Benefits of Organic Foods: A Look into the Value of Organic Food “Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.” (Poe) Organic foods may not be as beneficial as they appear and with that in mind uncovering the nutritional value, understanding the advantages of organic foods, and debunking myths regarding their impact are necessary to investigate. Organic farming is the oldest method of farming. Before the 1940s, what is today called organic farming was the standard method of raising crops and animals. (Davidson) Changes to technology after World War II made new methods available to farm in greater quantity. Certified organic food requires more labor to produce, which generally makes it more expensive than non-certified food. Some …show more content…
The cost for the farmer to produce organic food and the higher price the consumer must pay in order to eat the food. Organic foods are thought to promote health in humans by eliminating toxins in foods. In addition, the process of growing organic food helps to conserve soil health and water resources, a benefit to the ecological health of our world and its inhabitants. Organic foods helps to reduce agriculture 's impact on the environment when farming practices are done in the true sense of organic, sustaining agricultural methods. (Davidson) The return back to organic farming is still relatively new and hopeful, the idea that we can sustain our soil for the future of production is one of the growing outcomes of growing foods organically. Organic production saves energy on the farm (organic milk, for example, takes 20 percent of the energy input of ordinary milk), transporting the food for long distances is likely to undo many of its environmental benefits. (Millstone) Overall, even if the energy used to make produce organic items is lowered the cost of getting a product to be USDA Certified Organic is another story. Most people that are invested in the growth of organic foods trust that the benefits for healthier land and people outweigh the monetary …show more content…
The long-term effect of genetically modified foods on both humans and the environment cannot yet be known. (Davidson) Select a variety of foods from a variety of sources. This will give you a better mix of nutrients and reduce your likelihood of exposure to a single pesticide.
Buy fruits and vegetables in season when possible. To get the freshest produce, ask your grocer what is in season or buy food from your local farmers
In Chapters 8 and 9 of The Omnivore 's Dilemma, Pollan discovers what organic really means in an interesting way. Instead of reading about it like other people might do, he travels to farms and supermarkets. During his travels he comes across Big Organic, Industrial Organic, and other “organic” terms. Prior to reading these chapters, I did not realize that the government changed the idea of organic to meet the wants and needs of consumers. For example, some companies believe they are creating organic meat by feeding cows organic corn, but raise them under traditional conditions.
Desiree Nielsen, Registered Dietitian and Author of the book, “Un-Junk Your Diet” educates her clients on how to select healthy foods for their families and of course, themselves. However, genetically modified organism is the secret ingredient that aggravates her care goals. Nielsen claims that there evidence to suggest they might cause harm to humans and livestock over time. She thinks that the appropriate safety test for genetically modified food consist of running long-term trials contrasting a population who did not consume GMOs to one that did. Nielsen give her clients food/nutrient advice based on functional role in the human body and the risk versus benefit of consuming them.
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).
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.
Organic is always associated with chemical-free production. However, does the word “Organic” on a label mean the product is indeed organic? Eliot Coleman in his article, “Beyond Organic”, published in December/January 2002 in the “Mother Earth News” magazine, claims that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has become a threat to the organic farmers. Coleman starts to grab readers’ attention with his personal experience, providing strong facts about organic food, and applying some emotional appeals; however, his audience is only convincing for organic farmers but not strong enough to convince the ordinary organic consumers.
It avoids pollution created by transporting produce long distances. A study by the journal Food Policy in March 2005 stated that, “the miles that organic food often travels to our plate creates environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic” (Source A). Although transportation of goods serves as a small reason for pollution, simply selling produce locally can help the community in many ways. Source D stated that transporting two-thousand apples two-thousand miles would be the same as transporting fifty apples fifty miles to a farmer’s market. However, a farmer will bring other grown foods including the fifty apples, and if the 2,000 apples stayed in its community, it would not only save miles on gasoline but also preserve the
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)
For years, the health and safety of genetically modified foods have been debated and researched by scientists, but the question still stands: should genetically modified foods be allowed for consumption? The process of genetic modification involves inserting a gene from bacteria or a virus into an organism where it would normally not be found. The purpose is to alter the genetic code in plants and animals to make them more productive or resistant to pests or farming techniques. Genetically modified organisms, more commonly known as GMOs, have been a controversial topic of debate for a number of reasons. The ethics behind genetically modified foods come into question due to an abundance of short and long-term effects from the process, many of which are still unknown today.
To begin, organic foods do not have significantly better nutritional and health value than conventional foods. Many people choose to go organic because they want to live a “healthy, pesticide-free lifestyle”. Contrary to popular belief, organic farming actually does use pesticides. The word organic does not necessarily mean pesticide free. Organic food means that the pesticides used are derived from natural ingredients.
Local foods are sold and consumed in the area in which it was grown. Consuming locally grown food supports the small farms, often times, run by families. Local food guarantees to be fresher and healthier by being treated with lower levels of herbicides, pesticides, and preservatives. Organic foods have been growing in popularity in the local system with an increase of 20% annually (Kenner). Organic farming eliminates the use of fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, and growth hormones.
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
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.
You can decrease it it but not stop it. In my opinion i don’t like organic foods because the only thing. I see i unnecessary things. We may not agree but i don’t like organic foods. People have survived long enough.
There’s not much scientific evidence that organic food is safer than the traditional food, as conducting such studies is not that easy. Even then the studies done were not really in humans. The one difference though is in the antioxidants but doesn’t prove that human health improves due to more anti-oxidant properties in organic food. While organics have become more desirable by the consumers, but at the same time, it doesn’t hold more nutritional value as oppose to non-organic food. There is one difference in the making of organic food; that is, the chemicals etc.