Do foods with an organic seal have benefits?
[José Miguel Mulet:] The only thing they guarantee is that they have been grown according to a regulation that tells you what you can put and what you can’t. The problem is that production is very low. Europe wants to promote it but it only talks about increasing surface area but you don’t buy in square metres, but in kilos. They only talk about the surface because it is clear that production is going to plummet. Are they healthier? The only variable you control is the growing method, not what you grow. Getting drunk on organic wine is just as bad for your health as on non-organic wine. There is no evidence that a diet based on organic products is better, the only clear thing is that it is much more expensive.
Isn’t it better for the environment?
[Mulet:] No. If productivity falls, you need more land to get the same food, and the environmental impact and the water footprint skyrocket. Organic regulation is not based on objective parameters, such as the carbon or water footprint, but on a philosophical principle without a scientific basis that what is natural is better. There are problems. For example, in organic viticulture copper is used as a fungicide and it is a terrible contaminant. Therefore, the ecological seal does not guarantee less environmental impact. It will depend on the crop.
[Editor’s note: This article has been translated from Spanish and edited for clarity.]
