Essay About Organic Foods And Organic Food Products

Organic Foods and Your Health
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Abstract
Is eating organic healthier for you? In my research I found that in some studies it does show
significant gains in eating all organic foods. When comparing the mutagenic toxin growth I
found that in both studies organic foods are better at blocking the toxins. It is also a benefit that
it helps to block the proliferation of some cancer cells. Although it is not all that cost effective
from a budget stand point it is from a health stand point. In some of the studies I found that the
nutrient levels are the same or not significantly different. When choosing to go all organic you
need to decide whether or not you are willing to pay the price difference when there are not a
lot of studies to prove if you are getting more nutrients than eating nonorganic foods. You also
need to keep in mind that even though all organic foods are to be produced using no pesticides
there is still going to be pesticide residue on your organic food. This is due to the fact that
pesticides travel around the world in the atmosphere. However, these pesticide levels will be a
great deal lower than what is on their nonorganic counterparts.
ORGANIC FOODS AND YOUR HEALTH
Organic Foods
Organic food products are the foods that are produced and grown using very little or no
chemicals. The main factors that makes a food organic is that it contains no pesticides,
preservatives or other chemicals during the production or processing of the products. The
fertilizers used must also be organic; no synthetic ingredients can be used. Organic foods can
not be genetically altered either. On the other hand nonorganic foods are products produced
using chemicals, preservatives, or pesticides during the production or processing of the products.
These products typically have a longer shelf life due to the preservatives and chemicals added to
them. Depending on many factors, the nutritional content of fruit and vegetable crops vary.
Some of these factors are fertilizer regime, methods used for crop protection, growing conditions
and season. The nutritional composition of animal food products also vary depending on several
factors. The age and breed of an animal, the season of production and the feeding regime are
some of the factors that affect this. This is why many people believe eating organic foods are
healthier for you.
The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has guidelines for which a product
has to meet before they can be approved with the organic seal. The US fully implemented the
regulations on organic food products in 2002. The USDA requires that each production or
handling process or certain portions of the production or handling process that deals with
livestock, livestock products, crops, or other agricultural products that are going be labeled, sold
or represented as being “organic”, “made with organic”, or “100 percent organic” must be
certified. “Organic” products have to be composed of at least 95 percent of organic ingredients,
the remaining ingredients have to be approved for use in organic production. The products that
carry the “100 percent organic” seal must be made of nothing but organically produced
ingredients. The products that have “made with organic” on the label are those that contain at
ORGANIC FOODS AND YOUR HEALTH
least 70 percent of ingredients that are organic. These products cannot carry the USDA Organic
Seal but can list up to three organic ingredients on the front package of the product. Another
label products may have is “natural”. This term is not regulated, except for meat and poultry,
and simply means that a product is only minimally processed, contains on artificial ingredients or
added color.
The cost of production of producing organic food or organic food products are higher
than that of nonorganic foods or nonorganic food products. It is because of this that the price
consumers pay for organic food or organic food products is higher. Are the benefits of organic
foods worth what they cost? Currently, conventionally produced fruits and vegetables cost
between 10 and 30 percent less than organically produced fruits and vegetables. Animal, frozen
and processed organic products can cost significantly more than their nonorganic counterparts,
sometimes 50 to 100 percent more.
Below I have drawn the supply and demand curves for organic and non-organic foods.
As you can see from the graphs the supply of organic foods is lower than that of conventional
foods therefore the price of organic foods is higher. On my graph the equilibrium of organic
foods meet at P2 and Q1 and the equilibrium of nonorganic foods is at P1 and Q1.
ORGANIC FOODS AND YOUR HEALTH
Health Benefits
The number of Americans buying only organic products are