About Organic

Organic food is a controversial topic, with debate about its regulations and whether the cost is worth it. Even the definition of what organic food is can be under discussion. However, the basis for what they are stands as such: organic foods follow specific standards which include exclusion of pesticides and artificial fertilizer from the food growth process, as well as not being contaminated with waste, radiation, or food additives. This all sounds like a pretty good deal, does it not?

Well, it very may well be. In addition to all of that, organic over inorganic food is exponentially better for the environment. To begin with, they do not make use of synthetic pesticides, which means the environment is not contaminated by them. This means cleaner water, soil, and safer wildlife. Secondly, organic farms sustain ecosystems better than inorganic farms would, as they protect the populations of plants, insects, and animals from pollutants. As low-fat cream on the organic cake, organic food production uses less energy and generates less waste than its inorganic counterpart. Organic food must sound like some sort of imaginary, utopian dream to you by now. Well, in some ways, it might be. There are questions being raised about whether the USDA requirements for being ‘organic’ are stringent enough, and whether they are even being enforced. For instance, organic milk and organic eggs requires a certain amount of grazing for cows and chickens. Does this requirement necessarily provide these animals with adequate exposure to natural, out-of-the-ground food, and sunlight? Another question raised is about cost. Organic food is generally much more expensive, sometimes even double the cost of normal food. Does this mean that demonstrating care for the environment, other people, and your own health has a heavy economic tax, and is a luxury? Perhaps the government should be doing something to encourage organic food purchase and a reduction to its cost. It is a hypocritical act to claim concern for the environment, while at the same time supporting environmentally destructive, humanly toxic food production with every bite.

Going green should not end with energy, or at the endangered wildlife preserve. Caring for the environment extends to the massive amounts of land designated to crop growth and animal tending. The impact that the way the world rears cows is said to be at least equivalent or even greater than the impact of certain polluting behaviors of humans themselves. The obsession with meat and its centralization in our diets is both unhealthy and environmentally hazardous. As creatures who thrive on diets rich in vegetation, fruit, and grain, the manner in which we eat now is paradoxical. However, organic food will remain a luxury for the time being. So long as major, inorganic companies receive the government favor and national attention organic food companies lack, the prices on organic food will not even out. One wonders on what day the choice will be between evenly priced produce, one organic and one not? That is an unfair match, in my opinion.