Persuasive Essay On Organic Food

Over the last few years, awareness of organic food has risen. Due to this, the demand for organic food is a factor which is influencing the farmers to switch to use this technique, and it is being sold in specialty stores and conventional supermarkets. Organic products contain numerous marketing claims that it is healthier, it offers more value, and the farming is more environmentally friendly than traditional foods, so, how does one determine if organic is the way to go? Some argue that there is evidence that supports and demonstrates why organic foods and farming are better overall, while others insist that conventional foods and agriculture can offer the same benefits as going organic. There is no right or wrong answer. Within this

From the now popular recyclable cloth grocery bags, to the organic garden at the White House, food, and the food industry is changing. The popularity of organic and whole foods is on the rise. Processed foods are increasingly advertising that they are additive and preservative free, and all sorts of products now offer a “gluten-free” variety. The popularity of what is now being called the sustainable food movement, leads many to wonder why are some people willing to pay more, sometimes double, for organic produce, meat, eggs, and milk. Will this prove to be just another trendy American fad, or are there real health benefits from eating organic and whole foods? While the organic market only represents approximately 3% of the total food

Sales of organic food have risen steadily over the past couple of years, reaching nearly $30 billion in 2011, or 4.2% of all U.S. food and beverage sales, (Adams). Many people believe that organic foods are ultimately the better choice when it comes to health due to the absence of pesticides and hormones. But other people—especially those whose food budgets may be more defined—wonder if organic food is really worth the inflated price tag. Despite the price, Organic foods are worth producing and consuming rather than conventional foods due to the immense benefits they provide.

A growing number of consumers favor organic foods, claiming that it tastes better and is healthier. Why organic? Organic foods grown naturally in well-balanced soils, ripened by the sun are healthier and tastier than products with synthetic chemicals and growth hormones.

But as consumers are only willing to pay the extra money for organic food mainly for any health benefits they associate with organic foods, such health benefits should be significant enough to warrant this inflated price. Studies demonstrate that the advantages of organic food are relatively small and even some disadvantages were found. Although correlations were found between a few health benefits and eating organically (reduced risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in subjects who eat organic foods more and mitigation of allergic dermatitis from consuming organic dairy products), these correlations were the only ones found amongst hundreds

As an alternative to the industrial food chain which is now prevail in the US, the organic food chain emphasis that “nature rather than the machine should supply the proper model for agriculture” (Pollan 131). The idea of “organic” is best demonstrated by farms that raise diversified species in a traditional way and target at the local market. However, most of the “organic food” people consume today is produced from the “industrial organic” farms which belong to the industrial food chain instead of the ideal organic food

As a part of the American Marketing Service (AMS), the NOP was founded in 1939 and strives to develop “national standards for organically-produced agricultural products” (“National”). Their mission is to ensure goods with an organic seal are controlled and distributed as uniformly as possible, and they take every complaint with a heavy hand to keep irregularities to a minimum. In 1990, the USDA was instructed to “establish uniform national standards for organic food and farming, fixing the definition of a word that had always meant different things to different people” (Pollan 154). Since then the term organic has been manipulated and distorted by large companies in order to push their products to as big a market as possible, leaving consumers dazed and confused about the actual standards of the foods they were purchasing. Often times, the true meaning of the extravagant or misleading words on the packaging is hard to translate for the average consumer-organic being no different. The seal that dawns certified organic products provides no insight into the qualifications needed in order to receive that stamp nor is the USDA very forthcoming about the actual meaning of the word organic. Any retailer can slap an “organic” label on their product so long as “at least 95% of the farm-grown ingredients are organic and you sell direct to customers in

Organic farming began just as the effects of the Great Depression waned in the United States, and has seen a dramatic increase in popularity most recently (AG). The sales of organic food increased by about twenty percent a year throughout the nineteen nineties (Marcus). That is over ten times the rate of increase that conventional food experienced during the same period of time (Harris). As recently as twenty eleven, about seventy-eight percent of American families admitted to routinely purchasing organic food (Organic). Organic food sales jumped from three point five million in nineteen ninety-seven, to thirty-one million in twenty eleven (Organic). However, while organic food may seem better than conventional food, numerous studies have shown that it is not distinguishably more healthful, nutritious, palatable, or safe.

Long time ago, the idea of organic food was something ridiculous, nobody cared. But after proved the nutritional benefits and better taste of organic food, many farmers become interest in grown organic food. The article Beyond Organic by Eliot Coleman said that “Now that the food-buying public has become enthusiastic about organically grown foods, the food industry wants to take over.”

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.

First off, organic foods are defined as being grown without the use of pesticides, fertilizers or heavy metals, which are thought to influence the interaction of bioactive chemicals and metabolites present during the growth process (Bernacchia, Preti, & Vinci 2016). Consequently, produce that is grown under normal, unaltered conditions is assumed to cultivate additional substances that benefit our health as compared to inorganic produce (Bernacchia et al.,

Barlow, B., Hemminger, L., and Schlegel, B. (2006). Is Organic Food Worth the Extra Cost? Retrieved from Environmental Health Perspectives website: http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2006/114-2/ss.html

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

Organic, all natural, and genetically modified are phrases you find every day in your local grocery store. The most common misconception concerning GMO’s, is that they are harmful to humans. There are lots of benefits to GMO’s that most of the anti-GMO activists don’t know about because they don’t know what they really are. While the greatest feature for stores is to have their very own marketing gimmick, the gimmick being their products are non-genetically modified. There are lots of genetically modified organisms that humans have been consuming for many years without even realizing it.

The department of the United States government that is responsible for programming anything related to food, agriculture and nutrition (USDA) defines organic as “food produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations.