Organic Foods versus Inorganic Foods - Term Paper Example

Organic Foods vs Inorganic Foods Food can be categorized into organic food and inorganic food. In the recent years, with the growth in the level of awareness of people regarding the health benefits of organic food and risks posed by the consumption of inorganic food, many people are resorting to consuming only the organic food. The organic food industry is spreading the image of producing healthier and safer food by engaging in such farming and agricultural practices that are free of chemicals and are better-suited to the health and safety of the environment. This is the reason why sales of organic produce have increased. Organic farming claims to be good for the health and safety of the environment as well as the consumers, whereas critics are of the opinion that organic farming increase the risk of contamination of the soil with different kinds of potentially dangerous bacteria and toxins. Organic produce has higher levels of natural pesticide which could be just as dangerous, if not more, as synthetic chemicals. The physical differences between the two kinds of food are noticeable almost instantaneously. Organic produce comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and seems imperfect compared to the non-organic produce that not only has almost same size and shapes, but also very fine appearance. This difference can be attributed to the fact that much non-organic produce is treated with different kinds of substances that enhance their growth and is also subjected to the grading and quality standards established by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) unlike most organic food. This might change as a result of the efforts of the USDA to establish similar physical standards for organic produce as well under the National Organic Program (NOP) (Solomon). Similar to the organic produce, organic meet in general and particularly the cuts of organic meat are often found to be different from the inorganic meat and cuts physically. The coloration of the cuts of organic meat is similar to the inorganic cuts but the size of the former is usually smaller compared to that of the latter. The difference in size is explained by the fact that animals slaughtered to produce organic meet are not fed any substances to enhance their growth whereas inorganic food animals are given such treatment. The word “organic” indicates the process of growth and cultivation of agricultural products by the farmers such as grains, fruits, dairy products, meat, and vegetables. Organic practices of farming are design in such a way that they enhance the conservation of water and soil along with reducing the extent of pollution in the environment. Farmers engaged in the growth of organic meat and produce do not use the traditional fertilization methods to prevent the disease in livestock or to control the weeds. For instance, organic farmers might spread manure or mulch or execute more sophisticated rotations of crop instead of using chemical weedkillers to deter the weeds. Inorganic farmers use chemical fertilizers to enhance the growth of crops whereas organic farmers make use of natural fertilizers like compost or manure to address the needs of the soil as well as the plants. Inorganic farmers spray synthetic insecticides over the crops to reduce their exposure to the pests and increase their ability to fight off the diseases whereas organic farmers spray the pesticides derived from natural sources such as the use of beneficial birds and insects to reduce the crops’ exposure to pests as well as disease. Inorganic farmers manage weeds by using synthetic herbicides whereas organic farmers use such plant-killing compounds that are environmentally generated such as rotation of crops, till, mulch or hand weed to keep weed away. Inorganic food producers give different kinds of antibiotics, medications and growth hormones to the animals to spur their growth and prevent disease in them whereas organic food producers give only organic feed to the animals and engage in such practices as allowing the animals outdoors access. Preventive measures used by the organic food producers include balanced diet, rotational grazing, and clean housing to build a safe and healthy environment for the plants and animals to grow in. The USDA has introduced a program of organic certification according to which, all organic food producers are required to comply with strict standards established by the government. These standards are related to the ways food is cultivated or grown as well as processed. Under this certification program, no product can be labeled as organic unless it has been certified by the USDA. No producers are exempt from this certification except those who sell under $5000 in organic foods a year, but even they are required to abide by the standards established by the USDA for the organic foods. A food product bearing a USDA Organic label shows that it has been produced as well as processed according to the standards considered safe and healthy by the USDA. Many organic producers tend to use the seal in order to enhance consumers’ interest and confidence in their produce. One factor that provides inorganic food with edge over the organic food is the fact that the former is cheaper in comparison to the latter. The different measures taken to make the food environmentally safe and healthy for the consumers like higher standards of animal welfare, crop rotations, restricted chemical use not only reduce the amount of yield of the product but also make the food costlier for the consumers to afford. Government subsidies are mainly paid to the farmers whose farms are non-organic so that they may bring their prices down. According to the pro-organic lobby, consumers pay threefold while purchasing the inorganic food; once over the counter, the second time through taxation, and the third time as remedy of the environmental pollution. With the growth of technology and improvement of the sector, it is expected that the cost of organic food would decrease with the decrease in the cost of production and increase in the yield. Defining the differences existing between the organic and inorganic food on the basis of quality is difficult. This difficulty is embedded in the people’s tendency to assign differing values to quality in food. Organic food products and inorganic food products’ quality should be evaluated against the same standards, with the organic food products meeting an additional standards’ set known as the NOP which are not applicable over the inorganic foods in order to be proven superior than inorganic foods. Which of the two varieties of food offers better quality depends upon the criteria of the consumers. If the consumers place more value in the visibility and appearance, shape, and size of the products, then inorganic foods offer a better quality than the organic foods. However, if the consumers establish minimal use of additives and synthetic substances in the growth and processing of the food products, then organic foods offer a better quality than the inorganic foods. Irrespective of the criteria established for the evaluation of the organic or inorganic foods, organic foods generally taste better than the inorganic foods. The difference between organic and inorganic foods in terms of taste are just as prominent as the differences of colors, shape, and size existing between the two food varieties. The difference between organic and inorganic foods in terms of nutritional value is debatable. Although the perspective that generally prevails is the one that favors organic food products, considering them to be of a higher nutritional value as compared to the inorganic food products, yet ongoing research is revealing more knowledge and awareness which is often contradicting this perspective “some very recent studies have shown that the nutritional differences between organic products and non-organic products are generally minuscule, although research on the topic is ongoing” (Solomon). To conclude, whether organic food is better than inorganic food cannot be established with utmost objectivity because of the contradiction between the prevailing perspectives and results of the ongoing research, though organic food is generally believed to be more environment-friendly and safer for health compared to the inorganic food. The fundamental difference between the organic and inorganic food products that cause difference in the physical appearance as well as nutritional value and health effects of the two varieties of food is created by the difference of ways in which organic and inorganic foods are grown as well as processed. There is no or minimal use of chemicals and fertilizers in the growth and processing of organic foods whereas their use in the case of inorganic foods is significant. As people have become more conscious about their health and safety in response to the ongoing theories and debates about global warming and living green, proponents of organic foods have increased in number all over the world in general and in the developed countries in particular. However, inorganic food products have some very appealing characteristic features that are missing in the organic food products including bigger sizes, enhanced shapes and colors, and most importantly, cost-effectiveness. But organic foods have a very important element of tasting better compared to the inorganic foods in general. Works Cited: Solomon, Zak. “Organic vs. Non-Organic: What’s the Difference?” Food Safety News. 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. . Read More