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MaryKatherineKelly
ProfessorAliciaBolton
English101
17November2014
OrganicFoods:ServingtheEnvironment,FarmAnimals,butNotUs
Everyday,weasAmericanshavetodecidehowtospendourhardearnedmoney.As
mostofusalreadyknow,manyofthesespendingdecisionshavelastingimpactswhetheron
ourfinancialsecurityorourhealth.Onedecisionthatimpactsbothourfinancialsecurityand
ourhealthiswhatgrocerieswebuy.Forexample,somefoodproducts,suchasorganic,thatare
readilyavailableingrocerystorestoday,aresaidtobehealthierthanotherfoodproducts,but
tendtobemuchmorecostly.EveryAmericanhastobuygroceries,and,evenwithoutspending
theextramoneyonproductslabelledorganic,groceriesbecomealargepercentageofour
budgets.Therefore,whilepayingforgrocerieswithourhardearnedmoney,weshouldbe
educatedonwhatwearebuyingandwhetherornotorganicfoodproductsarereallyworththe
extramoney.Asthedemandfororganicfoodhasonlyrecentlyincreasedenoughtopermit
extensivedebate,therehasnotyetbeenenoughresearchdonetoprovewhetherornotorganic
foodsreallyaremorehealthbeneficialtopeople.Thewordorganicsimplyreferstothewaya
certainfoodproducthasbeengrownandprocessed.Inorganicfarmingpractices,foodsare
grownandprocessedwithouttheuseofsyntheticchemicals.Organicfarmersreplacesynthetic
fertilizerswithnaturalmaterialssuchasmanureandcompostandsyntheticpesticideswith
naturalpestcontrolmethodssuchascroprotation,mulch,andnaturalinsectpredatorssuchas
prayingmantidsandladybugs.Aswellasthedifferentfarmingmethodsusedforcrops,organic
farmingpracticesrequirethatfarmersraisetheirpoultryandlivestockinoutdoorenvironments
andonorganicallygrowndietsthatlacktheantibiotics,growthhormones,andsteroidsthatother

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feedmaycontain.Whilealargenumberofresearchershavecometotheconclusionthatorganic
foodsaremorehealthbeneficialthanconventionalfoods,justasmanyresearchershavecometo
theconclusionthattherearenoobvioushealthbenefitsofconsumingoneovertheother.Many
Americanscontinuetobuyorganicfoodproductsundertheillusionofhealthbenefitsand
reducedlikelihoodofdiseases,but,whileorganicfarmingpracticesdogenerallybenefitthe
environmentandthewellbeingoffarmanimals,organicfoodproductsarenomorenutritiousor
healthbeneficialtopeoplethanareother,conventionallygrownfoodproducts.
Evenasresearchhasbeendonetoprovethatsmallamountsofpesticidescausenoharm
tohumanhealth,manyhealthcriticsarguethatorganicfoodsarebetterforhumanoranimal
consumptionandhealthbecausetheyreduceexposuretopesticides,bovine,andothersynthetic
chemicalsthatareusedinconventionalfarmingmethods.InanarticletitledWouldAmericans
BeBetterOffEatingaMostlyOrganicDiet,authorChensheng(Alex)Luarguesthatitwould
bemorebeneficialforAmericanstoeatmostlyorganicfoodsbecauseorganicproducetypically
containsfewerpesticidesthanconventionalproduce,and...peoplemaybeabletoreduceor
eliminateagriculturalchemicalsfromtheirbodiesbyadoptinganorganicdiet(9).Lus
argumentrestsontheassumptionthatsyntheticpesticidesandagriculturalchemicalsarebadfor
humanhealth.Whilehedoespartiallyjustifyhisclaimbyrelentingthatthereisnotyeta
definitivescientificproofthatanorganicdietishealthier(6),healsoclaims,knowingthatwe
couldreduceourexposuretopesticides...byeatingorganicfood,itmakesgreatcommonsense
toconsumemoreofit(19).Whilethismaybecommonsenseformanyconsumers,itisalso
commonsenseforindividualstocuttheirbudgetsbybuyingconventionallygrownfoods
whichhavenotbeenproventobeanymoreharmfulthanorganicfoodsinsteadofbuying
organicfoods.Thus,weshouldrelyonresearchandscientificevidenceinplaceofcommon
senseespeciallywhenourhardearnedrevenueisatstake.Ofallthestudiesthathavebeen

