Organic Foods and Your Health

Abstract

Is eating organic healthier for you? In my research I found that in some studies it does show

significant gains in eating all organic foods. When comparing the mutagenic toxin growth I

found that in both studies organic foods are better at blocking the toxins. It is also a benefit that

it helps to block the proliferation of some cancer cells. Although it is not all that cost effective

from a budget stand point it is from a health stand point. In some of the studies I found that the

nutrient levels are the same or not significantly different. When choosing to go all organic you

need to decide whether or not you are willing to pay the price difference when there are not a

lot of studies to prove if you are getting more nutrients than eating nonorganic foods. You also

need to keep in mind that even though all organic foods are to be produced using no pesticides

there is still going to be pesticide residue on your organic food. This is due to the fact that

pesticides travel around the world in the atmosphere. However, these pesticide levels will be a

great deal lower than what is on their nonorganic counterparts.

ORGANIC FOODS AND YOUR HEALTH

Organic Foods

Organic food products are the foods that are produced and grown using very little or no

chemicals. The main factors that makes a food organic is that it contains no pesticides,

preservatives or other chemicals during the production or processing of the products. The

fertilizers used must also be organic; no synthetic ingredients can be used. Organic foods can

not be genetically altered either. On the other hand nonorganic foods are products produced

using chemicals, preservatives, or pesticides during the production or processing of the products.

These products typically have a longer shelf life due to the preservatives and chemicals added to

them. Depending on many factors, the nutritional content of fruit and vegetable crops vary.

Some of these factors are fertilizer regime, methods used for crop protection, growing conditions

and season. The nutritional composition of animal food products also vary depending on several

factors. The age and breed of an animal, the season of production and the feeding regime are

some of the factors that affect this. This is why many people believe eating organic foods are

healthier for you.

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has guidelines for which a product

has to meet before they can be approved with the organic seal. The US fully implemented the

regulations on organic food products in 2002. The USDA requires that each production or

handling process or certain portions of the production or handling process that deals with

livestock, livestock products, crops, or other agricultural products that are going be labeled, sold

or represented as being "organic", "made with organic", or "100 percent organic" must be

certified. "Organic" products have to be composed of at least 95 percent of organic ingredients,

the remaining ingredients have to be approved for use in organic production. The products that

carry the "100 percent organic" seal must be made of nothing but organically produced

ingredients. The products that have "made with organic" on the label are those that contain at

ORGANIC FOODS AND YOUR HEALTH

least 70 percent of ingredients that are organic. These products cannot carry the USDA Organic

Seal but can list up to three organic ingredients on the front package of the product. Another

label products may have is "natural". This term is not regulated, except for meat and poultry,

and simply means that a product is only minimally processed, contains on artificial ingredients or

added color.

The cost of production of producing organic food or organic food products are higher

than that of nonorganic foods or nonorganic food products. It is because of this that the price

consumers pay for organic food or organic food products is higher. Are the benefits of organic

foods worth what they cost? Currently, conventionally produced fruits and vegetables cost

between 10 and 30 percent less than organically produced fruits and vegetables. Animal, frozen

and processed organic products can cost significantly more than their nonorganic counterparts,

sometimes 50 to 100 percent more.

Below I have drawn the supply and demand curves for organic and non-organic foods.

As you can see from the graphs the supply of organic foods is lower than that of conventional

foods therefore the price of organic foods is higher. On my graph the equilibrium of organic

foods meet at P2 and Q1 and the equilibrium of nonorganic foods is at P1 and Q1.

ORGANIC FOODS AND YOUR HEALTH

Health Benefits

The number of Americans buying only organic products are