Commentary
"Dad, That's NOT Organic!"
- by George Simpson , Featured Contributor, February 10, 2010
"Oh, really?" I say, continuing to munch on my cream-filled oatmeal cookie that is so dense with processed ingredients, it bends before I can finish it. "And exactly what is not organic about my cookie?"
To which they have no real answer. It is clear that while they are learning something about the value of organic food from their always-politically-correct private school, they can't translate those glittering generalities into action. And I suspect that is true of much of the nation. We all have this vague notion that organic is 1) better for the planet; 2) better for you and 3) more expensive but can't really define what organic means. That I blame on the overreaching efforts of the marketing community to try and capitalize on this still-emerging fascination with eco-friendly everything.
It doesn't help when the Federal Trade Commission or advocacy groups do a deep dive on many "organic" product claims and find them, shall we say, less than sincere? I figure if nobody can agree on "organic," it might be just another fad like grapefruit diets and Pilates.
I eat what tastes good to me without regard to content, origin or impending danger. I laughed throughout the mad-cow scare and ate steaks three nights a week. I never check to see if I bought a product being recalled (in fact, I own two Toyotas and haven't lost a moment of sleep) and have a hard time understanding why I should help some local farmer stay in business unless his stuff tastes better than what the food conglomerate chemists can grow in a lab Petri dish.
Most of all, I haven't a clue what organic means. I figure if what I am eating came from something that once lived on a farm or on a tree or in the ground, that it is organic. I kinda like the idea of pesticides keeping creepy crawlers out of my food chain. A quick wash under the sink faucet has somehow prevented any crippling effects of weed killer poisoning for about 60 years now.
For my recent birthday, my wife took the family to a local "organic" restaurant where everybody was clearly pretty pleased with themselves for eating there. Frankly, nobody looked any healthier than me (and you know how much I like those cream-filled oatmeal cookies.) The kids kinda pushed their dinner around their plates and ate a couple baskets of rolls while I choked down a fantastically expensive bit of beef that I guess was allowed to range free or fed non-pesticidal grains, I honestly don't know. The chef worked the tables as if we were all part of a secret commune, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that I'd had better steak at a New York Tad's fast food steak joint.
The closest I came to making a commitment to eating organic was after watching the film "Food Inc." Afterward, you essentially swear off everything made by the big food conglomerates and pledge to support your local green grocer. Until you find out he doesn't make any cream-filled oatmeal cookies.
Maybe there's something in the language and images of Food, Inc. that marketers could leverage to sell their organic produce? But, I suppose fear tactics only go so far. What we have here is an opportunity in the shape of an obstacle. You are dead on, George. Marketing "organic" or "green" or "sustainable" doesn't do a thing if, once you get past the trendy word, the consumer doesn't know why he or she should care. When apples are marketed around taste - it is effective, and when "green" cleaning products are marketed around being safer for use around children - it is effective.
What so excites the brand or product developers about their wares is usually not all that exciting to consumers. There's a lot to learn about the language human beings (as opposed to industries) use to explain why they prefer this or that. An ever-present issue for marketers, green or not.
Great post -
LOL Funny....thank you!
You make a few good points, but you really end up sounding like the old guy holding a buggy whip saying "I don't care what they say, these cars are not going to catch on" - and having your few astute comments sandwiched between your cynicism doesn't come off very well. It made me think of the recent Conan quote "Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism - for the record it's my least favorite quality, it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get."
So, you have kids that are paying attention in school and trying to learn about eating better. You're right: Make fun of them.
Rajat is right, George. Andrea, "organic" does mean something to some consumers, of which I happen to be one. There are some fairly demanding laws wrapped around the term, and I value what those laws uphold. When I buy organic, am I guaranteed healthier, more natural food? Only to the extent that growers obey the law and are properly monitored. There will always be a percentage of imperfection in the law and in the concept, but I support the still-somewhat-new category as a big step forward. Marketers need to understand that people like me DO want to see evidence of real organic processes being followed, the processes described in the law. We DO want to see that label and we DO want to see that marketing and we WILL buy based on that. We DO NOT like evidence that a marketer has misused the term, however, and we WILL BOYCOTT "organic" marketers we find out are misusing the term and our trust. Does that help?
