Text: Elena Grunitz TODAY MANY SPEAK ABOUT "BIO" AND "ORGANIC" PRODUCTS. A WAVE OF ECOLOGICAL CAFES AND STORES IS FLOODED AND DUBAI. WE DECIDED TO UNDERSTAND - "WHAT IS WHAT", WHICH PRODUCTS ARE REALLY ORGANIC, AND WHICH ARE NOT, AND WHAT IT IS PAY ATTENTION WHEN BUYING.
When it comes to environmentally friendly products, the question often arises: are they really so much more useful than regular ones? Of course, the complete absence and limited amount of pesticides and synthetic additives in the process of growing and processing agricultural products, whether vegetables, fruits or cereals, not only improves their taste, but also enhances the beneficial effect on the body. But this is a theory. And how are things in practice?
In Dubai, the fashion for organic products is becoming increasingly widespread. In recent years, several shops have opened in the city, the most famous of which, of course, is Organic Foods and Café on the Sheikh Zayed Highway.
Here you can find a whole palette of local and imported products: from fresh herbs and meat to cosmetics and cleaning products, and they are all labeled as “organic”. New names such as Holland & Barrett (City Walk), The Farm (Al Barari), Ripe Farm Shop (Al Wasl Rd. / Al Manara Str.), Down to Earth (Jumeirah 1), Greenheart (Al Barsha South 2 ), as well as farmers' markets and online distribution, revive the competition and positively influence the development of supply and prices in favor of the consumer. And if at first the contingent of buyers consisted mainly of European families with children, today the representatives of all segments of the population are adherents of organic food.
Expensive pleasure
Despite the rapid development of the "bio market" and the growth of consumer demand, eating exclusively "organic" is quite an expensive pleasure. In order not to scare the consumer away with high prices, the US EWG (Environmental Working Group), consisting of scientists, ecologists, doctors and lawyers, has published a hit parade of the cleanest and most pesticide-contaminated vegetables and fruits. Thus, the buyer has the opportunity to choose which vegetables and fruits with a calm mind can be purchased in an ordinary supermarket ("Pure" ten), and which are better to avoid, preferring organic ("Dirty" ten).
This classification does not mention animal products such as meat, eggs or dairy products. But, according to local experts in the field of bio-products, products of this type should be purchased exclusively "organic" and only imported. The extreme climatic conditions of the Emirates, the lack of natural grazing and fresh food make mass poultry and livestock farming extremely difficult, and the bioproduction of beef and chicken is practically impossible.
Another vogue philosophy of organic farming is biodynamics. As in "organic", the use of any synthetic or mineral fertilizers is strictly prohibited. But besides this, technologies for using the natural forces of nature and space, light and heat are used to obtain environmentally friendly products.
According to this theory, a biodynamic economy is considered as a single living organism, living in complete harmony with the Earth and space. In order to get a crop that is healthy and charged with positive energy, it is necessary to act in harmony with the surrounding nature, taking into account its cycles, without disturbing their balance and thus improving the energy balance of plants. Special natural fertilizers can be applied only at certain times of the day, and weed removal or harvesting is carried out according to the phases of the moon. It is difficult to find real biodynamic products for sale. Their production is limited, since adhering to this philosophy is 100% possible only within the framework of family-owned enterprises that run their households almost manually and away from polluted megacities.
Not all is gold
Each manufacturer and distributor of organic food in the UAE is subject to certification by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA). This process is very long and complicated. ESMA places the most stringent demands on both farmers and retailers. Regular inspections and laboratory tests are an integral part of the certification process. Foreign suppliers, in turn, are required to have the appropriate internationally recognized certificates.
Here is what the founder of Greenheart Organic Farms, Elena Kinané, told us: “Unfortunately, the modern production of organic products has practically lost its original meaning. The industrialization of this sector and the desire to make money take over. The real organic enterprise should not use absolutely any unnatural means for growing or processing But if you check the standards of some European certification bodies based on the minimum requirements of the EU Commission, then their by standards, the use of about 50 mineral supplements and vitamins is permissible (for example, ascorbic acid E300, glycerol E422, potassium carbonate E501).
