Level-up your communication skills by learning how to communicate commonly misused STEM words, like "chemical," "organic" and "natural."
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are the pillars of S.T.E.M. or STEM.)
Many basic, standard terms and concepts in the STEM sectors take on an entirely different meaning in the everyday language of English speakers. If you're a digital communicator, it can be helpful to learn the differences.
There’s nothing wrong with the tendency for a language to adapt and evolve to fit with the times. But language surrounding STEM specialities relies on consistency and precision in communicating specific concepts.
For example, ask engineers from Alabama and Munich how they prefer to measure their designs, and they will probably give you two different answers: imperial or metric.
Although in disagreement on which they prefer, they won’t ever disagree on what these two terms mean: an inch is always an inch; it will never be a centimeter. And each person knows how to measure each. The definitions are precise. This consistent precision plays a fundamental role in effective STEM communication.
But words that take on a life of their own and stray from their STEM meanings complicate people’s general understanding. Take the word organic, for example.
Did you just picture a big, juicy heirloom tomato?
What did you picture?
Did you picture an atom with six protons, six neutrons and six electrons?
Welcome to the world of organic chemistry.
An organic compound is a compound containing the element carbon (C), the atom I just described. C is unique in the world of chemistry because its atomic configuration of 6 protons, 6 neutrons and 6 electrons enables it to be the most important building block of life, and the number of uniquely different compounds carbon can form is almost limitless.
But not all organic chemists research organic compounds in nature. In fact, most of them don’t. Most are researching things like cosmetics, detergent, fuel, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and other products you probably don’t associate with the word organic.
So what does this really mean - organic - when you’re shopping the produce or dairy section of your grocery store? Don’t ALL tomatoes contain building blocks of life?
Clear as mud, right?
#1. Organic, from Backbone to Vine
Carbon, the chemical of life, is unique in its ability to form all of the molecules of life on Earth. It even has its own STEM sector, organic chemistry, the study of compounds that contain carbon.
So are “organic foods” just foods that contain carbon?
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the word organic is defined as a “labeling term that refers to an agricultural product produced in accordance with the (Organic Foods Production) Act and the regulations in (CFR Title 7, Chapter 1, Part 205 of the Organic Foods Program).”
That’s a mouthful.
Basically, your tomato is organic as long as it meets this legal definition according to the US Federal Code of Regulations.
I highly recommend you read these regulations if you want a deep dive on the subject or if you suffer from insomnia.
Or I can heavily summarize...
An “organic tomato” has been grown without the use of prohibited substances, like most (but not all) synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. The land on which the tomato is farmed must also have been clean of these prohibited substances for at least three years prior.
But here's a twist!
The USDA also defines organic matter as “the remains, residues, or waste products of any organism.” ANY organism. An earthworm counts. So does an abandoned nest, a ground squirrel and a big pile of autumn leaves. Why? Because this use of the word correlates to the chemistry concept that carbon-based compounds are organic compounds.
So a tomato grown by any means, even if it’s not certified as organic according to the agricultural standard defined by the USDA, is still called organic matter as its rotting on the ground.
But seriously, what even is organic farming?
Organic farming is not a new invention, nor is the use of the word organic to describe it. After all, people have been farming with traditional, “chemical-free” practices for centuries, and organic was coined in 1942 to describe these farming practices. The problem arises when so many people misunderstand the everyday usage of the word.
So what do most people think organic means?
good for you?
good for the environment?
sustainable?
eco - conscious?
expensive?
more flavorful?
Although they can be any combination of the above, organic foods are not always any of these!
Take, for instance, how an organic farmer’s crop yields are typically less than a conventional farmer. Because an organic farmer requires more land to create yields comparable to a conventional farmer, they may end up destroying large amounts of land in order to sell you a juicy heirloom organic tomato.
Good for the environment? What do you think?
Another example of this disconnect between assumptions and reality are the relatively-new delivery services that allow you to select a combination of outcast certified-organic goods to receive in a box on your doorstep every few weeks. But depending on where you live and what you’ve selected for your box, the amount of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere this delivery is responsible for may far exceed the sum total of the carbon cost of growing and delivering a conventionally grown product of the same type to your local grocery store.
Eco - conscious? Perhaps…perhaps not.
Don’t get me wrong. There are multiple benefits to growing foods without the environmentally harmful consequences of conventional farming practices.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, organic farming can:
produce food while establishing an ecological balance to prevent soil fertility or pest problems.
play an important role in soil erosion.
greatly reduce the risk of groundwater pollution.
reduce non-renewable energy use by decreasing agrochemical needs.
contribute to mitigating the greenhouse effect and global warming through its ability to sequester carbon in the soil.
produce more biodiversity than other farming systems.
reduce the hidden costs of agriculture to the environment in terms of natural resource degradation.
So, you're feeling ready to clearly communicate the word organic in your writing?
Just remember, if something is labeled organic, it doesn’t mean it’s not automatically better for you or the environment (but sometimes it is).
Understanding this distinction is definitely better for your wallet.
Stay tuned for word #2, Chemicals, from Perception to Reality.
What do you think of the conflicting usage of the word "organic"?
Love the messy dual meaning!
I had no idea, and I still wish I had no idea.
I'm reevaluating everything I thought I knew.
Like you, it drives me bananas!
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