Are you kidding me? You seriously have no idea what organic means? Ever seen those little "USDA Organic" symbols on the side of packaged foods? It took a long time for the USDA to finally agree on what their standards for "organic" were, and the label is the first step in helping consumers identify what is actually organic versus what the manufacturer claims. Check out http://www.goodguide.com/topics/2009/3/6/buying-organic-food for a brief but fairly comprehensive description of organic food.
I agree that it is frustrating when marketers can say "natural" or wholesome or any number of things to appeal to people who want to feel like they are doing the responsible thing for their health and the environment. But I am one of those consumers who read all of the labels, all of the ingredients, and also research the company behind a product before deciding to buy it. It can be an overwhelming task, and I would appreciate more labeling by organizations with concrete standards and testing methods to help me make purchasing decisions. In the meantime, I rely on my sense of logic and tend towards smaller, local companies, where I can actually speak with the person making the food/soap/etc. so I can ask why they would or would not use pesticides or certain chemical ingredients.
Marketing that can fill this void of information, rather than throwing out catchy phrases, is much more valuable and lasting. In my opinion, Food, Inc. was successful (if only for a brief period of time) because it gave concrete information, facts, and personal stories of people who are negatively affected by the large food industry. It appealed to both reason and emotion. It was not trying to sell anything, as so much of our world today is doing. Marketing that takes the time to educate consumers will have a stronger consumer base, in my opinion, than ones who give out free samples or pay for flashy advertising.
The first part of your article struck me as an excellent learning opportunity. Rather than debating with your children whether or not their school serves organic lunches, why not find out? Ask the teachers and staff. Ask the very people who are teaching your children about organic. Why do they think it is important? If the cafeteria doesn't serve organic foods, why not? Is it price? Is it contracted out? Or do they really not think it is that important after all? As the parent, I would hope you encourage your child to find out "exactly what is not organic about my cookie?" and use this opportunity to raise a more conscious consumer, so that they don't believe everything they hear, they learn to ask questions, and they learn to defend what they believe in, if in fact, it is something they truly believe in.
The conversation of green and its evolution is fascinating. Until 5 or so years ago brands and NGO's were trying to tell people about health hazards, environmental threats, etc. And for the most part, only other people already concerned with the environment were paying attention or willing to listen.
Now we have a "green" marketing category and it's become way to general. People don't really know what it or its relatives stand for. Safety, healthy, environmentally friendly, the list goes on. The general public does want information, but it has to be digestible and taken to them directly. "Green" has done a great job of catalyzing interest, but now we have to move beyond it and clarify what we mean when we say "green" or any other related term.
If you watched "Food Inc", why are you still behaving like an uninformed dunce? And since "real" food is what gets grown organically, the best reason to eat organic fruits and vegetables is their taste is far superior to non-organic produce.
The fact that you don't care about the legacy chemical and factory farming are leaving for you kids and their kids indicates that you, like many Americans, are just another self-centered twit who likes to read your own tasty, creme-filled words. The reason you don't understand what 'organic' means has less to do with conflicting and insincere marketing claims than with your don't-bug-me-with-other-people's-problems attitude of lazy, self-inflicted ignorance. Get some education, George.
Whenever I read the words "natural" or "organic" I think. "Isn't rattlesnake venom natural and organic."
Marketing has brainwashed the public with catch words about the environment.
"Save the Planet" "Buy Local" "Locavore" "Sustainability"
These words and phrases have broad meanings and associations marketers leverage so the public will make immediate connections. Frankly, when I hear the phrase "Green Coal Energy" and my television isn’t tuned to Saturday Night Live I am left speechless.
