Eating Organic Food Vs Organic Food

In David Freedman’s article, “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” (2013), he begins by discussing his endeavors to search for wholesome food. He continues to come across food items that claim to be healthy and void of processed junk, but all he finds are items high in calories or the expense is too much for an average American. He argues that wholesome foods are actually just as bad, if not even worse, than junk food and that the Big Food industry has the technology available to make food healthier, but still retain its appeal. Freedman mentions continuously throughout his article that Americans who are most at risk of becoming obese are those who cannot afford healthy foods, completely defeating the purpose of the wholefoods movement. He

I remember as a child my mother always took my brother and I to the local candy store and bought us all the sugar free candy, and when we asked why she would say there is always something healthy among the unhealthy. “They taste just as good but are not half as bad” she always said . This transition can also be made a reality by an individual actually choosing to go into a local deli or farmers market and purchasing healthy ingredients, to make a health home cooked meal and packing for lunch.

In order for farmers to label their products as USDA Organic they must adhere to the strict standards outlined in the organic certification program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The article, “Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious?” explains that these standards include how food is “grown, handled and processed”. Rather then using pesticides, organic farmers use methods such as beneficial insects and microorganisms and special disease resistant crop selection to protect their crops. They may use crop rotation and mulch to manage weeds. They do not use or include food additives, fortifying agents or preservatives in their products.

In ‘What Are You Buying When You Buy Organic Food,’ by Steven Shapin, Steven talks about organic food and what organic food means. Steven states that Earthbound farm, a business in organic food, uses toxic chemical pesticide, synthetic fertilizer, and tractors to farm their products. But is it still organic after all the chemical treatment? Steven also says that organic food cost more and has better tasting. If you don’t want chemical in your food then spend more on organic food. Lastly, Steven had another meaning that knowing the person who farmed the products and are local farmers then that makes food organic. Therefore; I believe that organic foods are from professional business in farms.

Traits of organic food can also be misconstrued in the sense of the ingredients and how it is different from the way processed food is produced. “In reality, certified organics have lower levels of chemical residue, Roethal argues, which is positive for consumers, farm workers and the land itself, but organic growing practices have no impact on how many nutrients, calories or grams of fat are in anyone's favorite foods”(SFGate). As mentioned previously in the quote, often times organic food can benefits one’s health because of the little amount in which chemicals and calories are in the substance. The concern about organic food is that it is substantially more expensive than non-organic food. However,“Organic food sales are increasing by double digits annually, and more than 80 percent of parents reported buying organic food for their families last year”, according to Batch. With the high-price of organic food, this could also be a reason on why people tend to lean more towards the less healthier items, all because of the low cost. Even though there are different and confusing standards on what organic really is, the ideal description would typically be foods that do not have the same producing process as non-organic food.

However, according to Dr. Ruth MacDonald (2014), former USDA Undersecretary and Professor and Chair of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University, and author of “Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) Explained,” there is very little evidence showing major differences in the nutritional value of organic and conventional foods. According to Dr. MacDonald, both are good sources of

Many people in America believe that we should eat healthier foods. However, a large portion of the advertising created for food in America is focused on unhealthy foods and products, many of which are nutritionally poor and easily accessible to much of the population. This results in a contradictory ideal towards improvement of health, where individuals will constantly eat unhealthy foods and struggle to lose the weight that they will knowingly gain. If people in the modern American society were to focus more on consuming organic foods and products, people would be healthier, reducing high medical costs and improving the overall well-being of Americans. The benefits of organic foods should also be introduced to children in schools so they

Organic foods are those which are grown without hormones, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers. Organic farming does have its advantages. It conserves water and soil resources, recycles animal waste, releases fewer chemicals, improves soil fertility, promotes diversity of crops, and protects farm workers, livestock, and wildlife from potentially harmful pesticides (AG). Are organic foods safer than conventional foods though? After all, they do claim to be better for consumers, which is a tactic to be avoided (Pollan). Not only can organic foods be contaminated with bacteria and synthetic pesticides, they are also more expensive than

