Organic foods are the new craze amongst today 's generation of environmentally conscious. Around the world the safety of food is more and more questionable. This led to the world 's population gradually turning to organic farming and products to fuel themselves. Currently, in the United States, much of the intellectual and health conscious populace invest their time and money into finding reliable organic food options. Organic markets are establishing themselves within numerous U.S. cities, and in which makes it easier for consumers to buy such foods. However, the case for China is different. Although China 's organic production scene is on the rise, it is still a slow process that much of its large population know nothing of. With the shocking …show more content…
Before explaining organic farming, it is best to understand what is “organic”. The term “organic” means “not using artificial chemicals in the production of plants and animals for food” . This definition is simplistic and accurate. Organic products are emphasize their naturalness and chemical free aspects. So in turn, “organic farming is a farming system that avoids the use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides and uses organic manure抯 and organic methods of crop rotation” . As explained, organic farming relies on natural matter and techniques to create crops. In written form, organic farming is easy to understand, but the actual implementation of it is not so easy. This type of cultivation benefits the land but it takes time to see the results of its work on the environment because non-organic farming has damaged it severely. The use of pesticides on the land effects the ability of top soil reproduction of soil organic carbon (SOC). It was found that “ 'SOC stocks ' and 'C sequestration rates ' indicated the presence of significantly more carbon in organically managed top soils” . Carbon is the basic building blocks of all life. Therefore, the more carbon present in the soil the better the soil is for producing crops to eat. Also, Also, pesticides, especially herbicides in the case of plants, are toxic. This can taint the effectiveness of carbon in the soil. Figure 1 depicts “carbon balance within the soil (brown box) is controlled by carbon inputs from photosynthesis and carbon losses by respiration. Decomposition of roots and root products by soil fauna and microbes produces humus, a long-lived store of SOC.” By examining this diagram understanding the process of carbon in soil becomes clear. Once, photosynthesis happens carbon is formed in the soil and other actions can begin to strengthen the soil for
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).
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.
Michael Pollan informs us of how most organic isn’t organic. We see the term organic all over grocery stores and many of us take it for face value. People buy organic and think they are doing the world a favor by purchasing it. This turns out to be false. Michael Pollan writes, “Organic milk comes from factory farms.”
“The vision of a huge fertile garden extending from the Appalachians to the Pacific Ocean had inspired Americans since the early days of the republic” (Out of Many - A History of the American People, pg. 622). Since its beginning, the American ways of farming had always been gradually evolving, but in the time between 1865 and 1900, it transformed like never before. The American tradition of agriculture would experience dramatic changes, as the growth of production and agribusiness would ensue from revolutions in technology, massive increase in population, and alterations in government policies. A major factor in changing the way of agriculture was the new technology being developed in farming and transportation.
“The more exposure people have to the realities of factory farming, the more we will see people rejecting it. It's already happening”(Jonathan Safran Foer). Factory farming has been going on since the 1900’s. Factory Farming is the production of livestock in large quantities for uses such as food supplies. Factory Farming is damaging to the animals, our bodies, and the environment.
I chose to write about factory farming because I’m with familiar with it. Growing up on a 500-acre farm has given me the chance to scrutinize the importance that they are to our community. Throughout my childhood there was always fresh meat and vegetables on the table. When other families were worrying about the recent recall on the type of meat they had just purchased or the chemicals being sprayed onto their fruits and vegetable, I was left wondering why these other families just didn’t do as we did. Having your own family farm not only saves money that you would spend in the grocery store, but also allows for your family to bond over something that’s not on TV.
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.
The fixed nitrogen not only changed America’s agriculture, but also changed the earth’s natural cycle. Furthermore, the soil fertility shifted from the reliance on the sun’s energy to the reliance on fossil fuel. These changes causes global warming and pollution. This
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.
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
To have a healthy plant with good roots, you must cultivate the soil.
Some people feel very strongly about what they eat and put in their bodies as well as how farming methods affect our environment and therefore buy organic products. Others do not feel that this is relevant and are not influenced by this research and continue to buy inorganic products,
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.
Not only the future of the climate of our earth but also, the future of our generations would be determined by the amount of carbon we are planting in the atmosphere
Fertilizers remove the nutrients of the soil damaging the soil and the local environment and after being mixed with the soil, gradually reduce the fertility of the soil. In the study of (Southland) using fertilizers consists of substances and chemicals like methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and nitrogen, the emission of which has contributed to a great extent in the quantity of greenhouse gases present in the environment. These facts are alarming and a serious step needs to be taken as soon as possible to avoid more severe consequences. This in turn is leading to global warming and weather changes. The use of fertilizers for growth and cultivation is keeping our stomach filled for now, but then if things keep on progressing the way they are, it won’t take long to see the times where there is lack of food, water, and health.