The Science of Organics: Peeling the Onion to Reach Core Truths (continued)
Zoe Helene Interviews Dr. Charles Benbrook, Chief Scientist of The Organic Center
ZH: I worked the booth at a grassroots Organic Festival here in Asheville, NC, earlier this month on behalf of the Organic Center. I would ask people, “Are you interested in the Science of Organics?” I got a lot of interest from just regular folks, which was just great. But there was this one fellow who looked to be about 50, and he says, “Yes! My wife and I made the discovery about six months ago and we’ve lost 40 pounds just by changing to organic food.”
CB: We have a Critical Issue Report coming out that addresses the current and potential future impacts of organic food on diabetes and obesity. In this report we’re trying to get at the question: What does organic food and farming have to contribute, if anything, to the Nation’s epidemic of obesity and diabetes? We’ve reviewed the available science and reached some tentative conclusions regarding what might have helped this man loose so much weight so quickly. I would venture a guess that this man not only changed his diet, but also became more active. And now his big challenge looms – keeping his caloric intake in line with what his body needs so the pounds stay off.
ZH: I’m sure it also had to do with a larger life change; the other awakenings that happen once you start down the Organic path, and all of it so connected.
CB: Millions of people are making dietary choices that are killing them. They’re eating way too much food overall. They are eating too much of certain processed foods that are particularly bad for them because they contain high levels of added fats and sugars and salt. It is absolutely clear that dietary choices are directly contributing to very costly and damaging long-term health problems. Too many people pay little or no attention to the quality of individual food items they purchase, and they also don’t take responsibility for the collective food decisions they make. So in America, paradoxically, we have people who are eating way more than they should yet are still undernourished. The “big change” in public health in America is going to happen when the general public connects the dots about the quality of the individual foods they chose, their overall dietary patterns, and the impacts on their personal health.
ZH: And their children’s health-but that’s a whole other interview, which we’ll do someday. I have a different type of question: What was the inciting incident (or incidents) that started you on this journey?
CB: In 1992, I went to the annual May-Day celebration at the Molino Creek Farming Collective, a semi-famous organic farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The May Day party comes at the peak of the spring crop season in the central California coast. I was a mid-career, Washington DC-based policy wonk in need of more time outside the beltway. I had gotten to know some of the people associated with CCOF, the organization that certifies organic farmers in California, and they invited me to the Molino Creek party. There was lots of very nice food and about 300 people nestled in a mountain valley on a beautiful afternoon. People had gone through the food lines and most had eaten. I was sitting around talking when a farmer drove up in a well-worn pick up. The back was literally full of just-picked organic strawberries. The berries were from Jim Cochran, who runs Swanton Berry Farms, one of the area’s premier strawberry growers. The minute Jim’s truck arrived, a stream of people headed for the truck, where each person was given their own personal pint basket of fresh-picked organic strawberries. They were so good I just couldn’t believe it. They were a bit smaller than the strawberries I’d gotten used to in the supermarkets. The fruit had a deep rich red color and the taste was just fantastic. It was an awakening for me.
ZH: I recently ventured into a so-called conventional supermarket and the fruits just looked bizarre to me. The sheer size of the peaches- they were twice the size of the organic ones I’d been eating.
CB: A significant portion of the conventional strawberries today look as if they are on steroids. Some border on grotesque. They look like they’ve outgrown their skins
Dr. Charles Brenbrook worked in Washington, D.C. on agricultural policy, science and regulatory issues from 1979 through 1997. He served for 1.5 years as the agricultural staff expert on the Council for Environmental Quality at the end of the Carter Administration. Following the election of Ronald Reagan, he moved to Capitol Hill in early 1981 and was the Executive Director of the Subcommittee of the House Committee on Agriculture with jurisdiction over pesticide regulation, research, trade and foreign agricultural issues. In 1984 Benbrook was recruited to the job of Executive Director, Board on Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences, a position he held for seven years. Several influential NAS reports were done in this period on the need for and aspects of sustainable agriculture. In late 1990 he formed Benbrook Consulting Services. Chuck has written many reports, books, and peer reviewed articles on agricultural science, technology, public health, and environmental issues. Contact Chuck via email at cbenbrook@organic-center.org.
Zoe Helene is a recognized pioneer in the interactive messaging arena and is credited with a considerable list of firsts. Her work has received numerous awards and has been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and MIT Technology Review. Ms. Helene played a key role in developing the industry’s first and only holistic electronic solution for managing inbound electronic communications and executing complex, dynamic, dialogue-driven brand loyalty strategies. Over the past 12+ years she has helped major American brands embrace innovative business processes that leverage the power of the Internet and e-mail as new medium, working with kindred trailblazers to create symbiotic programs conducive to more open and trusting channels of communications with customers both one-to-one and in targeted customer affinity groups (Tribes). By proactively connecting life-style brands with virtual tribes in ways that enrich their lives in real-world terms, more loyal, mutually beneficial relationships can be developed and sustained. Zoe is currently exploring the uncharted territory of Collective E-Consciousness and 24/7 global connectivity as unprecedented phenomenon and potential catalyst for rapid human evolution. She is keen to support socially conscious businesses who are working to make the world a better place. Zoe can be reached at zoe@visionrose.com.
