Different Aspects of Organic and Transgenic Foods - Essay Example

?Organic Food Table of Contents Introduction 3 Thesis ment 3 Organic Food Is Safer Than Regular Food and Transgenic Food 4 Organic Food Tastes Better Than Regular Food 6 Fine Dining Restaurants Prefer Using Organic Food 7 Disadvantages of Transgenic Food 8 Counterargument about Transgenic Food 9 Conclusion 9 Works Cited 10 Introduction The various sources of food products have gained considerable attention from the consumers in the present days. People are now becoming much attentive about their regular food intake and the consequences of unhealthy diet. People’s growing interest in the sources of food products has further been accelerated by increasing health concerns and growing ecological considerations. Nowadays, organic foods are gaining popularity amid common people with immense rapidity while transgenic foods are attracting questions in the minds of consumers. This increased demand of organic food is driven by awareness of customer about quality and safety of foods over their regular dietary choices (Vindigni, Janssen and Jager, “Organic food consumption A Multi-Theoretical Framework of Consumer Decision Making”). Thesis Statement The objective of the report is to gain better understanding about different aspects of organic foods and how it is different from transgenic foods and regular food items in terms of safety and taste. Besides, the report is also intended to highlight the disadvantages of organic foods and transgenic foods which can increase the concern among its consumers due to regular intake. Organic Food Is Safer Than Regular Food and Transgenic Food Usually, organic products are regarded to be those which are cultivated without the use of any kind of artificial elements, pesticides and genetically improved organisms. Although no specific scientific outcomes have been observed, depicting that the quality of organic food is much better than other regular foods, several people believe that organic foods are much healthier than regular food items easily available in the markets. The term ‘organic’ specifies that these food items are produced by utilizing specific environment friendly agricultural practices. Organic is critically denoted as a procedure claim rather than product claim. Products of organic agriculture are demarcated by technology and input used in the production procedure, rather than stimulating the intrinsic features of the product. Irrespective of procedure claim, consumers often observe organic products as signifying an environment friendly way of production as well as possessing certain inherent quality and safety characteristics of the food items (Vindigni, Janssen and Jager, “Organic food consumption A Multi-Theoretical Framework of Consumer Decision Making”). In contrast, use of pesticides in regular foods generates concern about food poisoning as well. It has also been noted that regular food contains ‘antibiotic resistant bacteria’ which can generate the threat of food poisoning (Watson, “Organic Food No More Nutritious than Conventionally Grown Food”). On the basis of the outcomes generated through a survey in the year 2007, it can be observed that about 30% of American people purchase organic foods with minimum significance preferring such food items only on occasional instances even though most of these people believe that organic food items are quite safer and healthier than regular foods (Bittman, “Eating Food That’s Better for You, Organic or Not”). The research conducted by Newcastle University of the UK further revealed that organic products have 40% more nutrients comprising Vitamin C, zinc and iron in comparison to regular foods (Lippert, “Is Organic Produce Healthier than Conventional?”). Additionally, the research conducted by the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry depicted that organically grown foods contain 58% more polyphenols and antioxidants which can assist in inhibiting cardiac sickness (Kepner, “Studies Show Benefits of Eating Organic”). On the other hand, transgenic foods are those products that have been transformed by biological and botanical method stimulated through chemical inputs or foreign body nutrients. To be specific, transgenic foods are usually produced in laboratories through utilizing nutrients or other components which can help in enhancing the resistance of those products towards certain pests. However, few people observe transgenic food as healthy and safe in comparison to organic foods and regular foods. Nevertheless, both organic foods and transgenic foods are perceived as having high level of nutrients in comparison to regular foods being considered as proper for curing diseases (Anderson, Wachenheim and Lesch, “Perceptions of Genetically Modified and Organic Foods and Processes”). Usually, there do not exit any kind of heath concern with respect to organic foods. Several people do not believe organic foods as safer than regular foods because they are not completely free from the use of chemicals. Besides, no dependable dissimilarities in vitamin contents in organic foods and regular foods have been found. However, organic foods have several advantages over regular foods and transgenic foods; for example, organic food contains high level of omega 3 fatty acid which is vital for brain development and for cardiac health as well (Smith, “Organic Food is 'Not Healthier'”). Organic Food Tastes Better Than Regular Food Although mixed responses are obtainable about the safety and healthy aspects of organic foods, most of the people today believe that tastes of organic foods is more flagrant. Several researches have been conducted to develop a specific understanding about the taste of organic foods and regular foods. Most of the research findings have observed in this regard that organic foods are tastier than regular foods. The intense flavor of organic products such as foods and vegetables perhaps stem from two aspects which are identifiable as the usual level of antioxidants and low level of nitrates. These two nutrients are further studies to significantly transform the nutritional and organoleptic quality in food contents. To be specific, nitrates can fuel the food spoilage thus organic foods have long life than regular foods. On the other hand, antioxidants help to preserve the integrity of cells and act as natural antibiotics which can help to maintain the tastes of food items over a longer duration. For example, organic apples are usually preferred by most of the customers in place of regular apples due to its better tastes. Several data depicts that organic apples are crisper and tend to hold a unique flavor than regular apples (The Organic Center, “Do Organic Fruits and Vegetables Taste Better than Conventional Produce?”). Again, with respect to organic strawberries, it is often considered to be of much better quality than regular strawberries. Organic strawberries are characterized by more intense color and higher sugar components, making it tastier than regular strawberries. Besides, organic strawberries have higher resistance