Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
inert on container labels are not, because they are classifi ed as hazardous
under federal statutes.
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It is normal for some of these poisons to be on or in the food we eat.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined in 2005 that
three-quarters of the fresh fruits and vegetables in nonorganic supermar-
kets contained pesticide residues, as did almost all milk and cream
samples.
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Rinsing solid food in water will remove some pesticide resi-
dues that lie on the surface, but other pesticides are formulated to bind
chemically to the surface of the crop and require washing in vinegar or
dishwasher detergent to be removed. Produce such as celery, lettuce,
grapes, and strawberries is likely to have absorbed the poisons, so it is
impossible to wash them off. The amount of poison in a single straw-
berry is normally very small, but strawberries are like potato chips:
nobody eats just one.
Why Eat Organic Food?
In response to the clear dangers of eating industrially produced food, the
organic food movement began in the 1970s. Initially sales were confi ned
to health food stores, but they soon entered the mainstream market.
Major supermarket chains now sell 46 percent of the nation's organic
foods.
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The several supermarket chains that carry only organic food
items sell 44 percent of all organic foods in the United States. Organic
food sales grew 18 percent between 2006 and 2007, 15 percent between
2007 and 2008, and another 5 percent in 2009, continuing the rapid
annual growth of past years. A 2008 survey found that 69 percent of
U.S. food shoppers bought something organic and 28 percent buy organic
products weekly. From 2007 to 2008, organic fruit and vegetable sales
were up 6 percent, dairy up 13 percent, nondairy beverages up 32 percent,
breads and grains up 35 percent, and meat and fi sh up 12 percent. Other
categories include packaged and prepared foods up 21 percent, snack
foods up 11 percent, and sauces and condiments up 23 percent. Organic
food's share of retail food and beverages was 3.5 percent in 2008. The
price premium for organic products decreases rapidly as volume increases.
Fruits and vegetables are the dominant organic products sold (38 percent
of total), and more than two-thirds of fruits and vegetables are less than
30 percent more expensive than nonorganic varieties. Beef, fi sh, and
poultry form only 2 percent of the organic food sales.
More than 80 percent of domestic organic food is produced on rela-
tively small family farms that cover only about 0.6 percent of America's