Of course, their applied amount is limited and the harm from these additives is less than from stabilizers, flavor enhancers, dyes or preservatives, of which there are more than 300 and which are actively used in the conventional food industry. But it is difficult to call these products "organic" in the initial sense of the word. As for transportation, as you know, fresh fruits and vegetables imported from afar are usually subjected to special chemical processing, which allows them to "survive" a long way, including customs clearance on both sides and storage. Pay attention to the "bio-cucumbers" sealed in cellophane ...
We at Greenheart run our own farm near Dubai and grow almost everything ourselves: herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, lemons and much more. We do not use absolutely any mineral or chemical means - only natural fertilizers "produced" by our own chickens and goats. Growing agricultural products in the sand is simply impossible.
For this, first of all, it is necessary to create a naturally fertile soil layer, and this is a very long and painstaking process. Many people are trying to copy us, thinking that a lot of money is made from organic products. But not everyone has the patience and endurance not to succumb to the temptation and not add some kind of "powder". And about the huge earnings - this is a myth. For example, we need 12 dirhams to grow a kilogram of cucumbers, and we sell them for 15. Judge for yourself. Of course, we are in the summer, when due to the heat there is practically nothing growing, we import from Lebanon some types of fresh vegetables and fruits. But due to the relatively short distance between the two countries and the process of delivery arranged like a clock, the total path from the garden to the counter is no more than 24 hours. "
Elena Kinane is echoed by Sonia Veisey, Organic Food & Cafe marketing manager: “The local so-called organic farms, with the rare exception, are completely non-organic. It is almost impossible to grow 100% organic vegetables and fruits in the desert. Take, for example, water How much is needed to maintain artificially created soil in the local heat and lack of rainfall? In the desalinated sea water used in Dubai, there are no natural mineral substances and organisms that normally enrich the soil. the dead water. And the underground water reserves in the Emirates for this purpose is too low.
Inspections by local authorities? I do not think that they have enough experience to bring local agricultural land to the European level. That is why on the shelves Organic Food & Café you will not find fresh vegetables and fruits locally produced. We import them from Uganda, Egypt, India, Holland, Italy, Australia and South Africa. Thanks to this diversification, we have fresh, seasonal agricultural products of excellent quality all year round. We trust only internationally recognized certificates, such as Bioland, Bio, AB, Agricoltura Biologica, whose standards are much higher than the basic norms of the European Union.
The founder of Organic Food & Cafe Niels El Akkad regularly visits our suppliers to make sure on-site quality of products. By the way, Niels experienced firsthand what it means to eat only conventional foods. When he was 21, his mother died of cancer, and he became seriously ill.
After unsuccessful studies in the best hospitals in Europe, Niels finally found a specialist in homeopathy who, with the help of detoxification therapy by natural means, helped him return to normal life. All these artificial nutritional supplements simply blocked the Niels lymphatic system, which has since decided to bring its idea of organic food to the people. "
So is there any point in switching to organic and biodynamic food products or not? This is an individual decision of everyone. If we do not want to become hostages of two colossi of the world economy - the food and pharmacological industries, when one feeds us and the second treats what the first feeds us, then yes, it makes sense.
But here the following question arises: who to trust? Check the labeling on the packages, ask sellers about the origin of the product or visit local farmers (for example, Greenheart organizes real tours of their farmland). It is only necessary to take into account that “organic” is not always a completely pure product, as from the grandmother’s garden. Although the presence of a minimum amount of mineral additives and pesticides, permissible by law in this case, does not harm our health. Most importantly, in these organic products, there are no preservatives, artificial colors or flavors, or GMOs.
As shown by numerous studies, turning to organics, we will not increase much health, but at the same time it will not worsen. And this is probably the most important thing.