There was a sign in the "As Is" Department at Ikea that promoted the "As Is" inventory as "Green" because if you purchased "As Is" you were keeping the items out of the waste stream. Translation: If you buy this stuff, we will not have to throw it away…………………..Stunning!
My 26 year old daughter chides me for not buying “Green” oven cleaner. I explain that Easy Off aerosol works very well and is only $1.98 a can, while the new "Green" oven cleaner in the pump bottle is $4.98 and untested by the Amadio household. I am looking to clean our stove, not “Save the Planet”.
I have told her she can spend her money the way she likes and I will spend my money the way I like. The world is full of traps for your dollars and the new trap is organic, just like rattlesnake venom.
I am amazed that you boast of having no concern for the safety of your family or others on the roads (toyota recall), could care less about the humane treatment of animals or the effects of synthetic hormones on the people who eat them (knowingly or not), and seem totally disconnected from the cirriculum at your kids private school. Is there anything you DO care about except the immediate gratification of shoving sugar past your lips?
As a parent, a person with some education and the ability to influence others by your spending and thru your writing, I find you pathetic.
I think this tongue-and-cheek article is a great way of pointing out one important theme. That is,1) it's hard to really define what it means to be organic and 2) if you think you have it figured out then educate, don't berate. The amount of aggressiveness (passive and not so) in some of the comments above is palpable. If you have good information, share it, your holier-than-thou attitudes are not helpful, and much less realistic than the writers when it comes to this subject. The reality is, we *all* have our version of the creme filled oatmeal cookie, George was just strong enough to cop to his publicly!
I haven't had this much fun since I took Tebow to task for proselytizing for jesus on his cheek decals.
Shelli, a gentle apology for George. And misguided. Responding to a blog is not the right format for educating people about the issues of sustaining human life on the planet. The burden of education falls on the blogger. If George wants to flaunt his ignorance like a bad toupee, he deserves whatever criticism he gets.
Yes Martin, rattlesnake venom is organic. And because it is, when the rattlesnake dies the venom breaks down rapidly into harmless components. Synthetic compounds don't. The Earth hasn't evolved ways to neutralize them, so they accumulate in ever greater concentrations in soils, in water tables, in the food chain. Damn it. I wasn't going to start educating here ....
This is a test marketing ploy and we (your commentors) unknowingly are part of the experiment right? This post is just too over the top to even be validated.
How do you say Monsanto, Archer-Daniels-Midland and lobbyists in any language? Irreverence is a gas. Go George.
George, I really got a kick out of reading you comments. I too feel the pull of manufactured goop that's poured into containers and called ice cream. Of course, it don’t eat it any more. I used to eat whatever I wanted regardless of the consequences to environment or those little furry (or big furry) creatures or my health. I have an iron gut and can eat just about anything. Of course, when you look under the hood and check out your personal health (blood pressure, cholesterol, resting heart rate, etc) you may rethink your current diet. It does get confusing as to the impact of eating conventionally grown vegetables vs. organically grown. What should be obvious to all of us is that something is going wrong with our food supply. CBS news has just reported about the over uses of antibiotics with animal feed and the super bugs or pathogens it’s creating. How about all of that junk food that’s positioned in poorer neighborhoods? Ok, maybe that’s not a good example of organic vs. conventional but where does it stop. We manufactured the foods we eat, take nutrients out of whole foods, and try to put it back together for better shelf life, spray vegetables, and fruit with herbicide and pesticides by men in space suits and call it safe. Add that ice cream cookie goop and it will eventually have some impact on you and all of us.
I agree that you have to enjoy life but if we make smarter choices we may be able to enjoy things a little longer.
I don't know if it was George's intent to be sarcastic or he is as confused as the “general population.” I’ll be happy to educate here though.
As the organization that has run the Go Organic! for Earth Day campaign for the last 5 years, we continue to see the awareness of “organic” explode yet the definition of the term (which has a very clear USDA standard) is blurred in the public’s mind. “Natural” (no standard, just a voluntary guideline) is consistently used by companies as “organic light” and ultimately confuse consumers. If you would like clear and consistent information about the difference, please feel free to visit www.OrganicEarthDay.org.
