Organic vs. Conventional Foods Essay

Every year, the average person in America consumes nearly a ton of food, and the majority of this consists of packaged and highly processed products. These foods also contain a substantial amount of unwanted fats and chemicals. The growing of organic versus nonorganic food has been a controversial issue for a long time among organic and nonorganic farmers and their customers. This is due to the myriad definitions of healthy eating and the stated benefits on both sides.

According to The Atlantic Magazine, organic means, “Organic means crops are grown without artificial pesticides, fertilizers, GMOs(genetically modified organisms), irradiation, or sewage sludge, and animals raised without hormones or antibiotics”(The Atlantic, Defining Organic: The Difference Between Sustainable and Local). The industrial organic food chain does not use harmful chemicals such as pesticides or herbicides. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan says, “Organic farming rules do not allow chemical weed killers, so Greenway has to use other methods to fight weeds”(Pollan 140). The fields are watered to get any weed seeds to grow before the plants are to be grown. Then, the farmers uses a tractor to plow the weeds. The farmers do this several times. Later, the farmers use propane torches to burn any remaining weeds. “The result of all this hard work is fields that look just as clean as if chemical weed killers had been used"(Pollan 140). When Michael Pollan says this, he is explaining that, because they plow the fields and do not use toxic chemicals, there are no harmful chemicals which can seep into the food and water supply and poison the consumers. Also, industrial organic farmers are changing. They are drifting away from the industrial way of only growing one or two crops per farm and are slowly starting to grow many crops per farm. “"The efforts of organic farmers to

On the contrary, many may argue that even though organic food at times possess such threats they do not come close to comparing to the threats possessed by chemically treated foods. Researchers such as Joanna Jurewicz, believe that children being exposed to pesticides at any time during foetal life will have some type of health effect. She addressed that each year “almost 50,000 children are poisoned annually by exposure to pesticides” (Jurewicz 71), while emphasizing that the most common health effects are on foetus and young children. She proposed that all acute exposures to pesticides cause “skin irritation, lesions in the respiratory tract, and severe toxic neurologic effects”, in long exposure she blames their constant motive to put everything in their mouth and their immature detoxification systems with how they are the easy target for pesticides and chemical

Organic farming practices have greatly advanced the use of non-chemical means to control pests, as mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, these non-chemical methods do not always provide enough protection, and it’s necessary to use chemical pesticides. Data is collected from the origin of the produce (i.e. farmers) and where it is sold (i.e. Walmart, Whole Foods, H.E.B., etc.). Researchers haven’t bothered to study the effects of organic pesticides because it is assumed that “natural” chemicals are automatically safe. However, researchers have done a quantitative study on how these pesticides and chemicals affect a person’s personal health. They chose eight different pesticides in relation to their chemical structures and physico-chemical properties (Barriuso, Andrades, Benoit, and Houot 122). Six pesticides were non-ionic in most environmental conditions and two were weak acid or base (Barriuso, Andrades, Benoit, and Houot 122). They also used two different compost, green waste and sewage sludge, to conduct fermentation on plants as well as the texture and type of soil (Barriuso, Andrades, Benoit, and Houot 123). Studying the affects of pesticides and chemicals will later provide us information on what we consume by eating organic

The environment is getting worse due to many reasons, one of being ‘off-farm input’, which is effecting and damaging the environment. ‘Off-farm input’ consists of fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides, which is used on agriculture to grow faster and larger. These ‘off-farm input’ is effecting and damaging the environment, through the chemicals in the pesticides and fertilizers, creating groundwater contamination. The ‘Environmental Protection Agency’ has stated that herbicides

If we go to a supermarket around the corner, we can see several organic food products displayed on the shelves. It is also observed that many consumers prefer buying organic groceries over conventional foods to stay healthy. Also, many a times we hear people consuming organic dietary supplements daily for overall wellbeing. Why do the majority of people favor organic foodstuffs? Are they really nutritious and healthier? We tried finding answers and clarified controversies about the organic foods through this article.