towards deterioration. Usually, organic strawberries are smaller and sweeter and are chosen by most of the consumers in comparison to regular strawberries. The other example of organic food can be referred with the example of organic tomatoes. Organic tomatoes are also desired by consumers over regular tomatoes because of its taste, flavor and juiciness. In contrast, regular tomatoes are characterized with dryness, having less intense fragrance than organic tomatoes. According to the study of US Department of Agriculture, organic tomato ketchup is much brighter in appearance than regular tomatoes, which depicted that organic foods are much healthier than regular foods (The Organic Center, “Do Organic Fruits and Vegetables Taste Better than Conventional Produce?”). Fine Dining Restaurants Prefer Using Organic Food Considering the advantages of using organic foods, an incessantly growing number people are becoming conscious about the sources of food products in the restaurants. Thus, several people actively tend to select the restaurants on the basis of food products rather than food prices in the current phenomenon, especially among the quality seeking consumers. It is expected that organic foods will continue to increase its market share in the food industry and subsequently, it is quite likely that the demand for organic products will also increase substantially. Considering the increasing trend of consuming organic foods, nowadays several restaurants and food service providers prefer to include organic items in their menus. With a similar notion, several restaurants have converted certain food products from regular to organic. It is also expected that in future organic food products will appear in more restaurants as people will prefer consuming organic foods for gaining a fine dining experience (Food Marketing Institute, “Natural and Organic Foods”). Disadvantages of Transgenic Food The thought of harvesting food with necessary qualities and tastes have paved the way for the development of organic and transgenic foods. Although there are several advantages which are associated with transgenic foods, such as high level of vitamin and mineral contents, there are certain disadvantages too which generate concern for health conscious people. The foremost disadvantage is that the safety of transgenic food has not been confirmed up till now. In reality, no actual scientific research has been conducted in order to understand the possible threats of transgenic food to the heath of people. The other dominant health disadvantage of transgenic food is allergies as a consequence of genetic material modifications in plants. Besides, transgenic foods are considered as an irregular method to harvest food. Thus, there is always an unknown long run impact on harvesting transgenic foods to the biodiversity. Furthermore, the extensive use of insect resistant genetic contents in transgenic crops can help to make the insects more resistant to genetic variations leading to pervasive loss of crops and plants, causing loss of biodiversity (The Organic & Non-GMO Report, “Study Shows Disadvantages of GM Foods to Human Health”). On the other hand, organic foods also have certain limitations. The expenses of organic foods are much higher than other regular foods because of limited pesticides and feeding of livestock among others. Limited pesticides usage also enhances the risk for farmers to lose the crops because of pest eruptions or plant bugs. Besides, organic farmers inseminate the land with composting with animal dung which is quite expensive in comparison to chemical composts (The Organic & Non-GMO Report, “Study Shows Disadvantages of GM Foods to Human Health”). Counterargument about Transgenic Food Although transgenic food has numerous disadvantages, it also possesses certain benefits to the consumers. The foremost benefit of transgenic food is its pest resistant capability. Unlike organic foods, transgenic foods have low possibility to be destroyed by pests. Thus, it also helps farmers to avoid financial loss and facilitate better cultivation opportunities to satisfy the incessantly growing demand for food. The other benefit of transgenic food over organic food is its cost effectiveness. The transgenic crops arrive with low cost which help common people to purchase these food items on regular basis at a cheaper and affordable cost. Apart from these advantages, transgenic foods also have certain nutrient components which are necessary to prevent undernourishment (Whitman, “Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?”). Conclusion The report confers advantages and drawbacks of both organic and transgenic foods and compares the differences between organic foods with regular and transgenic foods in terms of quality and taste. While it can be observed that organic foods are highly expensive, it has high demand for people in the market due to its inherent benefits with respect to health. People nowadays tend to accept organic foods much readily than transgenic foods with an increasing awareness that transgenic foods are revealed to generate several health and environment concerns. Due to this reason, organic foods have become accepted a competitive and persuasive food item for several restaurants and even drawn the attraction of large customer base who are interested in organic agricultural practices. Works Cited Anderson, Jon C., Cheryl J. Wachenheim and William C. Lesch. “Perceptions of Genetically Modified and Organic Foods and Processes”. The Journal of Agrobiotechology Management & Economics, 9.3 (2006): 180-194. Print. Bittman, Mark. Eating Food That’s Better for You, Organic or Not. The New York Times, 2009. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. Food Marketing Institute. Natural and Organic Foods, No Date. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. Kepner, John. “Studies Show Benefits of Eating Organic”. Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition against the Misuse of Pesticides, 23.1 (2003): 26. Print. Lippert, Marissa. Is Organic Produce Healthier than Conventional? EatingWell Magazine, 2008. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. Smith, Rebecca. Organic Food is 'Not Healthier'. The Telegraph, 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. The Organic Center. Do Organic Fruits and Vegetables Taste Better than Conventional Produce? No Date. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. The Organic & Non-GMO Report. Study Shows Disadvantages of GM Foods to Human Health, 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. Vindigni, Gabriella, Marco A. Janssen and Wander Jager. “Organic Food Consumption A Multi-Theoretical Framework of Consumer Decision Making”. British Food Journal, 104.8 (2002): 624-642. Print. Whitman, Deborah B. Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful? Discovery Guides, 2000. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. Watson, Stephanie. Organic Food No More Nutritious than Conventionally Grown Food. Harvard University, 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. Read More