There are a myriad of books, articles, television shows, movies, and websites doing their utmost to inform us of how we should eat better and to stop eating foods that are known to be bad for our bodies. An article by Michael Jacobson, published on the website for U.S. News & World Report, was just such an article. In his piece “Politics: It’s What For Dinner”, Jacobson points out that we should eat healthier items, such as, fruit, vegetables, and cut back on eating fast food, processed foods, and drinks heavy with sugar. Most parents would probably want to be able to feed their families with healthier choices, if it did not cost an arm and a leg to buy healthier foods. Of course, this is easy to do for those that can afford to eat whole foods, non-processed grains, and organic vegetables. I shop frequently and usually search for fresh, healthy foods, but the costs take a huge chunk from my budget. Healthy foods are much easier to access these days, as compared to just a decade ago. I know the benefits of eating healthier foods outweigh what ill affects the chemicals and needless additives can and will do to my body. Most American’s probably know that foregoing fast foods and opting for healthier foods is a much better plan for our bodies and will increase our longevity, but it is much cheaper to buy the junk food and it is usually tastier. Also, for families that are on the go, running to and fro with appointments and school outings, fast foods are convenient and

With the world’s population continuing to increase, the demand for food is higher than ever. This increase in food demand also calls for more efficient ways of growing and providing the food. Two methods that are very controversial are the organic and conventional method. While many people support the organic method because of its known benefits, others feel that it is an over inflated industry that cheats consumers out of their money. But recently many studies have disproved those critics. These studies prove that Organic food is a better choice than conventional because it is better for the environment, avoids the use of chemicals, and is generally more beneficial.

Healthy food should be accessible to everyone. If healthy food isn’t available for everyone all it’s going to do is cause more and more health problems. If we made healthy organic food the same price as cheap unhealthy food there would be a big difference in the health of our country. It’s completely unfair to make healthy food too expensive for other people to buy, which causes them to buy cheap unhealthy food, like off a dollar menu at a fast food restaurant. This issue needs to be put to an end.

The argument of whether or not people should eat GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) or organic foods has been a debate for a long time. Organic food benefits health far more than genetically modified food that contains pesticides and animals that are raised on antibiotics growth hormones. Non-GMO foods are also safer for the environment in many ways: it conserves water, reduces soil erosion, increases soil fertility, reduces pollution, uses less energy, and does not affect the animals that live close to farms or graze on the farm like birds and chickens (Robinson). Yet GMO’s are beneficial society as food is produced in abundance and due to herbicides plant epidemics are not as common as they use to be. There are both positives and negatives to both sides of the argument, but there is common ground to be reached and identified.

Wouldn’t it be reasonable to consider that people just might eat healthier if they simply had the money to do so? It would be interesting to consider that the people who usually have bad eating habits, are the ones who actually can’t afford to eat healthy. America has the highest obesity rate in the world, but who knows where we could be if the healthy food was more affordable and the junk food wasn’t reasonably cheap. Illnesses and diseases have become common too in people, many that come from just unhealthy eating that has taken a negative toll on the body. Not to mention, people living in low-income areas where in those areas, the main thing around them are fast food restaurants. The promotion of healthier eating and a healthier lifestyle, though, isn’t completely hidden from the public, though more ads about tasty junk food are on televisions, billboards, and so on, more than food that will benefit your body and general health. These things are all played into the fact that people already have a terrible diet, and the prices of foods that can make someone’s diet healthier are too high for most to even include them in their diet regularly. Healthier foods should cost less because it can help lower the high obesity rate in America, it will promote a healthier lifestyle to people to do things like exercise more, and it can help prevent life-threatening illnesses caused by unhealthy eating.

Organic versus non-organic foods are always being debated to whether they are worth the extra cost. This seems to be an easy question, at first, but begs a more in-depth analysis to come to a conclusion. Organic definitions can vary by government, company and even individuals. Many people have their own ideas of what organic means. My personal definition, before this research assignment, was that organic products were grown with no pesticides, chemical additives, or preservatives and grown in a humane way. Meaning that if it said 100% organic, that is what was meant. This however, is not the case when it comes to the government’s definition of organic, according to T. A. Niewold who wrote, “Organic More Healthy; Green Shoots in a

Organic produce derives from farming involving growth without using any type of genetically modified organisms, synthetic fertilizers, sewage, and pesticides. When meat products are organically refined the animals the meat comes from do not receive any antibiotics or hormones that manipulate growth increase.