Preview

Organic Produce and Its Disadvantages

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
551 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Organic Produce and Its Disadvantages
Organic food is defined as produce (animal and plant) that is grown without the aid of any chemicals or pesticides, this means the animals are fed organic feed and the plants are grown in a very different way to most foods we see at the supermarket. Many people purchase organic food because they think that the nutritional benefits will make up for the extra money that you spend. Lots of people say that the manufacturers of organic food lie to us when selling these products, they say that there aren’t as many nutritional benefits as you might think. But is this all really the case? Are there nutritional benefits in organic produce? Is it really worth the extra cash?
Firstly, organic food is known to have a shorter shelf life than conventionally grown produce. Why is this? Well it is like this because the organic food business isn’t as big as conventional agriculture. Therefore it takes a lot longer to get from the farm to the market, this leads to you getting home with your organic produce and having it spoil the very next day. Organic food doesn’t have the chemicals that conventionally grown produce has to keep it fresh for much longer.
Secondly, the methods used to grow organic food require a lot more TLC (Tender Loving Care). It needs to be tended to in order for it to grow. It is harder to grow it so you see less of it on the shelves at the supermarket. Conventionally grown produce has chemicals that help it grow and that keep the pests away. Organic food doesn’t get this kind of treatment, this means that the pests can get to the produce because they won’t be poisoned by the pesticides. However, this is not the case when growing poultry. Poultry does not necessarily need any chemicals at all to keep it growing, it is just that the use of chemicals make the animals grow a lot faster.
Thirdly, organic food is said to have many nutritional benefits, but are there really as much benefits as they say there are. Many official studies have found none or little

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Critique Paper

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The most emphatic support comes early in her essay in paragraph 2, where she highlights the seemingly unethical methods of marketing and strategy that the organic companies use in attempt to convey their belief that organic foods must be healthier than naturally grown ones. She goes on to mentioning Warren Leon and Caroline Smith Dewaal’s book Is Our Food Safe?, where they suggest that people purchase organic foods in effort to help the environment and that there is not any statistical data to back their claim that organic foods are healthier. The author then cites an “interesting poll” done by ABC News, in which they concluded that people think organic food is healthier because it contains less pesticide residue. She then says that there has never been a connection between the nutritional value of organic food and the residue that is found on them. Weinacker then describes a phone interview done with an agricultural county extension agent by the name of Joseph Williamson, and how he believes that since organic crops grow slower they contain more nutrients than conventional foods. He also says that they are riper than…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Have you ever been standing in the grocery store, undecided on whether there really is a difference between the standard store brand ribeye steak and the organic, grain fed, free range ribeye that costs twice as much? Ever had little devil on one shoulder telling you one thing, and the angel on the other convincing you the devil is wrong? Is cost the only thing holding you back from shelling out a few extra sheckles for the more expensive steak? Have you heard about the health benefits of eating organic? Then maybe it is time you learned about the true benefits of organic food. In doing so, it may just change your life and blow your mind. Eating industrial foods can cause a bevy of health issues today, such as exposure to toxins, as well as leading to diabetes and heart disease, and choosing to eat organic foods instead will help to resolve those issues.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    I gained different knowledge about organic food along with the benefits of it. Non-organic food contain pesticides and plenty of food additives. 100% Organic is made with none of that it’s made all naturally so for example its made with no food supplements and no pesticides. In the food and recipes feature stories section John Reganold, a professor of soil science at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, states, "If you 're talking about pesticides, the evidence is pretty conclusive. Your chances of getting pesticide residues are much less with organic food.” For example in a regular industrial farm where they plant crops they use pesticides along with food supplements for it to grow faster and for it to taste better. Now in organic farming where they grow crops or raise animals there are no pesticides or food supplements used in to make them grow faster, it was…

    • 1755 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Consumers purchase organic food because they are concerned about pesticides. According to an article from Environmental Medicine, organic food is not completely free of pesticides, however USDA research showed that “organically raised foods had one-third the amount of chemical residues found in conventionally raised foods” (Crinnion 6). Another article from Agronomy Journal, compiles research from several studies supporting the fact that organic food contains…

    • 1351 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Food Police Summary

    • 2195 Words
    • 9 Pages

    They aren’t better tasting, nor do they have anymore health benefits than nonorganics. Organics do tend to use fewer pesticides, though they do still use them, and pesticide related health risks are not nearly as imperative when compared to other problems out there. Depending on yields and how much farmers are using conservation tillage practices that traditional farmers are already using, there is a chance that organic farming could possibly be somewhat better for the environment. We should all keep one thing in mind: organic foods just cost more. The absurdity here is that the food police have made food into a “status-seeking game” while at the same time wondering why exactly the poor don’t consume enough nutritious food. Even teachers at our kids’ schools find places in their schedules to bring up eating organic, buying local, and recycling. New York Times asked one mother about her child’s schools’ push to “go green” and she said that, “the social pressure her children felt regarding recyclable products was palpable.” She had caught her child’s teacher’s attention when she chose to use plastic bags inside of a lunchbox. She said, “That’s when the kids have meltdowns, because they don’t want to be shamed at school.” This type of “status-seeking” consumerism occurs when we purchase things just to better our reputations. Instead of avoiding this type of attitude, the food police encourage it (Lusk, The Food…