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conductedtotestthenutrientcontentoforganicfoodsandhealthbenefitsoforganicfoods,no
obvioushealthbenefitshavebeenprovenfromeatingorganicallygrownfoodsratherthan
conventionallygrownfoods.Furthermore,conventionallygrownfoodshavenotbeenprovento
beanymoreharmfultohumanhealththanorganicallygrownfoods.Whileadoptinganorganic
diethasbeenproventoreduceanindividualsexposuretopesticides,pesticidesarenotharmful
inthesmallamountsthatpeopleconsumefromconventionalproduce.
Evenastherehasbeennoproofthatconsumptionoforganicfoodshasanymajorhealth
benefitstohumans,organicfarmingpracticeshavebeenproventobemorebeneficialtothe
environmentandtothewellbeingoflivestock.AMayoClinicwebsitethatfocusesonnutrition
andhealthyeatingstatesthatorganicfarmingpracticesaredesignedtoencouragesoilandwater
conservationandreducepollution.Organicfarmingaccomplishesthesethingsbyusingthe
following:manure,compost,croprotation,mulch,andnaturalpredatorsofpestsinplaceof
syntheticfertilizersandpesticides.Ingeneral,thesepracticeshavehelpedtoincreasefertility
andqualityofsoil,whichprovesthatorganicfarmingpracticesaremorebeneficialtothe
environment.Withallthisbeingsaid,manycriticsbelievethatorganicfarmingpracticesare
actuallylessenvironmentallyfriendlythanconventionalfarmingpracticesbecauseorganic
farmingrequirestheuseofmorelandthanconventionalfarming.WhileIdoconcedethat
organicfarmingdoesentailtheuseofagreaterexpanseofland,thisisthelesserofthetwoevils
conventionalfarmingpracticestendtobeworseforthesoilthanorganicfarmingpractices.The
useofsyntheticpesticidesandfertilizers,whilenotharmfulinminisculeamounts,tendto
accumulateafterbeingusedinthesamelandareaforanextendedperiodoftime.Largeamounts
ofthesechemicalscanbedetrimentaltohumanhealth,and,whileIrealizethatthereisnosolid
evidenceyet,mayprovetobedetrimentaltothemanynutrientsinthesoilinwhichtheproduce
isgrown.Asforthewellbeingoflivestock,organicfarmingpracticesarerequiredtofollow

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stricterguidelinesconcerningtheirfarmanimalsthanconventionalfarmingpractices.Evenso,
criticsargueindirectlyagainstanimalbenefitsunderorganicfarmingmethodswiththeclaim
thattraditionalfarmingpracticesarenotproventobedetrimentaltothewelfareoflivestock.
AlthoughIdoacknowledgethatnotalltraditionalfarmersmistreattheirfarmanimals,Ibelieve
thatorganicfarmingmethodsaregenerallymorehumaneandhealthbeneficialtotheirlivestock
thantraditionalfarmingmethods.Forexample,traditionalfarmingmethodsallowfarmersto
givetheirlivestockantibiotics,growthhormones,andothermedications,whileorganicfarming
methodsallowthelivestocknoneofthese(farmerscangiveantibioticstotheirlivestockifthe
animalissick,butthentheyarenotallowedtoselltheanimalasorganic).Anotherorganic
principlethattraditionalfarmersarenotrequiredtofollowisthattheanimalsmusthavea
certainamountoftimetoroamandgrazeoutsidetraditionalfarming,ontheotherhand,often
confinestheiranimalstofeedlots,whichareconfinedareaswherefarmanimalsarefattenedfor
themarket.LargefeedlotsareoftencalledConcentratedAnimalFeedingOperations(CAFOs),
orfactoryfarms.Thesefactoryfarmsaretypicallyenclosedspaceswithnonaturalpastures,
sunlight,roamingspace,orvegetation.Theyoftenbecomesocrowdedwithlivestockthatthe
animalsareunabletoperformnaturalbehaviors.Forexample,inanebooktitledOrganic
Agriculture:ProtectingOurFoodSupplyOrChasingImaginaryRisks?,theauthorJackL.
RobertstellsofarecurringincidentinseveralCAFOsforchickens.Headdresses,chickensare
keptinsuchtightquartersthattheyareunabletoflaptheirwings.Theyoftenbecome
aggressive.Topreventaggressivebehavior,factoryfarmsoftendebeaktheirchickens
(6768).Thisisnotthehumanesolutionthehumanesolutionwouldbetoremovesomeofthe
chickenstoallowthemextraspace.Thiswouldsolvetheirproblemofbeingunabletoflaptheir
wings,thusalsosolvingthechickensaggressivebehavior.Contrarily,nationalstandardsfor
organicfarmingmethodshavestricterguidelinesthatdonotallowsuchtreatmenttoward

