Should We Eat Organic Or Inorganic Food?

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.

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.

When considering differences between organic and conventional foods often the first thing people comment on is the nutritional value. Organic foods have grown in popularity due to the perception that they are better nutritionally. Barbara Hey (2009), health reporter and author of the article, “A Different Health Debate: Conventional versus Organic Food” and Smith-Spangier, Crystal, et al. (2012), emphasize that the benefits of organic foods and farming are important to society. That organic food can help protect what’s most valuable to people, their health. They suggest that eating a healthy diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants is a good investment in preventative care. Jeff Gillman (2008) agrees and states, “ …preventing disease is much more cost effective than treating disease. Organic foods can play a vital role in keeping people healthy” (139).

For example, in the 1990s, there was a food scare, called Alar. “Alar was a chemical conventional growers sprayed on apples to help them ripen. In 1990 the Environmental Protection Agency found that Alar could cause cancer” (Pollan, 2009, p. 117). Since the EPA found that Alar could cause cancer, the was a huge jump in the demand for organic foods. In the book, Omnivore's Dilemma, it states, “According to the book Omnivore's Dilemma, it states,¨In a shed attached to the mill sit vat of liquid vitamins. Beside them are fifty-pound sacks of antibiotic drugs¨ (p.55). Industrial farmers who raise cattle, use antibiotics and other medications to make their cows grow faster and fatter. In conclusion, industrial organic is better for your family because there aren’t harmful chemicals like Alar, being used to produce your crops. Also, the farmers don't feed the animals medications and drugs to make them grow fat. They use organic feds which are better for the animals and resulting in a better tasting

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

With the sales of organic foods rapidly increasing in recent years, jumping from $1 billion to $21 billion in just eighteen years, it is important for consumers to be well-informed when choosing either organic or inorganic (Bradbury et al, 2014). These products, with labels boasting claims such as no artificial fertilizers or pesticides and the use of ecologically friendly farming techniques, have become somewhat of a trend since their arrival in the early to mid twentieth century. As the public becomes increasingly cautious of what they eat, concern has been growing regarding the adverse health effects of ingestion of pesticides and artificial fertilizers in food products. It is not surprising, therefore, that perceived health

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.

Organic farming began in the late 1940’s in the United States, and in recent years it has seen a dramatic increase in popularity (Rubin 1). The sales of organic food have been increasing by about 20 percent a year over the past decade (Marcus 1). That is over ten times the rate of their conventional counterparts (Harris 1). There are 10 million consumers of organic food in the United States, yet organic food represents only one percent of the nation’s food supply. This year organic food sales are expected to rise to six billion dollars (Rubin 1). So what is organic food? Organic food is that which are grown without hormones, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers. Also, the soil in which organic food

Commentary 1: high prices of organic food are an obstacle for the improvement of people’s health.

After watching the movie, Food Inc, my beliefs have only strengthened regarding the importance of having a healthy food system. Throughout the film, acts such as retaining animals in bleak living domains, food engineering, and forcing feeding animals are constant. As a result of these operations, the food we consume from factory farms becomes contaminated, putting ourselves at risk of disease. However, there are countless ways to steer ourselves away from this hazard. The simplest way to start off is locally, right here in Boulder, by requesting/buying organic foods at the grocery stores or local farms. Having such system matters because It stresses and reinforces the ideal of trust between consumer and manufacturer. Thereby making a system

In this brief article, Natural Resource Defense Council gives details of some of the harmful results of non-natural farming routines. They furnished me with information on the benefits of organic food, like exactly how beneficial it is for our body it is not the only thing that may be out of the lack of pesticides or fertilizer pollution. Our community is furthermore effected by using all those chemical substances from farmlands. Those chemicals aren't only centralized to the farms that make use of them, though instead they wash right into rivers and also makes it way to the ocean destroying the habitat. I became very stunned to find out that many of our health problems today were connected to those chemicals utilized to protect our products

The clear conclusions drawn from numerous studies targeting organic food are that organic food does not equal safe food, does not have clear nutritional advantage and does not have reduced level of naturally occurring toxins over conventional plants or livestock (80, 81). Fertilization enriches soils and provides nutrients in food, regardless of it being organic or chemical fertilizer. Risk of exposure to microbial contamination is not lower in organic food (82). Level of naturally occurring toxins such as aflatoxins in peanuts and grains, solanine in green parts of potatoes, goitrogens in some raw vegetables, and other poisons in mushrooms and herbs is not affected by the method of growing (81). Pesticides usages are monitored and will not pose harm to health when applied in regulated manner. However, the amount of pesticides residue is usually lower in organic food (82). One observational study and one systematic review found no protective value of organic food over eczema or atopy diseases (83, 84). Hence the claims being made over benefits of organic food can be concluded as misleading at best, and there is a pressing need for proper public education on this issue

A healthy diet leading to a longer life. Doctors recommend organic foods for patients with heart or glucose problems and nutritional scientists have glorified it as the new fountain of youth. However, the truth is coming to light that these claims might be false, that organic foods might be causing people more harm than one may think. In his essay “What Are You Buying When You Buy Organic?” Author Steven Shapin states that “Earthbound notes that its farming techniques annually obviate the use of more than a quarter of a million pounds of toxic chemical pesticides and almost 8.5 million pounds of synthetic fertilizers, which saves 1.4 million gallons of the

In the world we live in today the population has increased to more than seven billion people with a life expectancy of seventy years old. As the years continue to progress this number is expected to double within twenty five to thirty years as it raises daily. Over the years, the agricultural field has changed dramatically. Most farmers and businesses who are specialize in food production utilize pesticides and hormones to mass produce the food we eat. While these processed are great for business, it is harmful for the human body. It is for this reason that people must be conscious about what they consume. As the inhabitants in America increase, the population of organic food decreases. Both, people and animals, had

This raises a marketing problem, though, because it has been simpler to make the environmental argument for organic nourishment than the health argument. The environmental advantages of the organic academic procedure should not be undervalued, but the industrialization of organic comes at a cost. The most clear cost is consolidation. To a certain extent as a consequence, the cost incentive for organic harvests is getting smaller. Pesticide reminders are ubiquitous in the American food stock. The Food and Drug Administration locates them in about 35 percent of the food it