Introduction
“Organic” this term refers to means by which products are processed and grown. Certain requirements are needed to be met to make a product “organic”. Crops are required to grown without any modifications, in safe soil and have to be separated from conventionally grown products (“helpguide”).
History of Production and Consumption Organic Foods
The pioneer of Organic foods and farming was Sir Albert Howard, in 1930s he argued for animal and crop health as he believed that organic and nutrient products needed to be recycled. In 1990, the FOFPA (Federal Organic Foods Production Act) was established to set standards for marketing and governing of foods which were produced organically.
Over the years, the sales of organically frown foods especially vegetables and fruits in which prevalence of pesticides is very high has seen steady growth. In 2010, the estimated organic food sold in United States stood at $29 billion and this number is $25 billion in Europe and $2 billion in Canada. With current estimates the sales of organic foods will continue to grow at 13 percent per year in coming 5 years (“omafra”).
Benefits of organic foods
Organic food gives many benefits over its conventionally grown food like:
Firstly, they have fewer pesticides than conventional foods. Children, pregnant women and fetuses are vulnerable to pesticides as they are harmful to their health in long run. The chemicals in pesticides are used in residues and conventional agriculture and in the food we consume on daily basis.
Secondly, organic food is fresh and thus it tastes much better than conventional. Since it has no preservatives in it organic food remains fresh for longer duration and maintains its freshness. In most cases, organic food is sold in nearby market from where it is produced.
Thirdly, organic farming and food is good for the environment too. Organic food production conserves water, reduces pollution, increases soil fertility, consumes less energy, and reduces soil erosion. Additionally, it is better for animals and birds as chemicals consumed by them can lead to their deaths.
Lastly, animals raised organically grow without any growth hormones, antibiotics and animal byproducts. In meat production use of antibiotics helps in creating anti-biotic bacteria strains. These strains make the animal responsiveness to antibiotics lesser if they get sick.
Drawbacks of organic foods
Firstly, the word “organic” has another meaning in minds of many “expensive”. Organic food is sold at higher rate than conventional food in most cases. It is only for them who really need and can afford to pay more for the “cleaner food”.
Secondly, in case of food we are trained to believe that food is supposed to look same and in case it is different it is not food. Organic food is generally diverse and thus many people are unwilling to try a food which they have never seen before or tried before.
Thirdly, Organic foods are given appropriate time to grow ripe as the farmer needs them to grow full and organically. This ensures that the production of organic food is comparatively smaller than the conventional farming.
Fourthly, it is necessary to get the products certified by USDA to get your seal of approval of the product being “organic”. This requires certification fees, contact with the USDA agent and multiple questions to be answered over the produce.
Lastly, Organic foods require extra care, extra work and extra time to grow and this enable a time constraint as farmer needs to let the food grow in the time frame expected. With crops being grown with any artificial manipulation the production the crops take their time to grow
Opinion on purchase & consumption of organic foods
The phenomenon of organic food has swept the markets in many countries. Many have switched to healthier version of food which is pesticide free in categories like meats, vegetables, fruits and some snack foods. Personally I myself use organic products due to reasons like Organic Food healthy and safe, keeps water clean, conservation of fossil fuel, adds flavor to food and there are options like farmers market in most cities which are making it affordable over time.
Conclusion
“Organic” this term refers to means by which products are processed and grown. Crops are required to grown without any modifications, in safe soil and have to be separated from conventionally grown products. Over the years, the sales of organically frown foods especially vegetables and fruits in which prevalence of pesticides is very high has seen steady growth. The benefits of organic food are it contains fewer pesticides, fresher, better for the environment and organically raised animals are never given antibiotics. The drawbacks of using organic foods are its high Price, people are unwilling to try diverse products, Small Production, products need to be Certified Organic, and products take time to consume and many others.
Works Cited
"Cons of Organic Food". http://www.raw-food-diet-magazine.com/cons-of-organic-food.html#sthash.K0Jv2nRS.dpuf. raw-food-diet-magazine.com. Web. Dec. 2013
Paul, M.W. Kemp, G. & Segal, R. "Organic Foods: Understanding Organic Food Labels, Benefits, and Claims". http://www.helpguide.org/life/organic_foods_pesticides_gmo.htm. helpguide.org. May 2013. Web. Dec. 2013
Martin, H. "What Is The Future For Organic Food?". http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/field/news/croptalk/2011/ct-0611a5.htm. omafra.gov.on.ca. 3 June 2011. Web. 2 Dec 2013
"Everything You Need to Know About Organic Foods". http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=faq&dbid=17. whfoods.com. Web. Dec.2013
"Organic Foods: What's So Different?". http://organicfoodchemistry.webs.com/historyoforganicfoods.htm. organicfoodchemistry.webs.com. Web. Dec. 2013