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animals.InthebookIsOrganicFoodBetter?,JackHunterconcludes,sowhereaworrying
amountofpigs,chickensandcowscanberearedinmiserableconditions,growfasterthantheir
bodiescancopewith[growthhormones],arefedthingstheyhavenotevolvedtoeatandgeta
liberaldoseofdrugs,organicfarmingdoesnotallowsuchabusesinthenameofprofit(14).
Hunterisimplyingthattraditionalfarmerstendtodismissordisregardthetreatmentoftheir
animalsbecausetheyaremorefocusedonhowmuchprofittheycanmakethanhowtheir
animalsfareintheenvironmentsintowhichtheyhavebeenforced.Furthermore,theconstant
useofantibioticsthattraditionalfarmersusefortheiranimalsmayeventuallyposeahealthissue
forpeopleaswellastheanimalsbecauseconstantuseofanyspecificantibioticoftenleadsto
antibioticresistantbacteriathatbecomehardertotreatinhumansaswellasanimals.
However,themorehumanetreatmentoffarmanimalsthatorganicpracticesmustfollowresults
inamoreexpensivefooditemwhichisnotfeasibleforallindividuals.Inshort,whileorganic
farmingpracticesimprovetheenvironmentaswellasthelivesoffarmanimals,organicfoods,
unlessboughtwiththeintentionofbetteringtheenvironmentorsupportingthetreatmentoffarm
animals,arenomorebeneficialtopeoplethantraditionalfoods.
Ifpesticideexposure,effectsontheenvironment,andlivestockmistreatmentarenot
enoughtoswayustoabandonconventionallyfarmedproducts,criticsalsoclaimthatthe
consumptionoforganicproductsreducesmanychronicdiseases.InanarticletitledOrganic
FoodsAreHealthierthanNonOrganicFoods,theauthor,DeborahRich,claimsthattwo
flavonoidsatermreferringtoahealthbeneficialpigmentfoundinplantsquercetinand
kaempferolwerefoundinagreaterabundanceinorganicallyfarmedtomatoesthanin
conventionallyfarmedtomatoes.Richwritesthatquercetinandkaempferolareflavonoids,
whichepidemiologicalstudiessuggestofferprotectionfromcardiovasculardisease,cancer,and
otheragerelateddiseases(15).First,thisquotecontradictsitselfwhenitclaimsthatthetwo

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flavonoidsofferprotectionagainstagerelateddiseases.WhileIdorealizethatdietdoeshavean
effectonapersonshealthlaterinlife,agerelateddiseasestendtobeagerelated,not
dietrelatedtheyareofteninevitableevenifthepersonhaseatenhealthilythroughouttheir
lifetime.Secondly,Richclarifiesthatstudiesareonlyabletosuggest,notprove,thatthetwo
flavonoidsofferprotectionfromdiseasestheyareunabletogiveevidenceofthisprotection.
Therefore,criticsshouldwaitfortrueevidenceofcausationbeforeassumingsuchdrastic
conclusions.
Whilemanypeoplearguethatthecostoforganicfoodsisjustified,Ibelievethatthe
levelofjustificationofonesexpendituredependsuponthegoaloftheindividual.Ifthe
individualhasspentextracashwiththeintentofeatingahealthierdiet,theyhaveultimately
wastedtheirmoney.But,iftheindividualhasspentextramoneyforthepurposeofahealthier
environmentandbettertreatmentofanimals,thentheyhavespenttheirmoneywisely.Though
demandforandsalesoforganicfoodscontinuestorise,weshouldnotbemisledbyfaux
reasonsforspendingtheextramoneyinstead,weshouldeducateourselvessothatour
budgetingmaybecreatedandusedinthewisestwaypossiblegivingussatisfactionin
knowingthatwehavesavedmoneyfororspentmoneyonpurposesworthwhiletousas
individuals.

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WorksCited
Anonymous."NutritionandHealthyEating."OrganicFoods:AreTheySafer?MoreNutritious?
MayoClinic,n.d.Web.30Oct.2014.
Lankford,RonaldD.,Jr.,ed.AtIssueIsOrganicFoodBetter?Detroit:Gale,2011.Print.
Lu,Chensheng(Alex),andJanetH.Silverstein.WouldAmericansBeBetterOffEatinga
MostlyOrganicDiet?.WallStreetJournal.17Jun.2013:R.3.SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.03Nov.2014.
Miller,HenryI."TheMythofOrganicAgriculture."PittsburghPostGazette.12Jan.2014:B.1.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.07Nov.2014.
Rich,Deborah.OrganicFoodsAreHealthierthanNonOrganicFoods.Nutrition.David
HaugenandSusanMusser.Detroit:GreenhavenPress,2012.OpposingViewpoints.Rpt.
fromNotAllApplesAreCreatedEqual.EarthIslandJournal23.1(Spring2008).
OpposingViewpointsinContext.Web.3Nov.2014.
Roberts,JackL.OrganicAgriculture:ProtectingOurFoodSupplyOrChasingImaginary
Risks?.Minneapolis,MN:TwentyFirstCenturyBooks,2012.eBookCollection
(EBSCOhost).Web.6Nov.2014.