How Organic Food Is Healthier For You

Is organic food better than regular food? This is a topic that is debated, mainly focusing on if organic is better for the environment, the economy, and for people's health. There is research that has been done and arguments made for both for and against organic food. While there are some benefits to eating organically, I would choose regular food over organic food.

An arising food category in America is anything organic. Over the years, several local grocery stores organic section is rapidly increasing. Michael Pollan, who wrote Omnivore's Dilemma, is a New York Times bestselling author. Pollan stated, “Forty years ago there was no such category as ‘organic’ food. Today it is a $20-billion business- the fastest growing part of the food industry.” (112) With organic farming becoming more common, there are many changes being made that are resulting in significant outcomes. One of the substantial changes while using organic farming is the improved treatment and health of animals. Further knowledge and awareness of the importance on how organic farming is better for the lives of animals, as well as our health is needed. Gaining more education on animals lives with organic farming, will potentially lead organic food becoming the most popular because of its remarkable outcomes.

Part 3 Pros – Organic foods is good for nature. According to big oven.com, organic farms produce less waste and use less energy compared to inorganic farms. Synthetic pesticides that are used in conventional food can harm local wildlife. Organic farms make sure that their animals are fed a natural diet and kept in “free- range conditions”.

As mentioned in my example synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are prohibited in organic farming and these two things are harmful to the water. Pollution of ground water occurs because of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Organic farming also helps with air and climate change. With organic farming agrochemical needs are decreased and nonrenewable energy is reduced. This reduces the toxic load which helps keep harmful chemicals out of the air, water, soil and most importantly from our bodies. Organic farming also promotes biodiversity which is another reason in it beneficial to the environment. Organic farming is overall beneficial to our environment in many ways and helps keep not only the environment safe, but also our

Organic food is healthier for both the environment and the bodies of people and animals that surround farming sites. The process of organic farming helps the earth in many ways:

In our world today many people want to know what is going into their body. Many individuals will choose organic food over conventional food because of the way it is produced. The only issue with organic food, in the United States, is that it does not have enough organic farmers to produce the same volume that conventional farmers do. If farmers transform to organic farming, this can stabilize the need for organic food in the United States; doing this can aid the business of local and whole food shops.

Although people know that the word organic means the “best of the bests” they still argue that organically labeled food is “just a label.” As Nancy Sprague (2013), a registered nurse and certified finance and coding specialist puts it, “organic poultry products routinely carry the same bacteria as GMO chickens” and “toxins accumulate in fish skins regardless of whether or not fish are raised organically.” In addition, she also claims that the “organic” label is false advertisement in order for companies to sell more products at a higher price and organic food are

Organic farming is becoming an increasingly popular market throughout the world. (Adam, 2004, p. 666). The aims of organic farming are, to decrease pollution, maintain soil fertility and biodiversity, be more sustainable, and have increased nutritional benefits than conventionally grown foods (Yaping et. al., 2003, p. 298). While the aim of conventional farming is to provide safe, proficient supplies of food, in abundance and at low prices (Trewavas, 2001, p.409). Since 1996, the amount of land in the UK dedicated to organic farming has risen tenfold (Adam, 2004, p. 666). As well, from 1992 to 1997, the amount of certified organic cropland in the US more than doubled (Tafel et al, 2007, p.182 ). The main difference between organic and

Nowadays children in the U.S. rely too much on fast food and conventional foods which contribute to higher rates of childhood obesity and related health issues. Whether organic food is healthier than non-organic food, has long been a subject for debate. In the TED talk, “what’s wrong with our food system,” the speaker, Birke Baehr is successful in persuading the audience to make healthy food choices, by using emotional, logical and ethical appeals. However, the TED talk could have been more appealing if Baehr added counter arguments, details, facts and statistics regarding the increasing rate of diseases caused by industrialized food.

