This research paper analyzes whether organic good is better than non-organic food. The major findings are that organic food has less pesticides, better farming practices and lower antibiotic-resitant bacteria. Non-organic food has lower prices. The recommendations are to replace some if not most of the food that is ingested to organic and that organic food is better.
The food that we ingest into our bodies is very important as it plays such a great role in our health. Many people are including organic foods over non-organic food in their diets; as the assumption is that organic food is better for us. The choices of organic foods at the grocery store are overwhelming. Even though non-organic food costs less; organic food has better farming practices, less pesticides and fewer antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Individuals need to determine whether lower pesticides, better farming practices and fewer antibiotic resistant pesticides are justified by the extra cost.
Organic food costs more than non-organic. The price difference between organic and non-organic food is apparent at the grocery store. In order to show the price difference Colby college students gathered data on some popular grocery items. The data was collected compared 21 items at five different grocery stores in Waterville in 2011. For the most part organic foods were priced an average of 68% higher than non organic. The two items that had a price decrease were oatmeal and brown rice. Organic rice and organic oatmeal both cost $0.01 less per ounce. Having said that, the data collected by the students at Colby College clearly shows that organic food costs more than non-organic food for the most part.
Organic farmers have better farming practices.“The whole point of organic agriculture is soil. Farm in such a way that your soil stays healthy — rich in organic matter, nutrients and microbial activity — and you can grow crops without the synthetic fertilizers and pesticides used in conventional farming.” (Haspel 1) Although at this time it is unknown how the decrease in fertilizers is affecting our soil. The USDA has been working on testing organic vs non-organic farming in Bethesda Maryland and have found that organic systems have soil that is more fertile and uses less fertilizer and herbicide. Organic systems also use less energy and are more profitable for farmers. The USDA test always showed that organic systems locked away more carbon in the soil. The conventional or non-organic systems tested by the USDA have higher yields and when a no-till system is used is best at reducing erosion. (Haspel 1) It can be said that organic farming is the more responsible way of farming but that there isn’t enough evidence on what the pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers used in non-organic farming is affecting the soil in the long term.
Organic food has less pesticides than non-organic. The USDA labels organic food as “Food prepared and processed without using any chemicals. That is, organic production does not involve the use of chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides, or chemical preservatives,” (9 Amazing Benefits) Organic foods therefore contain less pesticides than non-organic food although organic foods also contain traces of pesticides. The long term effects of pesticides on our bodies are asthma, allergies, and hypersensitivity according to The World Health Organization (WHO). WHO also suggests that cancer is one of the effects linked to just mere exposure to pesticides. Children are the most at risk from pesticides due to their size; and due to the fact that their organs are still growing. In developing countries WHO estimates that there are a staggering 220,000 deaths from pesticides and 3 million cases of pesticide poisoning. Those numbers are tremendous. Pesticides affect us all in someway but it has the greatest impact on children and their still growing bodies. There are however some produce item that contain much higher does of pesticides known as “The Dirty Dozen”. The Environmental Working (EWG)group created this list so that shoppers are aware which produce items contain the highest levels of pesticides. Some of the items included in the Dirty Dozen include apples, strawberries, grapes and potatoes. There are however produce items that are deemed “clean” or that can be eaten without fear that there are many pesticide residues on them known as the “The Clean Fifteen”. The EWG explains that these produce items have thicker skin than the pesticides cannot penetrate. Some of the items included in The Clean Fifteen are avocados, pineapples, kiwis and cauliflower. The entire list of The Dirty Dozen and The Clean Fifteen can be seen on EWGs website. Much of the pesticide residues can be reduced by thoroughly washing organic and non-organic produce. Although it may be nearly impossible to remove all peptide residues on non-organic food since the residues can penetrate through thick skinned produce.
In addition to reduced pesticides; organic meats also contain significantly less anti-biotic resistant bacteria. The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring Systems Retail Meat Program completed a study between 2002 and 2008 and found that “the majority of meat samples were contaminated with resistant bacteria isolated on 84% of chicken samples, 82% of turkey samples, 69% of beef samples and 44% of pork samples. Furthermore, a large number of the E. coli isolates were resistant to more than one class of antibiotic.” (The Organic Center) Those numbers are eye opening to say the least. Antibiotics are being added to the feed that is given to chicken, pigs and cows. The amount of antimicrobials that are given to livestock is about is 80% of the supply made. That means that the other 20% is what is actually used for humans and other sources. The livestock is given antibiotics for different reasons like treating and preventing infections but also to make them grow larger and faster. The only way to reduce the antibiotic-resistant bacteria is to begin using antimicrobials in only livestock that truly have a medical reason and not just to make them grow bigger. The bacteria that the livestock carry can be transferred to workers at the livestock farms and the surrounding areas. In addition the bacteria carried by the livestock can be transferred to some humans after they ingest these meats. After ingesting meats with antibiotic-resistant bacteria some peoples bodies simply cannot combat illness because antibiotics wont work anymore. Not everyone is affected by the bacteria it is simply a matter of genetics and whether your body will be affected by it. In fact, “In the United States alone, two million people are infected annually with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and at least 23,000 people die each year as a direct result of those infections.” (The Organic Center) Organic meat has less antibiotic bacteria because of the way that its farmed. Organic livestock farming prohibits the use of antibiotics so antibiotic-resistant bacteria is reduced drastically.
So it is clear that although most organic foods cost more money, organic food has dramatically less pesticides than non-organic food. In fact, organic food has better farming practices, but most importantly organic foods have fewer antibiotic-resistant bacteria. I will probably not switch completely to organic but I will buy a mix of organic and non-organic. I will replace the Dirty Dozen with organic. I will also purchase organic chicken and pork rather than non-organic to reduce the likelihood of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. I believe that buying as much organic as possible will be better for my family; especially my kids.