In Alex Garcia essay Why Organic Foods Are Worth the Cost she discuses why organic foods are actually worth the cost. In Garcia opening statement she beings by saying “Despite all the confusion, current research shows that the health and environmental benefits of organic foods outweighed their extra cost (Garcia 112).” Garcia main goal is to show her audience why organic foods are the better chose and why in the end they are worth the extra cost. She begins explaining to the readers the process of how organic foods are made. She says, “organic foods are produced without using most chemical pesticides, without artificial federalizer, with out genetic engineering, and without radiation (Garcia 112) she explains to her audience the importance
Despite the increase in organic buyers, the majority of people do not know how to merely interpret what the word organic even entails. The United States Department of Agriculture enforces and regulates the labeling of organic products, namely food products (cornucopia.org). In addition to the elusiveness of organic foods, organics are apt to be more expensive than conventional food; this is because instead of a huge manufacturing plant, one would be receiving their food products from a small farm (where a small amount of food is being grown and harvested). People choose to argue that organic food is far better for you than conventional or natural food; however, there are only minute differences between the two. Stephanie Watson, an executive editor of Harvard’s Women Health Watch, states:“The researchers discovered very little difference in nutritional content, aside from slightly higher phosphorous levels in many organic foods, and a higher omega-3 fatty acid content in organic milk and chicken” (Harvard.edu).
For example, she lists some of the regulations from a food trade organization called Codex Alimentarius, whose purpose is to regulate fair trade both nationally and internationally and ensure the health of consumers. The Codex standards that are stated show that this organization does not follow its purpose, but does the exact opposite. According to natural news.com, “All food (including organic) is to be irradiated, removing all toxic nutrients from food (unless eaten locally and raw.” This is just one of the rules listed; the rest follow in a similar matter. Because farmers have to follow all these specific regulations and procedures, they find themselves paying ridiculous fees to get the “certified organic” label.
I originally thought about the word organic as fruits and vegetables picked freshly from the branches of a tree and packaged into stores and chickens wandering large fields, I realize that it is not that simple. Michael Pollan traced some of his organic purchases back to their sources and discovers that there are organic feedlots, organic dairy cows whose lives are not any nicer than the conventional, and organic “free-range” chickens whose only access to the outside world is a small door in their shed, which is only open for about two weeks. “The organic movement, as it was once called, has come a remarkably long way in the last thirty years, to the point where it now looks considerably less like a movement than a big business” (Pollan 138). My thoughts now on organic foods at supermarkets such as Wegmans and Walmart is that the animals aren’t treated as great as conventional foods. I’ve realized that the extra cost of organic that I pay is largely because of the transportation.
Shoppers might object, claiming they do not have the means to pay for organic, ecological or culturally available food. They might point out some organic food is more expensive like milk, a staple to our diet. If a shopper bought one gallon of organic milk for $5.99 at Trader Joe’s, a popular Whole Foods chain store, each week for a year instead of a gallon of regular milk for $1.98 at Kwik Trip, a local gas station, they would be spending $208.52 more a year on milk alone. Although I understand that it can be a little more expensive, I still maintain that there are ways to make shopping in a more healthy way, cheaper. To starting with, we could purchase in-season produce because out-of-season is more expensive, due to shipping and storage costs.
Just because the animal is fed organic grains constitutes them labeling it as organic. Most people do not know this. Another organic item he mentions is chicken. These chickens are labeled as free-range chickens. In my mind free-range means the chickens can walk around freely and are not in cages.
This is a choice between providing consumers with pesticide-free food products versus pesticide-laden processed food products. Industrial food production started in 1947 when the chemical industry decided to shift their focus away from war-time technology to more peaceful applications, one of which was creating chemical fertilizers to help farmers in raising their crops. It was advertised that the synthetic fertilizers would allow farmers increase the fertility of their soil without the need
Catherine Badgley, the author of the article “Can Organic Food Feed the World?” wrote about the benefits of eating organic. One of the topics she discussed was that farmers make more money selling organic crops vs conventional crops. Catherine said “Organic foods may cost more than conventionally grown, but they’re more profitable for farmers... cost ratios are 20% to 24% higher for the same foods produce by conventional methods according to scientists from the Washington State University. ”(COFFtW)
He used the average household income of local African farmers as an example of the ineffectiveness of organic agriculture; however, his views have created a number of opponents to his ideas. For example, Ann Lappe, author of “Diet for a Hot Planet” had this to say, “Paarlberg doesn’t get what it means to be organic. Organic farming isn’t just about not using chemicals. Organic farmers improve output by tapping a sophisticated understanding of biological systems to build soil fertility and manage pests and weeds through techniques that include double-dug beds, intercropping, composting, manures, cover crops, crop sequencing, and natural pest control. It could be aptly dubbed ‘knowledge-intensive’ farming.”
First of all, Pollan states just because it says it's organic doesn't mean it really is. If you buy an “organic” salad at your local grocery store, farmers will still use pesticides to keep bugs away and other animals. The chemicals they use are all natural, but it's not truly organic if you use pesticides or other chemicals. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma Pollan says, “Instead of toxic pesticides, crops are sprayed with natural substances, like BT, a pesticide made from a common soil bacteria” (140.) This quote proves that big organic industrial companies use pesticides to help produce grow.
Many people choose to eat only organic because it’s said to be healthier but when compared to non-organic food the difference is slim. Regardless people continue to buy organic products. People get emotionally connected to
Don’t even get me started on the American food industry! The american food industry is one of the only food industries in the whole wide world that favors money over the health of its citizens. The food that most Americans eat is processed crap, if you can even call it food! How many of you have eaten popcorn, chips, candy, or crackers in the last week? The amount of chemicals in the food we eat as a country on a daily basis is freaking ridiculous.
According to a State of Science Review done in 2008, organic food is more nutritious than inorganic as there are no chemicals or additives going into your body. This means less risk of disease and illness and overall better health, which will be cheaper in the long run as you will save money on health care costs. People with illnesses like Cancer and diabetes, claim that there is a definite improvement in their health after changing their diet to organic
Organic Food In the society where people are getting more concerned about one 's health organic food has become a widely spread and followed by many people tendency. Organic food is believed to have better impact on person 's well-being and not to cause harm to people and the surrounding world due to its ecological nature. The debate that has been recently developed around this topic cannot be solved easily since both supporters and their counterparts provide reasonable arguments supporting their positions. However, to get into the problem and find the answer to a question that concerns many people it is necessary to identify organic food at first.
Organic Food. It is the thing we’ve been drinking eating for decades but when does it stop. It might. If we don’t take our asses and eat some organic food we could be looking at a foodless future. And i understand that it’s not cheap.
Is healthy food is more expensive than unhealthy food the problem Is the people tend to go towards the unhealthy it’s easier more convenient and processed food sometimes can be a bit cheaper. In a study that shows that eating healthy is it really that expensive maybe it takes a little more time to prep your meals but it’s worth it at the end. ”swapping out some of these less expensive, and less healthy foods, for fresher and more nutritious ones added up to only about $1.50 more per day. ”-Alexandra Sifferlin.