Abstract
The debate over the potential benefits of organic foods and conventional ones has been ongoing for quite a long time. Due to numerous reasons, consumers believe that organic foods are healthier, environmentally friendly as well as possess ethical option and they are not far from the truth. A number of scientific evidence indicate that organic foods are better for nature, involves high animal welfare, natural and great tasting foods aspects as well as safer and healthier option than non-organic ones. Studies reveal various reasons why consumers choose organics and interestingly most consumers who go for organics do so because they intend to avoid pesticides which are apparently used in the production of conventional foods. However, organic food production is not completely pesticide free; bio-pesticides could be used in organic farming in limited quantity. In fact, studies have uncovered the fact that both organics and conventional foods have pesticides in acceptable level. No doubts, organic foods are safer than conventional ones and studies show that they are more nutritional even though the nutrient difference between organics and non-organics is insignificant. Unlikely, the major downside of organic food is their cost. Most organic foods cost two times more than their conventional counterparts, but they are the best bait for those who need healthier, added nutritious and more environmentally friendly option.
Organic Foods
Introduction
The organic foods denote foods produced from natural sources (Galgano et al., 2016). It does not only include vegetable production but also livestock and in fact every other natural food production. However, organic food production may not be entirely natural because some bio-pesticides may be used during the process for pest management purposes (EUFIC, 2016). As a matter of fact, organic food production is one of the fastest growing sectors in agriculture because during the period of 2005-2011, the total land areas for organic farming has increased from 3.6% to 5.5%. Moreover, the European market has developed drastically regarding consumption of organic food during 2004 to 2013 (Figure 1) (Willer & Schaack, 2015). This is because the consumers believe that the use of organic foods are healthier, safer and more nutritional than inorganic foods (Lodorfos & Dennis, 2008). The logo of EU for organic food (Figure 2) is an inclusive presentation. Hence, the purpose of this particular paper is to investigate the scientific evidence supporting the reasons why organic food should be the best choice.
Figure 1: Statistical representation of growth in organic food marketing in EU during 2004-2013. Source adapted: Willer & Schaack, (2015).
Why Organic Foods?
Irrespective of the fact that organic foods are costlier than inorganic foods, it still commands remarkable market share. Here are few striking reasons why organic foods are the best bait.
Better for Nature
The production of organic foods requires a system of farming known as organic farming (Polat, 2015). The organic farming is simply a system of agriculture that excludes the use of synthetic pesticides, genetically modified seeds, growth hormones, antibiotics, radiation and animal breeds (Organic Farming, 2009). There are basically two organic farming techniques such as soil preservation and pest management techniques. The key benefit of organic farming here is that it harmonizes perfectly with nature due to the nominal use of few pesticides. Moreover, EUFIC (2016) noted that the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers is prohibited for organic farming and farmers account nature to maximize the agricultural yield. In addition, methods like crop rotation and cover cropping are often employed in organic farming to improve productivity (Wright, Falloon & Hedderley, 2014).
High Animal Welfare
Another very important reason why people go for organic products is because they are humane on animals (Galgano et al., 2016). Organic farming practices imply free range system (EUFIC, 2016). This is a standard that insists enough space and fresh air be provided to animals for their survival and to keep them in good condition. The implication of the free range system provided by organic farming is related to the health of the animals, and resultantly, the use of synthetic drugs and antibiotics will be highly eliminated. According to EUFIC (2016), the animal welfare standards specified for organic farming in the EU are very strict. They include the production of the animals as well as their transportation, stunning and killing practices. The standard specifies explicitly that organic farming should include high animal welfare standard and also meet animals' species-specific behavioral needs. To maintain high animal welfare standard, it is important to observe practices such as larger housing areas, organic feed, requisite straw bedding, restricted use of antibiotics, longer waiting times before delivery of products after medical treatments, and so forth. According to Cummins (2014), organic farming by-law prohibits the intensive confinement of farm animals. The confinement of animals at factory farms is not only cruel and unhealthy but also, the animals produce a lot of manures and urines that not only pollute the surface and groundwater but also emit a large amount of methane and greenhouse gasses. Thus, in consideration of the animal welfare, organic farming can be said to be ethical. Subsequently, this humane treatment of animals not only has a positive effect on the animals but also, it has a positive influence on the environment at large.
More Natural Food
Most consumers go for organic foods because they are more natural than the conventional ones. In the world of ever increasing innovation and technology, genetically modified foods (GMs) have become the order of the day (Ribeiro, Barone & Behrens, 2016). According to Dona & Arvanitoyannis (2009), there are various safety concerns regarding genetically modified foods. The problem of synthetic food is also associated to unawareness of the consumers about safety concerns especially the toxicity that may be present in the food. Hence, Dona & Arvanitoyannis (2009), further mentioned some hazards of GM foods including effects on animal and human health which results from the increase of anti-nutrients, the potential pleiotropic and insertional effects as well as possible effects on human health which results from utilization of viral - DNA in plants, probable transformation of antibiotic resistant genes to bacteria in gastrointestinal tracts and the possible effect of GM foods in allergic responses.
