you dodge the groups of frantic shoppers and come to a halt in the colorful produce section. you reach down to grasp a carton of cherries but you notice that the cherries you grabbed are $4.75 and there’s a stack of cartons to your right that are only $3.75. they look the same, they both smell fine, so why should i pay more for my cherries?

organic food assumptions fueled by marketing are that the cherries in my hand are more nutritious, safer, and healthier for me since organic farming is better for the environment.

is this the truth?

foods with the usda organic seal are grown and processed following a set of regulations and there’s no question that keeping farmland free of pesticides is better for the environment.

but herbicides freed farmers from tilling the soil which requires more labor and disrupts the soil’s natural ecosystem – recognized as a cause of the dust bowl.

how does the usda organic labeling work? what is the carbon footprint transporting organic cherries from washington state to washington, d.c.? does it make food taste better?

let’s break it down and debunk 5 myths about organic food to make your grocery store choices easier.

1. organic fruit is always healthier for you.

it turns out, the more expensive cherries that i chose is the healthier choice. conventional fruit that you can eat with peeling off skin including strawberries, raspberries and cherries could possibly contain residues from pesticides and chemicals sprayed on the crops.

but.

fruits like oranges, bananas, pineapple and kiwi among other fruits have a layer of skin or peel that protects the edible inside of the fruit. if they are sprayed with pesticides, only the outside layer will be directly affected.

according to usda statistics, annual spending on organic food and drinks has jumped from about $1 billion to $28 billion in the past 20 years.

in a recent study by pew research center, 76% say of u.s. adults who bought organic food in the past month say they were looking to eat healthier. only 33% say they bought organic food to help the environment and 22% of people say it’s for convenience.

the larger portion of americans believe it is healthier since organic foods have higher levels of antioxidants. but having more antioxidants does not say there is a significant difference between the nutritional boost of organic foods compared to those who eat conventionally grown foods.

it is important to note that the health benefits of organic food can vary by context. for example, in low-income countries, micronutrient differences matter more, whereas in high-income countries, we care more about how many antioxidants and vitamins it contains.

another surprising statistic is that a whopping 72% of adult americans say their choice in buying organic food depends on the price in comparison.

so my advice is to choose wisely. you may not need to spend the extra $1.50 on your organic bananas on top of your morning oatmeal.

2. organic food is better for the environment.

just because food is organic, doesn’t mean its production and distribution are necessarily good for the environment.

consider a can of organic black beans from bolivia or a bag of organic rice from china. transporting such products to your neighborhood grocery store creates a carbon footprint much bigger than transporting locally grown products.

although organic farming requires a much more time consuming, labor inducing process for farmers — contributing to its higher price in your grocery store — the food and agriculture organization of the united nations says there are key environmental benefits to organic agriculture.

3. products labeled “organic” are completely free of all pesticides.

usda certified organic foods are grown and processed according to federal guidelines and relying on natural substances for farming methods. it can be certified as organic if it has been grown on soil that has had no prohibited substances like synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years prior to harvest.

according to a blog written by the national organic program deputy administrator, when packaged products are “made with organic,” it means

they contain at least 70% of organic ingredients. these products will not have the usda organic seal, but must identify with a usda certifier.

in addition, only 95% of food must be organic to be labeled as so. so that means, there may still be pesticides and chemicals present in your cereal.

4. organic produce tastes better.

about 59% majority of american adults say that organic and conventionally grown produce taste about the same. the rest of americans who say it tastes better, buy and eat more organic foods.

so does public opinion reflect the science?

according to a study conducted by sciences advances, there is a gray area in which some found a significant difference in nutrient content between organic and conventional crops, but other did not.

these disagreements could be because of differences in food components, whether the nutrient content was measured on dry or wet matter and produce freshness, how it has been transported and inspected for any decay or rottenness.

not only that, one person could have different opinions on how one organic tastes in comparison to conventionally grown apple.

there are too many context-based factors to determine whether organic produce does in fact taste better, which is why we believe it usually tastes about the same.

5. products labeled “organic” are inspected to guarantee their authenticity.

the usda claims that, all organic farming methods must, “integrate cultural, biological and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity. synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation and genetic engineering may not be used.”

farms are held to these methodological guidelines and may be inspected. but realistically, every apple in the grocery store cannot be inspected to make the distinction between conventional or organic, especially if it isn’t labeled with a small, yellow sticker that says, “from an organic farm.”

since 2006, there have been no new shopping malls constructed in the united states (sanborn, 2017). this once-booming market has been affected mightily by the technological advancements achieved in the 21st century. a variety of factors have contributed to the decline of shopping mall visitation in recent decades, yet the most influential is the convenience of online shopping (ferreira and paiva, 2017). people no longer have to commute through traffic to physical malls, trouble themselves with long-lines, or deal with the commotion of a high-density environment (selvakumar and raghavan, 2017). the ease of shopping on devices from the comfort of homes have initiated a downward trend of visitation in physical shopping malls. between 2010 and 2013, mall visitation has dropped nearly 50% during the holiday season (mid-november through the end of december) than in years past. these peak times in shopping are when businesses rely on to meet end-of-year quotas.

