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What's for Lunch?


Consumers have always made decisions about the food they eat based on price and quality. But today, consumers must also consider convenience, health and process attributes. Informed decisions require a good understanding of nutrition, food science and, sometimes, even agriculture. This video takes a humorous look at consumer opinions about process attributes ­ the way food is grown ­ including the benefits of GMO and organic foods.

All of these food processes produce foods that are healthy and of benefit.
– Mary Lee Chin, MS, RD
All of these food processes produce foods that are healthy and of benefit.
– Mary Lee Chin, MS, RD
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ARE GMO FOOD AND ORGANIC FOODS AN EITHER / OR PROPOSITION?

Consumers have many choices about the foods they eat, and those choices are impacted by numerous factors including price, quality, taste, convenience, health benefits and process attributes – just to name a few.  To make an informed decision today, consumers need a good understanding of nutrition, food science and, sometimes, even agriculture. 

For example, the marketing of, and discussion about, the benefits of organic foods versus conventional foods and genetically modified (GMO) food have created confusion and misperceptions among some consumers about the safety and benefits of each farming system.  In actuality, organic foods, conventional foods and GMO food all share the same observable physical characteristics.  The difference between these foods is in the production or the practices farmers use when growing the crop.   

“For us, organic, biotech and conventional are all management systems, and you use them in terms of balance in how it fits into your operation,” says Jennie Schmidt, a registered dietitian and US farmer who grows both organic and GMO crops.  “I’m comfortable with knowing that farmers are good stewards of what they’re doing.  And therefore, that the food that is raised conventionally or through biotech is safe.”

Greater than 99 percent of the world’s farmers use conventional farming techniques, which include crop rotation, tillage, government-approved pesticides and fertilizers.  A conventional farmer’s options are typically limited only by regulations set by governing agencies such as the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

A biotech farmer is simply a conventional farmer that chooses to plant a crop variety developed or bred through biotechnology methods. For example, some types of corn have been genetically modified to resist insect pests, thereby requiring fewer pesticide applications to control insect infestations.

In comparison, to achieve recognized organic labels, organic farmers must conform to a strict agricultural system that minimizes the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives.  However, these practices can result in variable or lower yields and increased labor compared to conventional farming, which makes organic foods generally more expensive.

But, all food – regardless of whether it is organic, conventional or GMO – must meet the same inspection and food safety standards.  There is no evidence that organically produced food is any safer or more nutritious than its conventionally produced counterpart. 

“There is no evidence that it’s more nutritious.  There’s no evidence that it’s more safe.  It’s not sustainable.  It’s not any healthier,” says Dr. Bruce Chassy from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois, addressing the misperception that one of the benefits of organic foods versus GMO food includes being better or more nutritious.

A second misperception about the benefits of organic foods versus GMO food is that it is safer.  However, before any new GMO crop is produced or sold, it undergoes rigorous testing and safety assessments to demonstrate the GMO food is as safe to consume as an existing food with the same compositional and nutritional characteristics.  As a result, GMO crops are the most thoroughly studied, regulated and understood crop or food in history.  

In a 2000 report, a committee of the National Academies noted, "The committee is not aware of any evidence that foods on the market are unsafe to eat as a result of genetic modification," and other groups have reached similar conclusions.

More than 25 Nobel Prize winners and 3,400 prominent scientists have expressed their support for the advantages of biotech crops and safety of genetically modified foods as a "powerful and safe" way to improve agriculture and the environment. Numerous international organizations also have endorsed the health and environmental safety of GMO food, including the Royal Society (UK), National Academy of Sciences (USA), the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Commission, the French Academy of Medicine, and the American Medical Association.

“For many people, organic agriculture and food biotechnology is an either/or proposition,” says Mary Lee Chin, who has been practicing dietetics for more than 30 years.  “And in actuality – you know – all these food processes produce foods that are healthy and of benefit.”

Video Transcript



Narrator
Eating is America’s favorite pastime, next to, uh well, you know – but that’s a totally different part of the Internet. 

Food:  vegan, raw, organic, vegetarian, biotech, locally grown, sustainable, less pesticides, so many bandwagons to jump on.  But who’s leading the orchestra?

Is there one that is better than the others when it comes to finding good and nutritious food?  Let’s find out.

 

What’s for Lunch?

