Sunday, 28 December 2008

• Organic Food and the Impact on Health, the Environment, and the Economy

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Most people asked would say that buying organic can be expensive, but not many of those people will disagree that organic food is better for their health since it is not full of pesticides and can contain up to 50% more vitamins, minerals and enzymes than intensively farmed produce.
  

  
  

  Commonly used pesticides and chemicals are not only harmful for human health but they can be detrimental to livestock and the environment as well.
  

  
  

  Organic Food and Health

  
  

  Because no pesticides are used in the growing of organic produce the risk of health problems related to chemicals are very minute. This lack of chemicals in organically grown fruits and vegetables also means more vitamins, minerals and enzymes available for the consumer.  Naturally occurring vitamins are much better for a person’s health than anything that is produced in a lab and available in pill form.

   

  However, for all the good things that can be gained by eating organic food, these things will not do any good if those foods are expensive for the public to afford. Raising food prices in general are not good for middle and lower class families, but when the only food that a family can afford is highly processed and sugar laden convenience foods their health will suffer. The symptoms may start with lack of energy but could possibly progress in to something worse.

   

  Another draw back is that organic food while gaining popularity in recent years, is still not as widely available as their conventionally grown counterparts. Over the past 50 years the United States has become a country that has abandoned the family dinner table in favor of eating most meals on the go. The food industry has adapted their production by making food more convenient to the consumer and therefore making it harder to eat healthy.

   
  

  Chemicals in Our Food

   

  One major concern of eating these “easy foods” is the chemical content. Organic.org (2008) confirms that organically produced foods are pesticide free because these “products have been grown and handled according to strict procedures without persistent toxic chemical inputs.”  These procedures ensure that anything stamped with an organic label does, in fact, follow the strict guidelines that produce a quality product in the end.

   

  Over the past few years we have heard many times in the news that eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables every day will help lower the risk of cancer.

  These news stories do not specify whether those fruits and vegetables should be organically grown and whether the use of chemicals has any effect on these health benefits. Once someone starts to do research on the chemicals that are sprayed on conventionally grown produce, he or she will learn that many of the commonly used chemicals are carcinogenic and therefore defeat the purpose of eating those beneficial foods in the first place.

   

  One chemical that is widely used as a pesticide is Chlorpyrifos. According to EXTOXNET, it is commonly used on apples and while not classified as a carcinogen, it “primarily affects the nervous system through inhibition of cholinesterase, an enzyme required for proper nerve functioning.” That is not exactly what a person wants to be ingesting when eating apples that should be “keeping the doctor away”.

   

  Adults are not the only ones that can be affected by the chemicals that are in our food. Children have less mature immune systems. These immune systems can make them more vulnerable to the ill effects of the chemicals that they come in contact with. A study in the journal Pediatrics (2006) of inner-city children born between February 1998 and May 2002 concluded that higher levels of  Chlorpyifos in the children’s blood meant lower scores on age related tests and significant delays in their cognitive and psychomotor development (PEDIATRICS Vol. 118 No. 6). With the rise of developmental diseases such as ADD and ADHD, this is something that should be seriously considered.

   

  Fresh fruit and vegetables are not the only foods to watch out for when being concerned about chemicals, packaged foods are also at risk of being contaminated. A study by the Environmental Working Group and the National Campaign for Pesticide Policy Reform found that 53% of the 76 random jars of baby food sampled in Denver, Philadelphia, and San Francisco contained one pesticide and 18% had two or more (Environmental Health Perspectives, 1995, Volume 130). This is not a statistic that many parents would be comfortable with because of the affect it could have on the health of their children.

   

  Red meat is also a food that affected by chemicals. Much of the beef produced in this country has been injected with some type of growth hormone to increase the profits caused by shortening the length of time required to send a cow to the butcher. The side effects of this process do not only have a direct effect on the consumer who eats the beef.  The livestock that are fed a diet of hormone enriched feed are more likely to “develop frequent udder infection that can leave pus and other discharge in milk and can cause infertility, internal bleeding, and other complications.” (Hormones and Modern Livestock, 2007).

   

  The High Cost of Organic

   

  Ask anyone who has seen the cost of the organic food in their local grocery store and he or she will possibly say that the cost is too high to afford. So why are the prices higher than that of those items using chemicals? Quaid (2006) tells us that even though they are expanding at a high rate, organics only comprise 2.5% of our nation’s food marketplace (Demand for Organic Food Outstrips Supply). There are an estimated 10,000 organic farms in America, but that number is falling short to fill the current and rising demand. To fill the gap, many companies are looking to farmers overseas. While this may increase the supply of organics, it also increases the cost due to shipping across the ocean. With rising oil prices, we may not see the prices come down for awhile.

   

  While the pinch can be felt in the wallet at first when buying organic food, many find that this healthier choice will mean lower healthcare costs down the road. But not everyone is ready to go head first in to 100% organic eating. Most people will feel more comfortable taking small steps toward this healthy life choice. Start by buying just one commonly used item in the organic form such as milk and work in a new item as money becomes available. Lists are available of the fruits and vegetables most affected by pesticides, and this will enable the consumer to make the most informed decisions about which organic items are most important to

  their family.

   

  Impact on Environment and Economy

  
  

  An increase in organic farming would have a large impact on the environment, not only in the decreased amount of chemicals that are released in to the air and leached in to the water systems but on the over all size of the carbon footprint that conventional farming currently has. Research done at the Rodale Institute reviled “that organic practices can remove about 7,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air and sequester it in an acre of farmland per year. Thus, Rodale estimates that if all 434 million acres of U.S. cropland were converted to organic practices, it would be the equivalent of eliminating 217 million cars—nearly 88 percent of all cars in the country today and more than a third of all the automobiles in the world.” (Environmental Facts, 2008).

   

  The impact does not stop at just health and environment. The economical impact should also be examined. Organic farming is not only good for the farmers because of the huge demand and short supply, but organic farming is also labor intensive and requires more workers than conventional farming. This in turn creates jobs that are much safer for the workers because there are no health threatening chemicals to come in contact with everyday. This also has an impact on the worker’s family as there are no chemicals brought home after the work day is over.

   

  If the cost of organic produce were comparable to that of intensively farmed produce, would more people change their eating habits? Unfortunately, the higher cost is the main reason that many people avoid organic food even though most would agree that their health could suffer over time. The good news is that organic is gaining in popularity, and we may see a dramatic increase in the number of organic farmers and therefore see the prices come down. This will not only have a positive impact on the environment but on the economy as well.
  

  
  What do you think, are organic foods the future?  What has kept you from buying organic now, price or availability? 
  

  
  

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