    • 2195 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Argument Sarah Fox

    • 973 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ten years ago it was difficult to find organic foods in local stores, but now most super markets sell several types of foods that are organic. Because of this, the public has been given the opportunity to provide healthier and cleaner foods for their families. But, when buying groceries, people unfortunately tend to buy what they believe to be organic food, but what is actually referred to as conventional organic, without even noticing. There are two different types of organic foods, true organics and conventional organics. True organic food is food grown is healthy soil, which grows healthy, plants, which in turn, feeds humans and creates health within. Conventional organic food is basically industrial agriculture done without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It follows the bare minimum to meet the regulations in order to get the ‘Certified Organic’ stamp. Companies do this in order to cash in on the bigger margins that health- and environmentally-conscious consumers are willing to support for organic food. When shopping it is important to buy mostly true organic foods, doing so allows you, as the consumer, to avoid dangerous chemicals and hormones, benefit from more nutrients, and preserve the ecosystem.…

    • 973 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his essay “The Organic Fable,” Roger Cohen argues that there is little to no difference between organic foods and regular foods. He says, “Organic has long since become an ideology,” says it is branding, not science, and says we need genetically modified food anyway to feed more people. He also says it is an, “obsession of an upper middle class,” and compares buying organic foods to, “paying to send your kids to private school.” I believe, though, that his argument is biased and inconsistent, because of his existing dislike for organic foods and his praising of organic foods at times in his essay.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gmos

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Crinnion, Walter J. "Organic Foods Contain Higher Levels of Certain Nutrients, Lower Levels of Pesticides, and May Provide Health Benefits for the Consumer." Alternative Medicine Review. EBSCO, Apr. 2010. Web.…

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Buying locally grown organic foods helps us have a cleaner and healthier environment. Getting local organic foods rather than conventional foods reduces the carbon footprint that conventional foods bring about. This means that your food travels a lot less distance than other foods would. It has been said, that on average, a fresh food item travels about 1,500 miles just to get to our plate. That is just one item; imagine how many miles it takes for a whole plate of food. When we buy these foods we support local organic farmers; this means that we support local businesses. Over time this greatly benefits our environment, especially since a majority of local organic farmers don’t use harmful pesticides.…

    • 1469 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Conventional vs Organic

    • 1969 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Advertisements have become a way of life for the average person. We are exposed to advertising in in every way imaginable. Corporations want to get their point across that their product is superior to everyone else’s. Organic produce and meats are no different. Christie Wilcox, is a science writer and PhD student at the University of Hawaii, as well as an award-winning blogger and publisher of traditional and peer-reviewed writings and scientific research, says in one of her blogs “In the past year or two, certified organic sales have jumped to about $52 billion worldwide despite the fact that organic foods cost up to three times as much as those produced by conventional methods.” (Wilcox). People are paying more for what they believe is a better and healthier product. Organic is marketed at a price increase for paper work and stamps on the product that reads certified organic. Of course there are…

    • 1969 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sociology Paper #1

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Coincidentally, before my second viewing of Food INC in our first sociology class, I was in a renaissance of eating healthier. I wanted to lose some weight and maintain that healthier weight not by using a temporary diet but by changing my lifestyle. I decided to cut out processed foods as much as possible. I was also interested in the organic option over the conventional options at a Safeway for example so I did my research on organic food. While there isn’t hard conclusive evidence that non-organic food is surely harmful to the body, there were some interesting correlations with non-organic food and negative effects. Upon further research and article reading, I read that some foods should definitely be eaten organic versus food that doesn’t have to be eaten organically. For example fruits or vegetables with a thick covering like pineapple will be less affected by pesticides because the hard “shell” prevents the pesticides from getting to the…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Organic foods are viewed as super healthy and in general superior to other foods, yet if that…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gmos and Organic Food

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Organic products are grown by small farmers according to old farming techniques. These products do not need the addition of micronutrients like GMOs; they maintain all the nutritional values and the original taste. Unfortunately, small farmers can not satisfy the demand that the market needs, let alone, the prices are higher. For example, if you were to sell organic tomatoes, you would have to need to sell them locally. If a company such as organic valley were to be ship organic products from California to New York, with them having shorter expiration date, they would end up going bad. It would be hard for everyone to have the budget to buy and eat organic food; even expensive restaurants don’t use organic food.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “ In 2005 study by the journal Food Policy , it was found that the miles that organic food often travels to our plate creates environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic. Buying local food keeps us in touch with the seasons. By eating with the seasons, we are eating foods when they are at their peak taste, are the most abundant, and the least expensive” (Maiser, Jennifer) The amount of time we have on this earth is decreasing by the moment with all the pollution and nasty air quality left on this earth our time is coming short. A way to try and cut back on the time is to eat local grown food since it's a natural food the oxygen being released from the plant replaces the nasty air…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In terms of consumer health, both organic and processed foods have their benefits. The benefits of processed foods are that scientists can place additives that increase the nutritional value. According to Dr. Mehmet Oz (2010), this helps to “prevent neural-tube defects and certain childhood cancers, boost brain development and may increase intelligence, and reduce the incidence of rickets.” This means that theres nutrients that can be added to aid in helping the country with disease prevention. Organic foods lack the ability to be genetically modified but offer their own benefits as well. According to Maria Rodale (2010), some organically grown foods have “ more conjugated linleic acid, which is a powerful cancer-fighting nutrient.” Both these types of food can help consumers healthy and prevent disease.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays