Behind the Organic-Industrial Complex

            In his article, Behind the Organic-Industrial Complex, Michael Pollan discusses the biased beliefs that foods stamped with an “organic” label are healthier and overall more nutritious than conventionally produced food items. He asks the question, “Is the word ‘organic’ being emptied of its meaning?’ After reading this article, I believe it very much is. The way the term “organic” is thrown around today has consumers believing that these foods are produced without synthetic chemicals, are less processed, more local, and more humane for the animals used to make them. Like Maria said in her post, the ingredients in most organically labeled foods completely contradict the meaning of “organic”. He uses the phrase “supermarket pastoralism” to describe the ways in which large companies market the pastoral life of the animals used to make the product through their packaging. He uses happy cow printed on Horizon’s organic milk as an example. The company ultrapasteurizes their milk and the cows are confined in a fenced dry lot, never once see a blade of grass – two points that go against what people believe “organic” to be.

            I’m a frequent consumer of organic foods, but this article opened my eyes and has caused me to reconsider the next time I’m at the store. All this time I’ve been thinking I’ve been eating natural and wholesome when actually I have probably been ingesting the exact opposite. It’s unsettling knowing that these big companies are allowed to slap an “organic” label on foods containing chemicals like xanthan gum as a strategy to cheaply mass-produce and mass-distribute these foods. I do believe that there are actual organic foods out there, but I don’t believe I’m going to find them at Walmart. From now on, I will definitely be paying close attention to the ingredients lists and buying locally grown foods.