LVIV — Organic and genetically modified foods (also known as GMOs) have been increasingly in the media limelight. We are told we cannot eat GM foods because they have a negative effect on our immune system, brain activity, and reproductive potential.
Virtually all of us have heard this, and some have followed the advice. What can or should be done then? The Organic Movement Federation of Ukraine, in collaboration with the certified suppliers of organic foods in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, and Switzerland, tried to explain the situation by holding Ukraine’s first organic food fair in Lviv. Such fairs have been popular abroad for more than 20 years now. Organic foods are available in special stores and are priced much higher than in Ukraine.
In fact, there is nothing special about organic products: earth, water, sunlight, human care, and no harmful chemicals. Then why is it so difficult to reach this simple goal? Somehow, simple health foods have found themselves in a kind of reservation. Whereas no one will even attempt to discuss the quality of foods sold in supermarkets, the quality of products we buy at bazaars is anyone’s guess. We know nothing about them and often buy based on the appearance of the seller.
This is the treacherous and dangerous aspect about the outwardly decent, trustworthy appearance of the malls with their well-trained personnel. Does our society need certified organic foods? Does our government care about the health of the Ukrainian nation by enacting laws and enforcing procedures? These questions remain open.
Olena BEREZOVSKA, head of Organic Food Consumers Association and the firm Organic Era:
“Human beings build their bodies on the basis of what they eat. When foods containing herbicides and pesticides are consumed, the human body absorbs them and then builds itself using ‘dead proteins.’ Organic foods strengthen a person’s health, and this strength comes from plants that haven’t been tampered with.
“The Ukrainian consumer’s mentality is not prepared to accept the health food idea — and the hitch is not money. Organic potatoes, compared to GM ones, cost 0.5 hryvnia more on average. But how many times do you eat them per day? Are you sure about their quality? Clearly, it is best to pay for organic foods than pay much more for medicines against diseases resulting from GM foods.
“The problem is not the price-setting policy but ideology; people simply are not prepared to figure out the difference, and so our firm is not only selling organic and dietary foods that are duly certified and perfectly harmless, but is also monitoring the health food logic and actively promoting it, taking part in various projects and festivals and publishing literature on environmental issues.”
Dr. Ihor KOTSIUMBAS, Ph.D. (Veterinary Medicine), corresponding member of the Ukrainian Academy of Medical Sciences and director of the State Research Institute for Veterinarian Medicines and Food Additives:
“Under today’s conditions every supplier wants to make maximum profits and can raise the issue of feeding and using veterinarian medicines. Therefore, our institute’s top priority is to check the quality of dog food and other animal foods and make sure these foods meet the international standards.
“Ukraine’s current situation with food additives and premixes leaves much to be desired — there are over 900 imported and only 92 domestic products. This problem must be solved. A country that doesn’t have a food basis of its own cannot develop the livestock industry independently and effectively. We have submitted a bill on foods and fodder with the Verkhovna Rada and hope it will soon be passed.
“Another as important aspect is the medical treatment of animals. Every medication comes with a list of instructions. Ignoring them results in the lower quality of meat, honey, eggs, or milk, because the animals have residues of such medications in their systems. Such products become hazardous to man. Of course, experts at Ukraine’s State Veterinarian Laboratory Committee monitor the situation and establish the causes.
“After a course of treatment, an animal can’t be slaughtered — or milked — for a certain period, otherwise the product becomes hazardous. Our institute straddles the intersectoral border to prevent violations.
“There is yet another sensitive aspect: fake products. We can obtain quality, safe foods/fodder, use good medicines, and have perfectly harmless foodstuffs in the end, but we’re constantly faced with fake products.
“All this is taking place contrary to the legally adopted recipes and standards. The result is negative. While making meat products less expensive, such falsified foods can have an adverse effect on the consumer’s health because of too many stabilizing, emulsifying, and coloring agents used to prolong such their shelf life.”
