Organic Matter Article

Organic Matter
By Kelly Hardin
Organic food has burgeoned in popularity in recent years, but many people are still wondering what the big deal is. There are still many questions about whether or not organic food is really any healthier than conventional food.
Those who haven’t jumped on the organic bandwagon have many reasons for not doing so; among them are the seemingly higher prices of organic food and doubts as to actual health benefits. Some of the questions they have are how they can know if the food they are getting is really organic, if organic food is really better and if so, where it can be bought cheaply?
According to the Web site of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 100 percent organic means that at least 70 percent of all the ingredients must be raised in a USDA approved manner and any products containing ingredients with less than 70 percent organic content cannot display the label claiming the product as organic.
So, if you see a food with an official USDA organic label, you can be sure that you are getting authentically natural food. But just because a food is natural doesn’t always mean it is better for you.
Organic products are no healthier than conventionally produced foods and do not provide any significant nutritional benefit, according to Dr. Robert Shewfelt, a food science and technology professor at The University of Georgia.
“Foods are processed—canned, frozen, and dried—to keep them from spoiling and keeping our foods safe,” Dr. Shewfelt said.
The life expectancy of Americans has averaged an increase of more than 30 years from 1900 to 2000 as more foods have become processed, he says.
“I firmly believe that part of the reason we are living longer is the greater safety of our food supply and the availability of affordable foods due to food processing,” Dr. Shewfelt said.
Many nutritionists suggest that locally grown foods have some health benefits over conventionally grown foods because they are more likely to be picked at peak nutritional value and consumed sooner. However, though locally grown foods are often organic, the terms are not always synonymous—local farmers may grow their food any number of ways.
There are many consumer’s who agree with Dr. Shewfelt’s ideas about organic food. Julianne King, a Music Education major at UGA, says that she feels it is important to eat locally grown foods because she does think that foods grown locally are more natural and often in better condition.
But she doesn’t really think there is any difference between organic and conventionally grown foods. “I just think that people were eating ‘organic’ food hundreds of years ago and their health standards were way worse than ours,” King said.
But not all scientists or consumers are in complete agreement with Dr. Shewfelt’s or King’s point of view. Dr. Philip Howard is a professor in the department of community, agriculture, recreation and resource studies at Michigan State University. His research focuses on the 'food system,' which involves all of the steps required to produce food and get it to households—from farming and processing to distribution and consumption.
According to Dr. Howard, some scientists suggest that there are higher antioxidant and nutrient levels as well as lower nitrogen and synthetic pesticide levels in organic foods.
Dr. Howard believes that the recent rise in the consumption of organic foods may help to “reduce exposure to toxic chemicals and the negative ecological impacts of agriculture.” Dr. Howard agrees with Dr. Shewfelt that there is not, at present, any scientifically conclusive evidence for substantial health benefits gained from eating organic; however, he does point out that there are significant differences between organic and conventional farming methods.
Although scientists may claim that there is no clear evidence of health benefits from organic food, those who eat organic stand by their belief in organic good.
Amal Mohamed is a pre-med biology and English major at UGA, who tries to eat organic food on a regular basis. “I feel like I have more energy, my skin looks better and I feel like I’m helping out the environment when I eat organic,” Mohamed said.
Mohamed says that finding it cheaply is not difficult, “I just did some research and found out how to buy cheap organic food.” There are a number of ways for consumers to buy organic food cheaply, such as shopping at farmer’s markets, co-ops, buying in season or shopping online, Mohamed says.
Most Americans can probably agree that they need to eat better foods. Currently, organic food is generally grown on small farms that emphasize a lifestyle of healthy eating and healthy living through work that supports the global ecosystem. Consumers and scientists may be divided regarding the health benefits of organic food, but they can probably all agree that a food system that encourages the health of the body and the earth seems pretty good.
Conventional Farmers:

• Apply chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth.
• Spray insecticides to reduce pests and disease.
• Use chemical herbicides to manage weeds.
• Give animals antiobiotics, growth hormones and medications to prevent disease and spur growth.

Organic Farmers:

• Apply natural fertilizers, such as manure or compost, to feed soil and plants.
• Use beneficial insects and birds or traps to try to reduce pests and disease.
• Rotate crops, till, hand weed or mulch to manage weeds.
• Give animals organic feed and allow them access to the outdoors. Use preventive measures — such as rotational grazing, a balanced diet and clean housing — to help minimize disease.
  Source: Dr. Philip Howard