on top of current recommendations. The most popular and most frequently updated fish list we've seen comes from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Buck Levin, PhD, RD and Matt Brignall, ND
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: organic food, sustainable, fish, health and wellness
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