In contrast, organic foods are more natural choice because of certifications which prohibit nuclear irradiation of such foods. The irradiation of foods with nuclear waste and electron beams destroy vitamins and nutrients and also produce cancer-causing chemicals such as formaldehyde and benzene. Since organic foods prohibit genetic modification and synthetic processing and subsequently, they are a better option for health purposes. However, the standards of organic foods in the United States still permit the use of genetically engineered animal vaccines (Cummins, 2014; Mosier & Thilmany, 2016). Moreover, consumers are concerned about their health and willing to pay the price of natural foods for their good health. This explains why people go for organic foods instead of the non-organic equivalence of cheaper price.
Great Tasting Food
Most consumers also believe that organic foods taste better than non-organic ones (Fuentes et al., 2014). This belief is basically because of the practices employed in organic farming. The practice of organic farming involves the development of healthy and fertile soil in which varieties of crops are grown (Reeve et al., 2016). This implies that the flavor and the taste of the crops grown would be great because of the natural and healthy practices involved in the farming process. Moreover, most consumers who purchase milk prefer organic milk to non-organic milk because of their tastes (Thalheimer, 2013). In this context, Galgano et al., 2016 reviewed numerous researches conducted in many European countries and reported that the appearance of the raw organic meat such as lambs in the UK was more fibrous and darker with lower aroma intensity than the conventional one (Table 1). On other hand, organically raised chickens had the less yellow appearance for breast, thigh, and skin pieces (Table 1). According to EUFIC (2016), consumers commonly believe that organic foods have better taste, color and flavor than non-organic ones, but there is no convincing evidence indicating better or superior sensory qualities. The blind sensory test was conducted on organic and conventional foods, and there was slight or no difference observed between them. Moreover, Thalheimer (2013) further pointed out that there is an insignificant difference between organic and non-organic foods regarding their taste and appearances. However, most consumers continue to prefer organic foods over conventional foods owing to their sensory qualities including taste and appearances. In addition, it is imperative to emphasize factors responsible for the taste, color, flavor and appearance (sensory qualities) of foods include their cultivars, stage of ripeness and freshness or length of their storage. Moreover, it can also be argued that the preference of organic foods over conventional foods in this regard can be attributed to cultural and traditional reasons (Smith-Spangler et al., 2012; Thalheimer, 2013).
Food Safety
Food safety is a very serious concern among consumers today (Denver and Christensen, 2015; Stoev, 2013). The consumers recognize organic food to be safer than conventional food because they perceive organic food to have less synthetic chemical contaminants. Furthermore, in a study conducted to determine how Belgian consumers perceive the nutritional and toxicological value of organic vegetables, it was found that the consumers value the health benefits by utilizing less contaminated food than the nutritional values.
Food safety is often discussed as it relates to pesticides, nitrates, and heavy metals. This is especially true for non-organic food which is basically produced with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers (Denver & Christensen, 2015; Yazdanpanah, Forouzani & Hojjati, 2015). This is not to say that organic food production does not include fertilizers because bio-fertilizers are involved here but fertilizers used in organic food production are often in limited quantity. Moreover, due to the use of synthetic materials in producing non-organic foods, they contain microorganisms and mycotoxins which are hazardous. Furthermore, some non-organic foods contain genetically modified ingredients which are unsafe to health (EUFIC, 2016). These threats on health make most consumers who really cares about health go for organic foods in their quest to safety. According to Thalheimer (2013), the 2010 Nielson Global Online Survey shows that 45% of North Americans avoid genetically modified products, 23% vote against modern farming, 71% buy organics to avoid toxins and so forth.
Health Benefits
No doubts, one of the major reasons why most people buy organics is because they perceive and believe that organics offer better health benefits than inorganic foods (Goetzke, Nitzko & Spiller, 2014). However, studies conducted by Stanford scientists found that organics offer little health evidence, but the truth still remains that organics offer some health benefits over conventional foods. During the study, the researchers went through a number of papers and identified 237 relevant articles to analyze which included 17 studies of populations consuming conventional diets and 223 studies having comparison regarding the nutrient level or fungal, bacterial, or pesticide contamination of various products such as fruits, vegetables, grains and so forth grown organically and conventionally. The result of the data analysis indicated that there was no consistent difference in the vitamin contents of organics and conventional foods. However, phosphorus was found to be higher in organics than conventional foods (BBC, 2016; Brandt, 2016). Moreover, studies indicated that organic meat contains lower level of fats (Table 1) as well as organic milk contains a significantly higher level of omega-3 fatty acids and n-3 FA than conventional ones which is beneficial for health (Table 2). Hence, the people looking for a healthier option can actually consider organics over conventional foods.
Conclusion
In short, the real benefits of organics have been misconstrued by a lot of people, but the significance of the organic foods cannot be overstated. This is apparent in their nutritional content (even though not quite significant), production processes, environmental impact and so forth. Organic food production involves ethical processes as animals are treated more humanely. The less use of pesticides and synthetic products connote a lot of benefits not only to mankind but also to the environment. This includes a drastic reduction amounting to greenhouse gasses. Moreover, this benefit is even made more elaborative by the free-range system employed in organic farming as opposed to the conventional food production system.
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