Readers help clear muddy organic debate

I didn't realize the organic vs. conventional foods was such a hot-button topic until I wrote about the issue back in August. That column generated more e-mails than I've received in quite some time, and there was nothing middle-of-the-road about readers' opinions.

For example, Judith Carlson from Des Plaines wrote: "I just wanted to let you know that I agree 99.9 percent with your column..."

But Carlson still had a bone to pick: "You stated in your column that pasteurization guards against ill health. That is not correct."

Let me clarify for all of us. Carlson believed I meant that raw milk was unhealthy and pasteurization made it healthy, but that was not my intended message.

Raw milk, if uncontaminated by bacteria, if handled in a strictly sanitary way from udder to sterilized bottle, and if quickly chilled to below 40 degrees is perfectly safe to drink. Since raw milk, from which all milk products start, can be contaminated with some nasty microorganisms, proper handling and heat pasteurization protect consumers against food borne illness, or as I put it, from becoming "unhealthy" from those organisms.

Reader Jan Soskinski e-mailed as well. "We are active in growing and actually sell some of the produce we grow, and it's people like you who perpetuate the myth that organic people do not use pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers, when, in fact, they do! ... You are not doing anyone any favors by making such false statements."

Let me clarify that organic growers can use natural herbicides and pesticides, but, by law, any vegetable, fruit or grain labeled "USDA Certified Organic" cannot be grown using synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, genetic modification, irradiation or sewage sludge.

Growers must have been following those and numerous other clearly defined rules for three years prior to becoming certified as organic. True and honest organic produce must not only be grown from certified organic seeds, it must be certified by a USDA Accredited Certifying Agent.

Most of the time, certified organic produce is more expensive than conventional, but that could change. Even if it doesn't, Marion Nestle in her book, "The Way to Eat," showed that a single, standard vegetable or fruit serving - a half cup - can cost less than it would at first seem. Here's how she figured it.

A pound of certified organic green beans may cost $1.99. That pound makes eight half-cup servings, so each serving costs 25 cents. Looking at it from that perspective, the cost for straight-from-the-source nutrients seems pretty reasonable.

So, is organic produce more nutritious than conventionally grown? I want to believe it is, but I have only insufficient and contradictory data to go on. I do know that if I want to avoid food with synthetic pesticide and herbicide residues and meat and dairy products that may have been produced with hormones, steroids and antibiotics, I'm going to grab organic.

Try this recipe: If you like gingerbread, you're going to love these muffins. Topping them with crystallized ginger (see note) gilds the lily.

If you have organic flour, eggs, sugar, butter and applesauce available, use them for this recipe. If you don't have crystallized ginger, leave the muffin tops plain or sprinkle each with a generous teaspoon of turbinado (raw) sugar before baking.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe mak-over requests Writer him at don@theleanwivard.com