JASON J. CZARNEZKI

I really want to know more about this.  This video, showing the use of Coke and Pepsi as a pesticide, is both fascinating and horrifying.  For both environmental and public health reasons, I’m concerned by the amount the chemicals finding their way into our bodies and natural environment on a daily basis.  Rumor has it that ‘Organic Coke’ is on the horizon, and from a marketing standpoint I’m not surprised.  Pesticide residue limits on commodities are set by the FDA, but now I need to research the amount of pesticides that actually end up in finished processed products, especially drinks.  Since the Organic Food Production Act is a production process statute (the organic label is not based on product testing for pesticide residue), I’d like to know the amount of pesticide in, for example, a bottle of organic juice versus conventional juice verus Coke/Pepsi.

I take the position in my forthcoming book that the industrial organic food market will eventually become the dominant American food market.  Now, Wal-Mart is buying more local produce, defined as produce grown within the same state as the store.   Perhaps an industrial organic and ‘industrial local’ model will become dominant.  But either model–industrial organic food that does not use pesticides, or ‘industrial local’ that limits food miles– can have a very large environmental and carbon footprint due to factory processing, packaging, pesticide use (if not organic), and large distribution chains (if organic but from far away).

The industrial organic model and this ‘industrial local’ model no doubt provide significant improvements over the industrial conventional food system.  But a more sustainable food system has to be more holistic–more organic, less processed, and have a smaller carbon footprint where food miles are implicated.  This can only happen via diversified food markets (which includes better industrial food models), and changing consumer food choice options via informational (e.g., environmental life-cycle analysis), education (e.g., changes in dietary guidelines) and structural change (e.g., better access to local organic food).

The article states: Ben & Jerry’s agreed to remove the “all natural” labeling after the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest questioned the claim last month, saying ingredients such as alkalized cocoa, corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soybean oil “either don’t exist in nature or have been chemically modified.”

This is a general problem with food labeling.  What does “natural” mean?  What does “organic” mean? As an example, if you see the USDA Organic Label, it means the product could only be 95% organic, unless it specifically says “100% organic.”