Many people are suddenly having an increase in interest in living healthy lifestyles and eating high quality food. This has caused organic food sales to increase and stores like Wal-Mart and Winn Dixie to start selling organic foods. Additionally, there has been an increase in stores opening like Whole Foods, who devote their entire store to selling not only organic foods, but other organic options such as: vitamins, soaps, and clothing. The growth of sales for organic food has increased because organic food is produced under certain farming conditions that follow the guidelines set by the EC Regulation. This means produce are grown without using pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or anything that could potentially be harmful to the consumer’s body, which makes people think the food has higher quality. The term organic can be misleading because not all organic food sold on the market is certified organic; meaning consumers think they are buying organic food, but possibly are paying more and getting a product that is not approved to be organic. Many people believe that eating organic food is better for your overall health and by eating organic you will receive more vitamins and nutrients. When I asking a lady in her mid thirty’s at Whole Foods why she shops organically, her response was “I read in a magazine that organic food will help me lose weight so I figured I would give it a try.” Unfortunately,

Organic farming might be new to many people but it has been around since the late 1940s. A lot has changed since then but the main idea for organic farming has stayed the same. The growth of organic farming has led this phenomena into becoming its own industry. Unfortunately, during this time period there were no regulation and certifications that organic farmers needed to follw. In the 1980s, this began to change; “a consensus of production and certification standards” had been requested by the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA).2 Finally, by the end of 2000, National Organic Production (NOP) standards were issued. NOP regulations “prohibits the use of genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, and sewage sludge.”2 Also with NOP guidelines must be followed and they include ways of production, processing, handling, materials

Have you ever felt horrible after eating something processed or something you know is bad for your body? There is a great explanation for that. It’s because in these processed foods, there are Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that are very unhealthy for your body. GMOs are in most everything we eat today that can be bought at the local grocery store. Animals like cows are fed corn when they are supposed to be fed only grass. This causes the cows to be unhealthy; therefore, the meat is unhealthy. Most produce is the same way. Take tomatoes for example, if they are grown on a farm they are juicy and have a great taste. But if they are genetically grown, they have tough skin and hardly no taste (Jenkins). On the other hand, there are diets that exclude all of these things and hinted to eat only organic fruits, veggies, and meats. Over in Greece and Italy they have an amazing diet called the Mediterranean diet. Eating clean/organic foods is healthier for our bodies rather than eating non-organic foods shown throughout the different diets of the world. Therefore, we should follow the diets of Italy and Greece to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

According to the USDA, organic foods consist of foods and products that are grown without the use of sewage sludge, harmful pesticides, and fertilizers made from synthetic ingredients. These standards and guidelines were implemented with the overall objective of improving the quality of the food supply while also preserving the environment. The Organic Foods Act (OFPA) “authorized a new USDA National Organic Program (NOP) to set national standards for the production, handling, and processing of organically grown agricultural products. In addition, the Program oversees mandatory certification of organic production.” (Gold “Organic Production/Organic Food:”) When these standards are upheld, consumers are given the opportunity to educate themselves on the contents found in their food, which

There are some things that are bad about organic farming. Three-quarters of what American farmers produce actually goes to feeding our animals, making ethanol, and not the hungry (Morello). Organic farming could produce 40% more food if used in other countries. Organic Farming will produce higher yields such as rice, corn, and wheat. It actually does better than modern agriculture techniques. In countries such as India, Brazil, Kenya, and Guatemala have doubled, almost tripled their yield by using organic farming, mostly because those countries can’t afford or access fertilizer (Morello). Like it was said that some countries can’t afford the fertilizer and pesticides. If agriculture was switched to organic it would be cheaper which could give an economic advantage.

Ever since the Agricultural Revolution, farming has always been organic. As the human population grew, conventional farming, farming with non-organic methods (using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides), became prevalent to satisfy the population’s demand for food. Recently, organic farming has attracted consumers for its health, environmental, and agricultural benefits versus conventional farming, however, there is a debate whether organic farming can produce enough food to satisfy the current population of 7 billion people and future populations on Earth. Ed Hamer and Mark Anslow argue in “10 Reasons Why Organic Can Feed the World” that organic farming can produce enough food to satisfy today’s population, while D.J. Connor argues otherwise in “Organic Agriculture Cannot Feed the World”. Even though organic farming has plenty advantages over conventional farming, we should stick to improving conventional farming because the projections for organic farming that Hamer and Anslow use are misleading.