Aside from that, even those that try to eat organic all the time still break down for a cream pie every 5 years or so.
Wow, George. Looks like you really whacked the (organic) hornet's nest with this one. Really upset some tightly held worldviews. I thought your post was hilariously on-point, but these responses...wow. Is there a way to spell "righteous indignation" organically?
Thank you, George, for some bringing some humor to a contentious issue. Unfortunately, less than 2% of the population is involved in agriculture these days and most people are at least 3 generations away from truly understanding where their food and fiber comes from. That 2% of the population are not as faceless as you might think - the are farm families, and right now, they feed and clothe the world - and shockingly, they happily eat the food they raise, organic or not. If you chose to and can afford to eat organically - that's great. There are wonderful options for you these days, and more all the time. Also, there are lots of those farm families that support themselves by growing and selling organic foods. If you eat commercial organic, are you aware that your food may be fertilized with composted manure from CAFOs (confinement animal feeding operations)? And remember not everyone can afford to eat organically, and that without non-organic agriculture, we could not feed the world now, and certainly not in the future. Please take the time to meet the people that grow your food and maybe even walk a mile in their shoes, especially if you are on the sidelines while they labor to feed you.
Apart from the well-meaning humor, let's remember that too many Americans think the government should not oversee food quality at all. I believe in miniature government but the one thing I believe a government should do besides keep roads maintained, is to keep pesticides off grocery store shelves, especially when they are embedded in the flesh of shiny apples and peaches (I won't buy apples that are not in bunches where some have wormholes), and to keep us informed about what buildings have asbestos (fat chance of the paid-off hacks ever enlightening the pubic on that). After that, sure, it is up to me to know to buy olive oil instead of vegetable oil and eat more sea fish as opposed to nitrated cow innards. =) (that mad cow stuff wasn't a joke and the Europeans shouldn't have allowed the industry to feed livestock crushed brains and bones - if we act like it all doesn't matter, why would the food industry bother to police itself)
... he's jotting down notes in his mad scientist lab coat. Great experiment. LMAO I'm stealing the results. Who knows, maybe even more people will comment.
I have to admit, I like my cheeseburgers and I don't want to know too much about where they came from.
But, I am personally more and more concerned about food safety and food quality on a personal level (just recently had ecolli poisoning from bag salad served at a restaurant). And, professionally, see more and more data about the negative impact of 'modern' farming practices on the sustainability of our planet, and our personal health. The use of antibiotics and pesticides may be setting us up for serious health issues that aren't as immediate as the satisfaction of that cream filled cookie, but are no less real.
The hard core environmentalists can spout off amazing statistics about the positive environmental impact of a vegan diet, organic of course.
The hard core 'LOHAS' or Lifestyle of Health & Sustainability crowd say the same thing, but with much more focus on the personal health benefits of not eating so much, not eating so much meat, not eating so many pesticides or unnecessary antibiotics, and of eating a variety of foods based on what is in season (vs. eating foods that need to be flown in from all over the world in order to meet your desire for fresh mangos or berries year round).
All of that being said, I am sure the point of your article was to spur comment. You've been successful!
Years ago I had a piece of research (I've since lost the source from my mental notes) that indicated that American's get somewhere in the neighborhood of 90% of their information about the environmental & health issues from advertising! Now I'm sure news media has increased, and internet sources have increased since then (thank goodness). But the fact remains that most of us graduated college before these subjects were being discussed. Likely including your kids' HS teachers.
As marketers and communicators, the most helpful thing we can all do is work to articulate the healthier options and benefits in as clear and meaningful ways as possible. Having standards for organic and 'natural' can only help make it easier for people make better informed choices.
For me personally, I am cutting back on the meat and do make an effort to buy organic, locally raised foods when possible. And, I now always ask restaurants if they wash their bagged lettuce before serving it. They probably wouldn't tell me the truth, but it makes me feel better.