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.
All over the world people are making the switch to organic because it is a better choice for one’s health. Some people may not even know what organic grown food is. Organic is a substance that is grown and not treated with any chemicals, just as mother nature intended. In the 1900’s every kind of food was organic, but it was not called organic food; it was just called food. There was a rise of the chemical industries. They mainly focused on plant and animal growth, not thinking that the chemicals could cause problems to people’s health. Organics count for a minority of the foods grown. Many citizens of the early 1920’s thought of the organic movement as a “renaissance” when farmers used all natural methods for the crops. During WWII, research was done on chemicals, which was originally designed as a nerve gas they had the capability of being used as a pesticide for crops. In 2008, less than 1% of the agriculture and pastoral land in the U.S.A was certified organic (What is organic food?), The USDA regulates the food and it has to meet a certain standard to be sold to the public. At first organic food was about the same price as every other food, but companies saw how people enjoyed eating healthy; as a result, the companies bumped up the prices thinking people will pay more money for healthier substances for their bodies. In the year 1929 Paul Miller introduced the first pesticide called DDT, which led to the dismissal of farming methods. When the industries started using pesticides on the foods to keep the insects off, they started to see what chemicals can do to people. The pesticide includes powerful chemicals like organophosphorus. This is an unnatural compound that should not be consumed by humans because it is found to cause autism and ADHD. People turned to organic because they knew organic foods are not being treated with pesticides. In the early 2000’s the organic food movement slowly became more or a big deal because people were sick of all the health hazards having to do with the foods that were being sold at grocery stores. The government and USDSA make sure that these foods are safe for human consumption. Even though many people say that organic foods are more nutritional, there will be people who disagree. Since the foods aren’t getting the chemicals and preservations they are getting spoiled sooner. There is a lot of research explaining that there is no difference when it comes to nutrients between organic and conventional. Without pesticides, the foods can become contaminated with insects and different diseases that are carried by the bugs. The USDA would not still be in business if the conventional foods that they were regulating were killing people. They check the foods to make sure that they are okay for human consumption before sticking them on a shelf in a grocery store.
Organically grown foods are better than non- organic foods because they are healthier for human consumptions. According to the Monterey Bay Holistic Alliance, Organic foods provide a variety of health benefits. Studies have shown that organic foods have more nutrients, such as antioxidants, than conventional counter parts.
Organic foods are GMO and pesticide free, no poisons or growth hormone would be absorbed if one chooses to eat organic. GMO’s are known to increase body weight and can even be used as a vermin killer because it causes organ failure to the rodents. Inside of a conventinakky grown apple is different chemicals to keep the isnects off and to increase the growth and time it takes to grow; inside an organic apple is nothing but what mother nature intended. According tot Dr. Edward F. Group,
Pesticide production can be dangerous, too. One disaster at a pesticide manufacturing plant was in Bhopal, India. The pant accidentally released forty tons of an intermediate gas, nearly 3,000 people were killed immediately, overall 15,000 deaths occurred. Today nearly 100,000 people suffer from mild to server permanent damage as a result of the disaster.
Many people think that eating organically will make them lose weight, people still have to maintain a healthy diet and exercise. According to Tandis Bishop, a professor of Hawaii at Manoa, “Organic plant based foods contain higher levels of eleven nutrients studied, including significantly greater concentrations of the health promoting polyphenols and antioxidants” (Bishop, Tandis). Organically grown plant base foods are on an average twenty-five percent more nutrient dense. Not just fruits and vegetables can be organic, meat is another food that is grown either organically or conventionally. Meat from animals that are free ranged are better for one’s health, rather beef that was raised in a factory. For example, beef that was fed grass is higher in good cholesterol, Vitamin A and E and lower in fat. The topic that organic foods are healthier for human consumption ties into the local food movement. The conventional foods might take time to travel different places on a truck, while people can get their food fresh at their local market down the road. Many people will not be consuming organic foods simply because it costs more than buying non- organic. Organic foods are shown to have a slightly higher level of omega-3 and phosphorus, so people ignore all that and pick up the cheaper foods. Organic Farming is more time and labor, and the process of certifying that something is organic is highly expensive and difficult. There is less demand for organic in the super markets because of how high the cost is. What is the point of spending more money or organic when a person can buy a cheaper food for the same type of product? Buying organic food is not always easy because it has to be in season, while the regular food at the market will always be there to buy. Has anyone heard of dying from eating some food that was bought from the market.
