Why Go Organic

In our fast paced society, it may be difficult for many people to make healthy and ethical choices when it comes to food. There are so many things to consider-- Who produced the food and how? How do you ensure your food has been produced in an environmentally friendly way? Has the meat you bought been raised without hormones and antibiotics?

Perhaps all these things are important to you, and if so, having organic labels on food lets consumers know that the food they choose to purchase has been produced up to a certain level of standards. Buying organic food also supports organic farmers and producers, and helps the green industry grow.

So, why go organic? Because when you choose to eat organic, you are assured that your food is free of synthetic chemicals, is not a G.M.O. (Genetically Modified Organism), and had not been irradiated.

Synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides are worrisome, because they can affect things other than their intended targets (possibly humans). An example of this was documented in 1962 in the book Silent Spring by Rachael Carson, which discussed the use of DDT, and how it affected the birds, which ate the bugs which had been killed by DDT.

Many of the pesticides in use today have not been tested for their effects on human health. Some chemicals and pesticides, such as DDT and mercury have an effect called bio-accumulation, where the amount of said substance increases as it travels up the food chain and doesn't leave the animals that it is in until they die.

GMOs could have great benefits, such as an increased yield, which may be needed to feed the world population of over 6.8 billion. However, there are potentially dangerous side effects, which have not been evaluated very well. One is whether or not they could have a negative effect on human health, for the consumer, the environment or for future generations.

Through Genetic Modification, we can literally combine two different species which would never come in contact in nature, nor would ever be able to breed. One such example, which has been done, is to combine asalmon with a tomato, which increases the tomato plant's resistance to cold. Another concern is that GMO's could act as invasive species, and threaten native and heirloom plants.

Irradiation is a process of exposing things, such as food, to low-level radiation. While irradiation is not proven to be ill for human health, it doesn't seem healthy. The purpose of irradiation is to kill any bacteria or insects which may be on the food. This process can make food production easier for larger companies, but the effects on human health are largely unknown. While the process has been approved by the FDA, it is still something that should concern the average consumer.

When food is irradiated, many chemical reactions take place, most of which are largely unknown. Irradiation is different from using a microwave because it is a cold process. That is, when food is irradiated there is little change in temperature, whereas when food is microwaved, there is a significant increase in temperature.

There is a lot of controversy over whether or not eating organic is actually healthier for you, or safer. Because we have only been using conventional farming methods for a short time, we do not really know whether or not they are harmful to us. In most cases, we can be certain that organic farming methods are easier on the environment than conventional, but determining the differing effects on human health is difficult, costly and ethically questionable.

One reason why you may want to chose organic over conventional is that when you buy organic, you don't have to take the risk that comes with ingesting synthetic chemicals, GMO's and irradiation. When you consider whether or not the risks outweigh the benefits, it may sound reasonable to buy organic, and not risk your own health, the health of the environment, or the health of future generations.

It is important to know that simply choosing organic isn't always the best choice in terms of environmental friendliness. There are other things one may want to consider when making a purchase such as: how far did the food travel in order to get from where it was grown to your plate and how much energy did it take to get there? How much packaging was used? Can the packaging be recycled? How much energy was used to keep your food refrigerated?

It may, in fact, be healthier to buy food produced from a small local farm. In an ideal world it would be easy to eat only healthy, fresh, local, organic produce, such as from a farmers market. However, we do not live in an ideal world and many areas around the world are incapable of growing enough food to feed the people who live there.

That is one reason why large-scale organic food production is necessary. Until the standard methods of food production are reformed, we will need to rely on large-scale organic food that has been shipped from all over the world. The organic label is a way of assuring us as consumers that the food has been produced up to certain health and ethical standards, but we should still strive for higher standards when we are able to.

Because the effects of conventional farming methods are largely unknown, it seems safer and less risky to stick to more benign methods of food production. At least until we have more conclusive evidence of what the side-effects are of using conventional farming methods. Continuing to use these methods is analogous to conducting an experiment on a worldwide scale. Buying organic not only decreases the risk to yourself, but also supports farmers which use less risky methods