Sabtu, 05 Juli 2008

Organic Foods

If we want to buy organic foods, we will consider first whether the organic foods are safer& more nutritious or not. People often hear about the organic foods but most of them do not know about the difference, between organic foods and the conventional foods. Before we want to buy organic foods or just conventional foods, let’s decide which is the best for you, considering nutrition, quality, taste, cost and other factors.

The word "organic" in organic food refers to the way farmers grow and process agricultural products, such as vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy products and meat. Organic farming are designed to encourage soil, water conservation and reduce air & water pollution. Farmers who grow organic foods don't use conventional methods to fertilize, control weeds or prevent livestock disease. In the conventional farming, we use pesticides to protect the crops from insects, weeds or diseases. So, the organic farming is different from the conventional farming. This means that the crops were grown without the use of conventional pesticides, chemical fertilizers ,artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or adding food additives

What stops someone from preferring “Organic food”?

A lot of people think that :

® "Maybe it is more costly compared to my regular meal"

® "I do care about my health, but why I must show off eating organic food?
I eat at good quality restaurants"

® "Organic food is healthy food. Normally health food is tasteless“

® “I tried it once, it is no different from the normal stuff but costly”

Most of people think that organic food is expensive , it is for those who want to show off and it is tasteless.

So where do we start to make people preferring organic foods?

Telling people about the goodness of organic food. We can tell them from the process of the organic farming and organic foods do not contain chemical substances such as pesticides or herbisides. We also can tell people that organic food is fresher than conventional foods and other else.

Clearing the doubts in their minds by :

Make eating “organic food” a habit. Change their minds to start buy and eat organic foods

We can start with selling them “Organic” fruits, vegetables and meat at the existing restaurants So people will know the organic foods and start to consume organic foods.

Conventional vs. Organic Farming

Here are the differences between conventional farming and organic farming:

Conventional farmers

Organic farmers

Apply chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth.


Spray insecticides to reduce pests and disease.

Use beneficial insects and birds to reduce pests and disease.

Use chemical herbicides to manage weeds.

Rotate crops 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.

If a food has a USDA Organic label, it means it's produced and processed according to the USDA standards. At least 95 % of the food's ingredients are organically produced. Products that are completely organic such as fruits or vegetables, are labeled 100 percent organic and can carry a small USDA seal..

  • Organic. Products that are at least 95 percent organic.

Foods containing less than 70 percent organic ingredients can't use the organic seal or the word "organic" on their product label.

Organic food: Buy or bypass?

There are many factors may influence your decision to buy or not buy organic food. So you should know the differences in both of them. People can start to consider these factors:

  • Nutrition and safer. There aren’t any conclusive evidence that shows organic food is more nutritious than conventional food. The USDA never claims that these products are safer or more nutritious. Because the organic foods do not contain chemical substances, mostly people think that organic foods is safer than the regular foods. Regular foods can contain residue of the pesticides so it can be toxic to our body. But the nutrition of the organic food is quiet same as regular food.
  • Quality and appearance. Organic foods have the same quality and safety standards as conventional foods. The difference is in how the food is produced and processed.
  • Pesticides. Conventional farmers use pesticides to protect their crops from insects and diseases. You should remember that the pesticides contain many toxic chemical substances. When farmers spray pesticides, this can leave residue on produce. Some people buy organic food to reduce these residues. The pesticides that is used in conventional farming can be harmful. The residue can cause cancer or other kind of disease. So we must consider the effect of chemical substances in that pesticides to our health.
  • Environment. Some people buy organic food for environmental reasons. Organic farming are designed to benefit the environment by reducing pollution (air pollution and water pollution) and conserving water and soil.
  • Cost. The cost of most organic foods are higher than conventional food Higher prices are due to more expensive farming practices. It is because organic farmers don't use herbicides or pesticides. For the example, organic farmers may remove weed vegetables manually to control weeds. While in the conventional farming, the farmers spray the herbicides to reduce the weeds. So organic farming is not as simple as the conventional farming.Because of that, the cost of the organic foods will higher than conventional foods.
  • Taste. Some people say they are able to know the difference between organic and non-organic food. Others say they find no difference. So, we can conclude that the taste of food is a subjective and depend on personal consideration. But whether you buy organic or not, finding the fresher foods may have the big impact on the taste. A study by researchers at Washington State University in 2001 concluded that organic apples were sweeter. Along with taste and sweetness, the texture of the apples were also rated higher than those grown conventionally
Notes : Sorry if my english was bad and also the grammar was wrong.
I just try my best to start writing in my blog

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