Botswana: many switch from generic to organic foods

Burger said his supermarket sells both types but that the organic foods are labelled and have their own section in the shop. The director of Fruit and Veg City Bes Vanvuuren says 90 per cent of the products that they sell are organic in compliance with the laws and regulations of their franchise in South Africa.

Vanvuuren said the franchise demands that most of the foods that they sell should be organic but that they do not have the figures to determine if more Batswana buy organic or generic foods. He also said Fruit and Veg did not have separate sections and shelves for generic and organic foods.

Duduetsang Mmualefe, an assistant health officer in the food and nutrition section of the Ministry of Health, said organic foods are produced naturally without using pesticides, insecticides, fertilisers or bioengineering. She said animals that have not been given antibiotics or growth hormones provide organic meat, poultry, eggs and diary products.

She said generic foods are produced using conventional pesticides and fertilisers to enhance the growth of crops, and hormones and other chemicals to speed up the growth of animals. She said organic foods are environmentally friendly as they promote the use of renewable resources, as well as soil and water conversation.

Although people want foods that grow fast, they want those foods to be healthy, she said. Mmualefe said organic foods have other nutritional, environmental and health benefits; they are nutritionally safer as they have fewer preservatives, colourings and residues of fertilisers; and organic farmers normally use manure as fertiliser.

She added that organic foods also have high levels of minerals and vitamins that were essential for humans. Unlike generic foods, organic foods also have less heavy metals such as lead and aluminium which cause cancer, fatigue, nausea and damage blood vessels. They also have fewer nitrates.

Organic foods are also good for children, as chemical residues found in generic foods easily affect them, adding that they also have a better taste compared to genetically modified foods. Mmualefe said raw organic foods should be washed as any other type of produce before being consumed, to ensure maximum cleanliness.

However, she said, organic foods cost more than other conventionally produced foods, adding that research has shown that organic food costs 15 per cent to 20 per cent more than generic foods. She said the organic price tag closely reflects the true cost of growing food.

She said for a particular type of food to be certified organic nothing conventional should be added and that more work is required to verify that the food is organic. She added that organic foods are also seasonal. Mmualefe, however, said not all food products that are organically grown have a better taste.