7A Organic agriculture is defined by the USDA as agriculture that uses methods that help preserve the environment and do not use synthesized chemicals like chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Farmers may use compost to improve soil fertility as an alternative to nitrogen and phosphorous based fertilizers. In organic agriculture, polycultures are often implemented, where multiple different crops are planted in one field. Crop rotation is also an essential part of organic farming, as it increases crop diversity and soil quality. Family farms better protect the environment when they switch to organic agriculture. Use of synthesized chemicals require more water, which can deplete water sources and even cause desertification, which increases soil

The organic farming method puts ecologically friendly techniques into practice by relying on biological pest management and composting. Organic food is grown without using synthetic chemicals, antibiotics, or hormones in both crop production and raising livestock. The purpose behind organic food production is to encourage and enhance the biological cycle within the farming system to maintain and increase long-term fertility of soils, minimize all forms of pollution, avoid the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, maintain genetic diversity of the production system, consider the wider social and environmental impact of the food production

Over the past few years, the food industry has seen a significant increase in the demand for organically grown foods over the alternative choice of conventionally grown food. In 1990, the revenue spent on organic foods was about $1 billion, in 2009 sales soared to $26.6 billion, and in 2014, sales reached the highest ever at $34.7 billion .The cause of the increase in demand can be attributed to the common belief that organic foods are healthier for human consumption, and healthier for our environment (USDA). There’s an overwhelming concern about how our food is produced, and how it impacts our environment and our economy.

Food is a necessary ingredient in the soup of survival. As society advances it becomes an increasingly simple process to acquire any type of food--regardless of its country of origin or whichever season it happens to be--as long as you can pay for it. As a result of such ease in selecting meals, you have the choice of eating whatever you want. The problem with this ability is that people do not always choose the food that is the healthiest for them or that is produced in the healthiest ways. Over the past few decades, it has become a general consensus that organic food is simply better than non-organic food, however not many people truly understand what "better" entails. Proper "healthy" food should taste good, provide a sufficient amount of nutrients, and should be grown in a manner that avoids harmful chemicals and other additives or supplements that alter the food itself. Organic food best met this criteria by tasting fresher, providing more than enough nutrients, and being grown in a manner that forgoes synthetic pesticides and other harmful additives which can lead to nausea, hormonal imbalances, and eventually even cancer. .

As stated by Organic Agriculture and Organic Food, “for centuries, farmers utilized such natural cultivation techniques like harvest rotation, hybridization, including the utilization of soil supplements, including fertilizer or manure. Farmers also had to rely on natural pest control methods as the foundation of useful bugs or bug- repellent plants,”(Organic Agriculture and Organic Food, par. 2). Keeping these precautions in mind, growers preserve various species from the hazardous results of pesticides.

In 1980, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) took an interest in organic farming, publishing a report titled Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming. As organic foods have been growing rapidly in the last 20 years there has been a lot of talking about whether or not organic foods are healthy. As people today have been eating a lot more of organic foods they are having arguments stating that organic food is not what they say on the labels. Although people think that organic food is not what the farmers say it is, it still helps people with their health and provides a healthier lifestyle. In order to maintain the apparent understanding of organic food buying behaviors of consumers, it can be helpful to examine the effect of

“Organic agriculture includes all agricultural systems that promote the environmentally, socially and economically sound production of foods and fibres. These systems take local soil fertility as a key to successful production. By respecting the natural capacity of plants, animals and the landscape, it aims to optimise quality in all aspects of agriculture and the environment. Organic agriculture dramatically reduces external inputs by refraining from the use of chemo-synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Instead it allows the powerful laws of nature to increase both agricultural yields and disease resistance. Organic agriculture adheres to globally accepted principles, which are implemented within local social-economic, geoclimatical and cultural settings.” (Logan, 2009) In simple terms organic farming is fresh foods that are grown without the use and means of

Organically grown foods are not new to the world, they have been around since Native Americans lived on the land. Most people do not buy organic goods because of the cost and fear that the foods have been contaminated with different types of disease insects carry. Some do not even know what organic foods are; organic foods are foods produced by organic farming. “while the standards differ worldwide, organic farming in general features cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster recycling of resources, promote ecological balance a conserve biodiversity” (Arnett, 1). The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates the organic food and make sure it is clean enough for human consumption. Different health organizations around the country try to encourage people to add organic to their diet. Conventional food chemicals are polluting the soil and finding their way into people’s water systems and slowly destroying their bodies. The destruction finds its way through the consumption of the food or the chemicals in the water. Despite the cost difference, organically grown foods are better than non-organic foods because they are healthier for human consumption, are more sustainable for the environment, and support the local food movement.

Inorganic is a word everyone associates with healthy food. It can be spotted on the labels in supermarkets and local grocery stores. The demand for organic food has even increased as more people associate it with being healthy and environmentally friendly. However, how “organic” is organic food? Is organic food worth the extra cost? Does organic food have that much more nutrients than conventional food? These are all questions that ponder many people's brains. Organic food receives mixed reviews. Some perceive it to be much more beneficial than conventional foods while others do not. However, organic food is worth the recognition it receives as it is high quality. The market for organic food is worth the extra dollars because it is very beneficial for human health, the environment, and animal production.