Organic Foods

What are organic foods about?
Organic foods are produced according to certain production standards. Simply stated, organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones.

To be certified organic, a farm must

* avoidance of synthetic chemical inputs (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc) and genetically modified organisms;
* use of farmland that has been free from chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more);
* keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);
* maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products;
* undergoing periodic on-site inspections.


Why does organic cost more?

* Organic farmers don’t receive federal subsidies like conventional farmers do. Therefore, the price of organic food reflects the true cost of growing.
* The price of conventional food does not reflect the cost of environmental cleanups that we pay for through our tax dollars.
* Organic farming is more labor and management intensive.
* Organic farms are usually smaller than conventional farms and so do not benefit from the economies of scale that larger growers get.
* Non GM (genetically modified) food mostly produce one crop a year but certain GM food can produce as much as 3 crops a year.
* Chemical fertilizer help to increase the yield but could leave behind harmful chemical's in the plant.
* Chemical herbicides and pesticides help kill the bugs and other plants but could leave behind harmful chemical's in the plant.


Is organic food really more nutritious than conventional food?
Some recently published studies in peer-reviewed journals have shown organic foods to have higher nutritional value.

Why organic?

Generally organic food are specially recommended for babies, the elderly and anyone who is not feeling well. The idea is not to put stress on the bodies by introducing chemicals into the body such as Arsenic.

Low doses of arsenic, such as those found in Meharg's survey, do not cause acute illness; however, long term exposure may increase cancer risk. Higher levels of exposure can affect various organs including the skin and the respiratory, cardiovascular, immune, genitourinary, reproductive, gastro-intestinal and nervous systems.

Also, there is a view that crops that mature in their own time produces more nutrients and/or taste better, as shown by the recent sea bass that singapore developed.