Summarization of Why Organic Foods Are Worth the Cost by Alex Garcia In Alex Garcia’s essay, Why Organic Foods are Worth the Cost, she discusses the outweighing benefits of purchasing organic foods. Garcia begins her essay by discussing America’s fascination with food from eating it to watching it being made on television. She continues to go into her point of organic foods being worth the higher price. Garcia then informs us of what exactly constitutes an organic food. Organic foods are made without the use of dangerous chemicals. The USDA didn’t establish standards for foods that could be classified as organic until 2002. Garcia tells us that organic foods cost more because they don’t use harmful pesticides; therefore, they don’t have as …show more content…
Her first detail about this point is that these farm nurture more than regular ones. Organic farms also do not run the risk of harming wildlife or humans. Farms that aren’t organic can kill wildlife with the harmful chemicals and if those chemicals get into the water they could poison the water supply and possibly but humans in danger. Organic farms let off less carbon dioxide and don’t cause global warming to happen as quickly as normal ones. They also are much better for the soil. Garcia tells us once again that these benefits are beneficial to society as a whole. Garcia gives readers a little bit of the opposing views opinions. Research for organic versus not organic nutritional value is mixed. She continues to say that while the nutritional value varies food safety is still highest with organic foods. She also addresses the claims that organic foods have a better taste then nonorganic by telling readers that it varies by person. She then describes research completed at Cornell University by saying “…gave people identical chips, yogurt, and cookies but labeled some of them ‘organic’ and others ‘regular.’ People rated the organic ones as better tasting even though there was no difference.” In this they discovered that labels do effect how we perceive
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).
On December 5, 2012, Daisy Luther, a journalist from Northern California wrote a blog entry on the conspiracy surrounding “certified organic” labels that is claimed by some companies and retailers. She brings up the question of whether these labels being stamped on food can really be verified or are they just a way to empty out the wallets of consumers. In the website The Organic Pepper, the blogger generally gives advice for different problems people encounter on a daily basis. Through her blog entries varying from ways to stay healthy to frugal living, Luther states her opinion of governmental interference on our food supply by citing sources from articles from Natural News and Time Magazine. She first starts out by arguing about how the
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.
This stunned me at first because I thought organic meant the animals were treated humanely and there was no sort of corruption. This may not be for all farms but there are a lot where the animals don’t see a single blade of grass. These animals are also “tethered to milking machines three times a day.” What makes the milk organic though if they are still treated the same? Well, they are fed grain that is certified organic.
He discovers that a majority of the advertisements written on organic products are not remotely true to the treatment of the animals. “A charge often levied against organic agriculture is that it is more philosophy than science. There's some truth to this indictment, if that it what it is, though why organic farmers should feel defensive about it is itself a mystery, a relic, perhaps, of our fetishism of science as the only credible tool with which to approach nature” (Pollan 225). Pollan sees that a lot of organic farmers feel threatened when people question their different methods of farming, but Pollan tries to explain that if it truly is a practice that is successful and forthcoming then there is no need to feel threatened. However Pollan notes a discrepancy in the way a majority of organic farmers advertise their products.
For example a study published in the American Journal of Public Health shows that even though items on a menu were labeled with calorie content the labeling did not affect customer choice. People still ordered what they originally wanted”. This proves that labeling the calorie information really doesn't change people's
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)
In the article, “The Omnivore’s Delusion” Blake Hurst expresses his idea that agri- intellectuals, people who claim that industrial farming is inhuman, have a warped perspective on the reality of modern day farming. Essentially, Hurst proposes that there are both positive and negative aspects to both industrial farming and organic farming. Hurst states that during organic farming when farmers do not use unnatural additives, the whole process becomes more troublesome due to the increase of molds, fungus, and bugs. The author writes, “… some of the largest farms in the country are organic—and are giant organizations dependent upon lots of hired stoop labor doing the most backbreaking of tasks in order to save the sensitive conscience of my fellow
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.
There, the animals are hung upside down and their throats are cut, often while they’re still conscious and struggling to escape,” said by The Organic and ‘Free Range’ Myths. Animals on organic farms aren’t treated that differently from animals in industrial farms. They still have to endure the same cruelty other animals are facing in factory farms. On the other hand, local farm animals are treated with care and kindness. Local farms don’t force animals in small or unsanitary places.
Kalista Cook Miss Grimes College Composition II 9 February 2023 Persuasive Techniques Used by McKay Jenkins and Anna Lappe The topics of food sustainability and agricultural awareness are incredibly important. Authors McKay Jenkins and Anna Lappe bring awareness to these topics in their articles Can GMOs Be Sustainable and The Climate Crisis and the End of Our Fork. In these articles, the authors address the negative impacts of the food and agriculture industry. More specifically, they attempt to educate on the importance of creating environmentally conscious eating habits.
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
What is also speaking for consumption of organic food is the fact that this kind of foods does not contain genetically modified organisms, which is nowadays an important concern for many people who would like to stay healthy for longer. The organic food appeared as a result of Green