Going organic: Not just for tree hugging hippies anymore

By Shereen Masoud

One look down Safeway's refrigerated aisle section and customers are bombarded with visuals of many a familiar product.

There's I Can't Believe It's Not Butter among the buttery spreads, Dannon's Drinkable Yogurt and the "real fruit juice" drinks which, at careful inspection, contain only 10 percent real fruit juice.

However, most food stores these days are beginning to give customers an alternative to these artificially enhanced products.

Someone perusing the chilly refrigerated isle may be caught off guard with the unfamiliar face of organic.

It may be in the form of a bright red carton with a cow dashing across it under the words "Horizon Organic: Produced without the use of antibiotics, added growth hormones or dangerous pesticides."

It may also be in the form of a dozen eggs, laid by "cage free" chickens that are only fed natural organic chicken feed.

The organic industry has been booming as of late, as people are beginning to realize that one does not have to be a tree hugger to type "organic" into a search engine and get the scoop on green.

So, what exactly is organic?

According to the Organic Trade Association's definition, "Organic refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. It includes a system of production, processing, distribution and sales that assures consumers that the products maintain the organic integrity that begins on the farm."

That is, when something is labeled organic, it means that the product, whether it be a tomato or the fibers of a T-shirt, was grown and produced without the use of any chemicals whatsoever.

The differences, for example, between a regular T-shirt and one that is organic, are quite astonishing.

To grow enough cotton to make one conventional T-shirt takes one-third of a pound of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. But to make an organic T-shirt it takes zero of these hazardous chemicals.

Also, in non-organic T-shirts, formaldehyde is used in the finishing of the fabric. Formaldehyde is a toxic chemical that many people are allergic to,

This chemical, along with others used in conventionally grown cotton, can cause respiratory problems, skin allergies and even cancer.

These are problems which do not come packaged in organic products.

Buying organic has many benefits both for people and the environment. Organic products are gentler on the skin, kinder to the body and respect our water resources by not polluting them with dangerous pesticides and insecticides.

In the case of organic milk, the cows are not treated with growth hormones that are passed on through the milk and are known to bring about early puberty in adolescents and even extraneous hair growth on females.

And it's not only the hippies and the hard core environmentalists that are choosing organic products.

Debra Messing from "Will & Grace" is said to use only vegan/organic hair products. And Heidi Klum and Kelly Preston have started buying organic baby clothes for their children, in the best interest of their health.

Even at the 2004 American Music Awards, the usual goodie bags filled with high-tech gadgets and designer fragrances were replaced with gift bags holding organic roses, organic coffee and a number of other organic treats.

A few years ago, organic was seen as an excuse to go gallivanting around in tie-dye shorts and hemp shoes. But this façade is changing quickly.

The fact of the matter is that buying and using organic products is better for our health, the environment and everything in between.

Proponents of all things natural are working hard to educate consumers that buying organic is the smart way to go.

These proponents have hopes that one day all across the globe, little children with their mouths sticky with fudge chocolate brownie will be singing, "Mommy, can I have a glass of milk? And pretty please -- let it be organic."

Contact Shereen Massoud at smassoud@scu.edu.