I recently read this article on organic foods over at quackwatch.org. Following the article, the author had posted a reader protest complaining how it was unfair to lump organic farmers/foodies in with other “quacks”. The reader asks:

Honestly, is it so nutty to think we would be better off eating food that ISN’T full of chemicals and additives, preservatives and artificial colors?

Thinking about this question, I realized that the answer is “yes”. Nutty is probably not the word I would use to describe it, but it is a bit strange to think that we would be better off eating “food that isn’t full of chemicals, additives, preservatives, and artificial colors.” More accurately, it is a tad nutty to believe that so-called “natural” or “organic” products do not contain chemicals, additives, preservatives and artificial colors. The truth is that all foods — not just “artificial” foods — contain chemical preservatives and colors! The reader has simply assumed that because the chemicals found in organic foods are naturally occurring, they must also be safe.

This variation on the naturalistic fallacy is the foundation of naturopathy and a lot of modern new-age quackery. We have already explained in previous posts how natural is not always safe. Nature produces just as many harmful substances as it does nutritious substances… if not more. Furthermore, all “synthetic” compounds created by humans are merely variations on the chemicals we have already found in nature. The fact is that any distinction between the natural and artificial (insofar as it applies to the realm of biology and chemistry) is tenuous at best. In reality, human synthesis of chemicals usually involves nothing more than facilitating, or expediting, natural synthesis. Even when we create elements not found in nature, we produce them using other natural elements. Anyways, it is not as if you would find Ununpentium on the ingredients list of your favorite cereal. Conversely, finding all natural Uranium-238 on the ingredients list might be cause for concern.

Nobody denies that humans are capable of manufacturing harmful chemicals. Furthermore, things like pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are intended to be harmful, and are therefore manufactured with this goal in mind (pesticides would be pointless if they were not harmful to insects). The question is whether or not there is any harm caused by the use of “artificial” as opposed to “natural” chemical in our food, or even whether there is any meaningful distinction between the two. Additives, preservatives and coloring agents are all things that are naturally occurring, and all of our “artificial” additives, preservatives and coloring agents are based off those chemicals we have found ready-made in nature. There is absolutely no evidence that there are substantial health effects (either positive or negative) from the use of common pesticides and preservatives. Furthermore, there is no evidence that “organic” pesticides or preservatives are any safer than are their “artificial” counterparts. However, there is an advantage to using “manufactured” or “processed” pesticides and chemicals in that we know — through testing and chemical analysis — that they are safe for human consumption. The same cannot be said for “natural” products, which are often just assumed healthful due to their origins. Keep in mind that I am not saying that there cannot be a difference between the two; either of the two types of products — natural or manufactured — have the potential to be either more healthful, or more harmful. The point is that we must test the health effects of all products, and not just assume that “natural=good” and “artificial=bad”.

The same is true with additives and preservatives. Too much salt or caffeine is still bad for the human body, regardless of whether the source is natural or artificial. In fact, consuming too much of something is usually a bad idea, whether or not it is natural. However, we can also use additives to our advantage; things like fluoridated water, iodized salt, and calcium-fortified cereals (just to name a few), all use everyday foods as delivery mechanisms for things that are beneficial to our health.

The fact is that no matter where you go, or what you decide to eat, your food will contain chemicals, additives, preservatives, and colors. There is no reason to believe that the chemicals that we add to our food are any more harmful or helpful than those that naturally occur in food. Nature was not designed for human consumption, and there are some nasty things out there that, despite being all-natural, you would not want to eat. On the other hand, we often fortify our foods with minerals or vitamins that our bodies require in order to function normally. Often times by adding things that would not otherwise be found in our food, or augmenting the nutrients that already found in the food. For anybody who still has any serious doubts, just look around you. Overall, our food is healthy and abundant (sometimes too abundant), allowing us to live healthier and longer lives. Contrast this with the fact that humans had previously been living on “natural” products for thousands of years, and all that time dying young, and usually of horrible diseases. If the cost of a full stomach and a long and healthy life is putting up with a few imaginary toxins, then I fail to see where the problem lies.

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• Quackwatch.org: “Organic” Foods:
  Certification Does Not Protect Consumers
• Lintbox.com: …but it’s all-natural!
• Lintbox.com: Natural-Born Killers