Is Organic Food Better? Essay

There puddle been m both varied solid food for thought trends over the years. We beget been told about eating low fat diets, zero carb diets, and now complete. If you be like many others, there is a good chance that you concord heard that entire foods argon fitter to eat. They contain much vitamins, minerals, enzymes and taste than engineered produce do. primitive foods be also free from insecticides, pesticides, yield hormones, antibiotics, fertilizers and a whole host of other toxic artificial additives, flavorings, colorings and preservatives.Organic foods be better tasting, much nutritional, better on the milieu, and ethically more than appealing. What does it mean for food to be organic? When food is expectant naturally, it is considered organic that is, without the use of synthetic pesticides, irradiation, artificial fertilizers, or biotechnology. The growing and tending process is what really defines a food as organic. According to the United States Departmen t of Agriculture (USDA), the soil is thoroughly tested and essentialiness be free of chemical exposure for at least three years.The food farmers produce must be free of any chemical or genetically engineered ingredients and must not have been increase or produced with any drugs or hormones. Organic certification procedures require that the food producer and/or allocator keep detailed written records (of where, when, and how the food was produced) and keep the organic food segregated from non-organic food if running(a) with both foods (United). The term organic food is not a new concept. It has been around for as commodious as agriculture has been on the earth. Food was organic until someone decided to change the way that food was produced.Within the last century a large supply of synthetic chemicals were introduced into the food supply. Farmers, in charge of insects, started using pesticides to kill the insects. They also apply synthetic fertilizers (especially nitrogen) to defend plants grow fast. Nitrogen-driven growth produces weak, pissingy, and overly fan-leaved plants which are more vulnerable to insects causing farmers to use more pesticides. Pesticide spraying has contri furthered to serious health problems for workers on these farms. In the article The integrity About Organic Foods, Jessica.DeCostole writes Some studies have linked pesticides in our food to everything from headaches to cancer to birth defects but many experts maintain that the levels in customary food are rubber for most healthy adults. Most of the pesticides and fertilizers run off, polluting streams, rivers, oceans, fisheries, and drinking water. Organic farming does not use as harsh of chemicals as courtly farming. This makes it better on the soil and the water supply. People who oppose organic farming argue that organic farming requires twice as much land to grow the said(prenominal) amount of food as conventional farming does.Organic farming may require more lan d, but it is not double as what conventional farming uses. While organic farming normally requires more land, it is not double. Since the soil is not being depleted, organic farmers can use their land for prolonged periods of time. Organic farming can also produce higher(prenominal) yields and profits when it is done correctly. According to Jane Goodall in Harvest for Hope A Guide to Mindful Eating, the top 25 percent of sustainable farmers who farm without the use of chemicals have higher yields than industrial farmers in the United States (161).Theres no promontory that organic foods are frequently more expensive than comparable conventional foods. Some of this can be attributed to the reduced production costs that can be achieved through commercial fertilizer and chemicals. Some of the price difference can also be attributed to the economies of scale enjoyed by the large multinational food companies, but these food systems are not on a level playing field. U. S. farm policy in fuses billions of dollars into the conventional food system and keeps commodity prices artificially low.In the article Seriously, Now Why Arent Organics acquiring Affordable, Christy Harrison states Conventional crops are heavily subsidized by the federal politics in the United States, making them artificially inexpensive. Couple those subsidies which have been in place since the New Deal with the cost of cleaning up pollution and treating health problems created by conventional farming, and were paying a lot in taxes in order to pay a pittance at the grocery store. Furthermore, conventional crops have been aided by decades of prevalent and clandestine inquiry and development.Organic food systems receive only a tiny fraction of the awkward research funds. The problem is not so much that organic foods are expensive its that government policy has made conventional foods too cheap and that hurts farmers, rural communities and the environment. Effectively reducing the price de viation requires changes in public policy and strengthened food regulations. As consumers, the best thing we can do to reduce the costs of local and organic is to purchase local and organic. As more consumers choose organic, and a larger network of organic farmers develop innovative practices, prices will inevitably narrow between conventional and organic products.The growing organic market will also induce more public