major architectural, state-of-the-art facilities are closing down and remains are leaving a large footprint of empty buildings (rosenbaum, 2016). former shopping malls, that have once been a predominant wonder of the community, are closing and leaving a negative aesthetic appeal to communities. restoration potential for revitalization projects encapsulate the minds of city planners, contractors, and local residents to transform the architectural ghost-towns into something new (peterson, 2014). the large footprint and building structure of the malls contribute to endless possibilities of restoration projects.

i had the pleasure of interviewing a local resident residing in clay, new york, who has firsthand experienced the essence of mall history. numerous malls are located within 30 miles of clay, so 26-year-old corinna manzer is a key source of knowledge regarding shopping malls. from destiny usa, shoppingtown mall, and great northern mall, corinna has visited all three within her lifetime and remembers the prime of malls. living only two miles down the road from great northern mall, i was able to encapsulate a true history of the mall through a q&a session with her:

me: how do you think the mall has changed within the last 5-10 years?

corinna: the mall has become a ghost town. there are only a couple stores still in business there, and i don’t know how they’re still making money. all the parking lots are always empty and only dick’s sporting goods has more than maybe 10 cars parked in the lot. five years ago, the whole place has stores of all different categories, a movie theatre, and i used to go there more than once a week with my friends to hangout. it used to be such a convenience right down the road.

me: what is the reason for the decline of the mall?

corinna: definitely online shopping. there’s no reason to drive there and have to deal with people when i can just hop on my laptop and buy anything i want without sales people.

me: do you think the town should keep the mall standing?

corinna: i think the mall is taking up space and the huge building is being put to no use. [the town] should tear it down and put something else up like a restaurant some other food place. it’d be more popular.

me: what do you think of restoring [the mall] into a park or other green space?

corinna: that’s a great idea! it would really bring the community together and help better the environment rather than having it as an “industrial wasteland.” the mall is a huge eyesore where it is.

other uses for mall properties

the questions asked focused around the major areas of my research, and i was able to understand a consumer’s mindset regarding malls. i also asked corinna about how other malls are maintaining their business compared to the ones closing, and she replied by stating how other malls are transitioning to a more restaurant-based approach because “food keeps people interested.” she told me restaurants are the main reason [destiny usa mall] continues to flourish. restoring malls for green spaces were a point of interest in our interview, and would lead to a healthier community for the people and environment.

abandoned malls contribute restoration potentials from the sizable footprints of the buildings. while possibilities may seem endless for the future of the industrial sites, green projects wield a positive outlook. whether a green space for park leisure or an indoor-outdoor infusion of activity, the grass is most certainly greener on the other side of shopping malls.

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works cited

staeheli, l. a., & mitchell, d. (2006). usas destiny? regulating space and creating community in american shopping malls. urban studies, 43(5-6), 977-992. doi:10.1080/00420980600676493

ferreira, d., & paiva, d. (2017). the death and life of shopping malls: an empirical investigation on the dead malls in greater lisbon. the international review of retail, distribution and consumer research, 27(4), 317-333. doi:10.1080/09593969.2017.1309564

rosenbaum, m. s., otalora, m. l., & ramirez, g. c. (2016). the restorative potential of shopping malls. journal of retailing and consumer services, 31, 157-165. doi:10.1016/2016.02.011

watson, sarah, “what is happening to commercial malls: evaluating contradicting opinions” (2016). accounting. 11.   https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_accounting/11

sanburn, j. (2017, july 20). why the death of malls is about more than shopping. time.

dong, j., & gong, s. (2017). restoration and regeneration of industrial brownfield. boletín técnico,55(12), 314-319.

recently, i treated myself to a much overdue trip to safeway. standing in the produce section, i was faced with the dilemma of whether to purchase more expensive organic apples that were $2.99/lb. or cheaper non-organic apples that were $.99/lb. i chose the pricier apples because they were organic.

as people are more interested in where their foods come, the demand for organic has increased. in 2013, 81% of u.s. families were buying organic. but what really makes food organic?

recently, i interviewed dr. kathleen merrigan, former deputy secretary of the usda, to learn more about organic food. she was instrumental in helping write the official definition of organic for the united states.

honestly, before talking to dr. merrigan, i would’ve picked the cheaper non-organic apples. but since talking to her, i have changed my purchasing patterns. as a college student, i’m always looking for ways to save money but i decided for a few extra dollars that buying organic apples was worth it because i knew that those apples hadn’t been treated with any dangerous pesticides, thus they were better for me and the environment.

while $2.00/lb more is not a huge difference, i think one of the stigmas surrounding organic food is high cost. thankfully, buying organically will no longer “break the bank.” in an effort to encourage people to eat more organically, companies such as walmart have started introducing affordable organic food in their stores. another method to make eating organically affordable is to understand when it’s worth it to splurge on some organic food and save on others. buying organically matters most when it comes to produce, dairy, meat, and poultry.

when i shop at stores such as whole foods or trader joe’s, i gulp at how expensive some organic food can be. but when i shop at safeway i embrace the purchasing power to buy organic food at more affordable prices.