Consumer #1
I’m from New Jersey, so I like New Jersey produce.

Narrator
Go New Jersey, produce.

Consumer #2
We want organic business …  raised with the natural stuff.

Consumer #3
Organic to me equals expensive, and it doesn’t always mean that it’s the best thing.

Consumer #4
I mean, it’s healthier right? And there’s not…

Narrator
I don’t know. Do you think it is?

Consumer #4
Right, yeah.

Consumer #5
I eat a lot of organic stuff every now and then, and I feel more healthier and more vibrant than I’ve – you know – than I ever did before.

Narrator
This is organic doo-doo – came straight from the bird. …

What do you think is in there that’s making it healthier and more vibrant?

Consumer #5
You know what? I haven’t figured that out yet. But I’m working on it.

Narrator
You are?

Consumer #5
More than likely I am.  More than likely I am, baby.

Voiceover
So clearly, some think that organic means healthier. So much so that some districts want to mandate organic school lunch. Few would argue against better lunches for our kids.

Student #1
It’s FDA approved, but it’s not stomach approved.

Narrator
Nice.

Student #2
In the beginning of the year, I was on a pizza kick where I had pizza every day.

Narrator
Good.

Student #2
But then I switched to nachos.

Voiceover
So, we want better nutrition for our kids.  But is organic actually more nutritious?

Dr. Bruce Chassy
Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition
University of Illinois
There is no evidence that it’s more nutritious, there’s no evidence that it’s more safe. It’s not sustainable. It’s not any healthier. But it certainly is expensive.  So when someone wants to put that in a school lunch program, I’d start writing letters to the editor about re-calling the school board because they don’t know anything about nutrition.

Student #3
Oh man.

Donald Fraynd
Principal, Jones College Prep, Chicago, Illinois
Really, it’s very much of a class issue – the organic conversation.  Until you can offer people equal amounts of funding in regard to these things, it’s hard to start talking about organic.

Voiceover

Another issue is plant biotechnology or, as some call it, genetically modified organisms or GMO’s.  Some like ‘em.

Narrator
Food biotech – YES!

Consumer #6
Yes.

Voiceover
Some don’t.

Consumer #7
We don’t buy those foods.

Voiceover
And for some it depends on how you ask the question.

Narrator
Would you be pro-food biotechnology?

Consumer #8
Yes.

Narrator
Genetically… modified … organism.

Consumer #8
Gotcha.

Narrator
Right.

Consumer #8
Yeah.

Narrator
Okay, what does that do for you?

Consumer #8
It’s a scary thing.

Narrator
More food on less land, would that mean anything to you?

Consumer #9
It would be a good thing probably.

Consumer #10
It sounds like it could benefit the environment, as well as the farmer.

Narrator
Okay, so than you wouldn’t be totally against biotechnology?

Consumer #10
No.

Mary Lee Chin, M.S., R.D.
Health and Nutrition Communications Consultant
For many people, organic agriculture and food biotechnology is an either/or proposition.  And in actuality – you know – all these food processes produce foods that are healthy and of benefit.

Voiceover
Wait, no either/or? You mean no conflict? No imminent danger or conspiracies?

Narrator
I am here with a titan in the biotech industry – someone who has a lot of power and is not afraid to wield it, someone who has taken the art of farming and turned it into a mega globo business – Jennie Schmidt.  Hi Jennie.

Jennie Schmidt
Farmer & Registered Dietitian
Schmidt Farms
Hello.

Narrator
I am here with an earth mother, tree hugger, wheat grass chugger – she’s an organic farmer – hippy dippy Jennie Schmidt.  They’re the same.

Schmidt
For us, organic, biotech and conventional are all management systems.  And you use them in terms of balance and how it fits into your operation.

Narrator
It’s a real yield difference in the real yield field of life.

Schmidt
And I’m comfortable knowing that farmers are good stewards of what they’re doing.  And therefore, that the food that’s raised conventionally or through biotech is safe.

Narrator
Sing it with me.  Real yield difference in the real yield field of life.

Narrator

So here’s the deal.  You have good options, safe options.

If you want your kids to grow up to be healthy and smart, first thing you need to do is teach them to stay away from following food trends and fashion and not to worry about political correctness, but focus on the facts. 

Science may not be as fun as marketing, but it sure is the way to good health.