and private investment. Some argue that organic food doesnt necessarily taste better than conventional food. taste is subjective though. It is one of the five senses able to detect the flavor of substances. The flavor of food in the blab out is partially contributed to taste. Smell is also a factor. The aroma of food contributes up to 80% of what we perceive as taste (Benefits). The difference between conventional food and organic food is that conventional food contains preservatives to make it last longer.Organic food does not. It is often produced on farms near wh ere it is sold, so it tends to be fresher when eaten. Consumers take in to be careful though when buying organic. Multi-national corporations have started to buy some of the organic lines on the market, creating organic factory farms. These farms produce monocrops and ship the product cross-country (Goodall 164). Shipping the food from these monocrops across the country is a bad thing for the environment. Those against organic foods argue that it is not any more nutritious than conventionally cock-a-hoop food.In an interview with Dan Childs of ABC News, Robyn Flipse states There is no good evidence that organically grown plants or animals are nutritionally superior to conventionally grown. Many studies have been attempted to determine if organic food is more nutritious to conventional food, but the problem is variability in how these studies have been conducted. It is difficult to oppose findings when there is so much variability (Prosser). It is possible for organically grown f ruits and vegetables to contain slightly higher levels of Vitamin C, trace minerals, and antioxidant phytonutrients.It all depends on how it is grown. Foods depend on soil and water for their nourishment, and cleaner soil and water means cleaner food. It is that simple. It is important for us to make a commitment to living a healthier life, and eating healthy is one way to do that. It isnt just about eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and good fats. We also need to consider food safety, nutrition, and sustainability.How our foods are grown and raised affects the environment as well as our health. According to Samuel Fromartz in Organic, Inc., Buying and consuming organic food has decrease to be viewed not only as a means of avoiding harm, but as a hit in itself, a personal way of aligning nutrition, health, and social and environmental well-being (16). Clearly, more research on the possible health benefits of organic foods is needed. That is not the only reason why peop le are buying them, but it is an important one, and we need more data. Still, it is fair to say that critics are clearly incorrectly when they try to argue that there is no evidence whatsoever that organics are better than conventional foods. more than evidence is needed, but there are some early signs that organic supporters may have been business all along. Works Cited The Benefits of Organic Food Why Organic Food is Better. inborn Health Guide. Natural Health Guide, 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. Childs, Dan. Are Organic Foods Better for You? ABC News. ABC News, 29 Nov. 2006. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. DeCostole, Jessica. The Truth About Organic Foods. Redbook. Redbook. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. Fromartz, Samuel. Organic, Inc. Orlando Harcourt Books, 2006. Print. Goodall, Jane, Gary McAvoy, and Gail Hudson. Harvest for Hope A Guide to Mindful Eating.New York clock time Warner Book Group, 2005. Print. Harrison, Christy. Seriously, Now Why Arent Organics Getting Affordable? Grist. Grist, 25 Au g. 2005. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. Prosser, Erin. Nutritional Differences in Organic versus Conventional Foods And the Winner Is Scientific American. Scientific American, 11 Aug. 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. United States Dept. of Agriculture. National Organic Program. US Dept. of Agriculture, April 2008. PDF file. Self Evaluation I was not aware of using any of the rhetorical strategies piece writing this piece. When I write, I research my topic and just write what comes to mind.It is not something that I infer about when writing. As I look back at what I have written, I get out that I have used a combination of these strategies. I would say that I have used ethos by using proper grammar. I am always watching my spelling and punctuation enchantment writing. It is something that I cannot ignore. I am not like some people that just write and go back and edit afterward. I do most of my editing as I write. I have ordern pathos by trying to appeal to the readers emotions about our health and environment. I have shown logos by the credible sources I have used, like Jane Goodall.In this piece, I mention a few of the arguments against organic food and counter them with why they are wrong. There are many who are against organic food, but their reasons for being against it do not hold up well. I was able to show sources that backed up why the reasons against organic food are wrong. I really cannot say that any of the techniques (reading responses, writerly practices, or peer reviews) helped me. The peer review for my rough draft was available for me to review for this paper. It was nice to have some feedback on my paper, though I do not feel it made a difference.