Is Organic Better?

Is organic food really better for the health of a human being? To answer this question you must understand what the phrase "organic food" really means. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the decision maker on the standards of organic versus non-organic foods. It states that "organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation." Food containing 95 percent of organic materials can be labeled with the USDA organic seal. Food containing 70 percent can say they are organic and food containing less than that can say their percentage but cannot claim to be organic.

Although these growth hormones and antibiotics injected into the animals make their meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products non-organic, they have no nutritional effect on the person consuming this food. The USDA claims there to be no sophisticated scientific evidence that demonstrates organic food to be healthier than conventional food. The American Dietetic Association says, "Although organic foods generally are grown with lower levels of pesticides, no scientific evidence shows that these foods are healthier or safer than conventionally grown foods." The Organic Trade Council also agrees stating, "There is no conclusive evidence at this time to suggest that organically produced foods are more nutritious," documents from the council say, "Rather, organic foods and fiber are spared the application of toxic and persistent insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers." (Jackson Jr.)

There have been smaller studies provided which show more nutrients are found in organic foods, but the studies tend to be narrow minded; not enough evidence to make sophisticated conclusions.

Promoters of organic consumption rave on the "facts" indicating the higher nutritional value in organic food. As I have said before, no substantial evidence backs this theory up. Another common argument used by these promoters consists of the idea that these hormones injected into the animals end up coming back and affecting the humans who eat or drink the animals' products. There are no facts to support these hallucinations. In a paper written by Ronnie Cummins about how the effects of hormone injections in cows will negatively impact the humans consuming the milk. Cummins argues that cows injected with a certain type of growth hormone known as rBGH provide hazardous milk for consumers. The only problem is Cummins' failure to place certain facts into his article. He states, "rBGH is likely hazardous for human health," but fails to actually show any fact backing this "likeliness" of hazard. Obviously the facts were not too convincing of this supposed "likelihood" in an apparent hazardous hormone. Another blatant fact forgotten was that of how much insulin (cancer promoter) is in organic milk. Cummins just says "milk from injected cows contains significantly higher levels--ranging from 18 percent to 106 percent--of a potent cancer tumor promoter called insulin." He is obviously implying there is some insulin located in organic milk and just leaving that statistic out to try and bamboozle readers with the high value of 106 percent. He is not providing this information for two possible reasons: the amount of insulin is so high anyway that it does not really matter with the rBGH injection because the amount is so high, or the value is so low that 106 percent of that number would still be a ridiculously low amount of insulin.

So, when asked the question, "Is organic food really better for the health of a human being?" You can safely answer no. Not only is there no substantial evidence to back higher nutrition values in organic food, but also the obvious lack of facts to prove the hormones being injected into animals are harming the consumers of the products.

Jackson Jr., Harry. "Is Green Better." Sirs Knowledge Source. 7 May 2007. Pulitzer Publishing Company. 12 Feb. 2009.

Cummins, Ronnie. "Studies Show Synthetic Hormones Are a Risk for Humans." Sirs Knowledge Source. 24 Jan. 2008. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 12 Feb. 2009.

-abright70