Nature has provided people with healthy foods that do not only provide better nutrients, but cleanse the body of any harmful substances. The foods that are found at the local grocery store such as peppers and apples, have been sprayed with pesticides ot may have been grown with GMO’S to make the growth time quicker. GMO’s are not natural and what they do to the body is the reason why some people eat organically. Genetically modified foods take time to leave the human body and it is said that GMO’ stay in the body and can outlast the effects of global warming. Conventionally grown foods do not just harm humans, but the environment as well. GM crops and their associated herbicides can harm birds, insects, marine ecosystems and the solid. When the soil is polluted it can leak into the water and find its wat to people’s water systems. The institute of Responsible Technology states, “between 1996 and 2008, US farmers sprayed an extra 383 million pounds of pesticides on GMO’s. Overuse of Roundup results in “super weeds,” resistant to the herbicide. This is causing farmers to use even more toxic herbicides every year” (10 Reasons to Avoid GMO’s). Pesticides is a whole different story because they are designed to only to kill pets, human are not supposed to consume them. The world Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are three million cases of pesticide poisonings each year and up to 220,000 deaths. Pesticide exposure can cause neurologic effects like memory loss and loss of coordination. The reason why people are not dying by eating a certain crop that was sprayed with pesticides because factories only use a certain dose of the poison. But if one eats anything sprayed with pesticides all their life, they will see some result. Children on the other hand are at a greater risk because of their smaller size and how their brains, organs and body is not yet fully developed. In some cases, the children are even exposed to these harmful chemicals when they are still inside of the mother’s womb, because their mother is consuming conventional foods that have been sprayed with chemicals. Not only do conventional foods harm people, but they damage the environment at the same time.
Organically grown foods are not only good for people, but good for the environment as well. The conventional farming methods that factories use to destroy the solid and pollute water. The chemicals also tie into the damage and pollution; pesticides seep into the ground and can find themselves inside t hater systems that link to people’s homes. When growing organic foods, there is not too much worry when it comes to the amount of equipment and water. Jean- Paul LaCount explains, “According to the same study, organic farming practices use 30% less energy, less water and obviously no pesticides. Think of all the energy that goes into the production and transportation of the pesticides and fertilizers. Getting rid of pesticides is not only goods for the body, its good for the environment as well” (LaCount, Jean-Paul). Organic farming reduces ground water pollution by foregoing pesticides. There was a study when there is no GMO’s or pesticides use that 18% more of corn was grown. According to the Rodale Institute, each acre of farmland can remove around 7,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year (Effects of Pesticides). Which we can get rid of over 200 million cars’ because they are not good for the environment either. While mankind is trying to rush and improve crops, they have opened Pandora’s box by messing around with Mother Nature. Organic is a really good choice to make, but does it really help the environment? The amount of CO2 from the trucks that are carrying the organic foods is making up for what the conventional products are doing to the environment, studies show that conventional foods travel less than organic. The study found that environmental toll of the greenhouse gas emitted to transport a little over twenty tones or organic foods to the local grocery store. Between total costs and the much higher price paid in the grocery store for organic products indicates the retailers could cover the environmental costs without passing those costs onto the consumer.
Buying organic grown foods will support the local food movement, which is the farms that produce these foods. The local food movement includes the ideals and goals of the organic and sustainable food movements. Many people ask, “what is the Local Food Movement”? River Lin explains what exactly it is, “So what’s all the hype about anyway? To be blunt, its complicated. Multi-faceted and overlapping supply and demand with economics, politics, environmental, social and health issues, the Local Food Movement is not as simple as it sounds” (Lin, River). Locally grown food is good for people’s health because it is not infested with all the GMO’s and pesticides. Sustainable agriculture includes food grown without hurting the environment and with respects for the workers and animals. Many people join the local food movement because they think it implies both safe practices and sustainable food, which it does. The movement started in the 1970’s as a reaction to the shift in the federal farm policy. Many farmers filed for bankruptcy during this time because President Nixon cut prices down, shifted federal dollars around and only supported few farms. The farmers can only work in certain places as Leslie a Duram states, “Sustainable farmers must function in harmony with specific natural ecosystem and commutates in which they are located and thus are inherited ently site- specific and individual characteristics” (Duram, Lesile). The local food movement was not some big thing that everyone knew about, it worked its way up to be a popular topic. One of the many reasons why people do not buy local foods is the cost. The cost of having local foods grown and shipped to the grocery store is actually more expensive than obtaining the food internationally. Labor in Hawaii is more expensive than labor in Costa Rica because the workers do not mind how much they make. Certain diseases like mad cow disease and E. Coli have cause people to question the production of food and what they consume. These factors have brought the local food movement into mainstream society. The local food movement pushes people to buy more locally grown foods to ensure better health and support the farms.
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. A good way to help the environment would be choosing organic because the pesticides will not destroy the soil, water and even living animals. If one wants to know what they are consuming, eat organic because everything about the food is straight from nature. People all over the world are switching to organic for the greater taste and benefits that the food provides mentally and physically. Organic is becoming a bigger deal today because many people are seeing what organic has to offer. People do not pay attention to what is in their food, they usually go by their budget. Does on think that it is okay to eat non-organic foods filled with pesticides and GMO’s? overall going green can make one feel better knowing that the only thing that’s being consumed is all natural and for a bonus, has a better taste. Before people pick up food in the grocery store, they should know what exactly they are buying.