Be Manic About Eating Organic

Be Manic about Eating Organic

When we see the word 'organic' on a carton of an organic whole milk or on a plastic bottle of Stonyfield Farm's organic low fat yogurt, the words and phrases such as 'pure', 'chemical-free', 'natural' and 'healthy' naturally comes to mind, and there is little doubt in these assumptions. Organic foods are dairy, produce and poultry products that were treated with no pesticides, growth hormones, or antibiotics. Organic foods have been generating a lot of hype because of the food safety that it offers an individual. Another reason is the documented claims proving organic foods having a generally fresher taste than their conventional counterparts. And lastly, organic foods offer much more healthy benefits, meaning it has a higher nutritional amount than a non-organic food. The question that potential organic consumers seem to ask pertaining to this issue is that is it worth paying for. Even with its higher cost, organic foods are a worthwhile choice for a better health and nutrition.

Various tests by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization demonstrated that some apples, such as the Golden Delicious, scored higher taste scores when grown organically. Also, because organic farms tend to be smaller, they often sell their products closer to the point of harvest. Thus, organic fruits and vegetables taste more farm fresh than comparable conventional produce. However, organic foods might also have more flavor because organic farmers often breed with taste instead of marketability as the primary factor. Conventional tomatoes, for example, are often bred to be perfectly red and round, to match the ideal

appearance of a tomato, meaning that taste is an attribute that has a lower priority in these products. In addition to crop diversity and selection practices, organic farming emphasizes soil nutrition, which can positively influence the taste of the food.

The main criticism surrounding organic food is that its costs are expensive and is elitist, because of how only rich people can afford it. The magazine Consumer Reports stated in its article "When It Pays to Buy Organic" that typical organic foods costs from 50% to 100% the price of conventional items, but according to a Primary Health Care article, published studies concluded that an organic produce is packing with a significant increase in nutrients and dry matter. Organic produce has 27% more Vitamin C, 29.3% more magnesium, and 21% more iron compared to the non-organic; also contain 26% more dry matter, which means that it does not shrink as quickly when cooked as there is less water that will evaporate. Organic food may seem to be expensive at first glance, but when you look at all the factors that come with the product, it is a better buy in the end.

Knowing what organic products to buy, and what not to buy will also help out cut the unnecessary purchases of everything organic. The United States of Department of Agriculture listed apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach and strawberries as the "dirty dozen" that should be consumed as often as organic. The USDA's own testing reports that their conventional counterparts accumulate a good number of pesticide residues, which has numerous negative