Organic Food
Over the years, organic foods have skyrocketed in popularity and accessibility. The
United States Department of Agriculture defines organic food as being “grown and processed
according to federal guidelines addressing, among many factors, soil quality, animal raising
practices, pest and weed control, and use of additives” (McEvoy). Grocery shoppers often make
the mistake of labeling organic food as better than conventionally-grown food and may feel the
need to incorporate organic food into their diet. Organic foods are not particularly more
nutritious than conventionally produced foods and people should avoid spending the extra
money.
U.S. Department of Agriculture/Organic vs. Natural
Above is a chart created by the United States Department of Agriculture of what is and is
not allowed in organic farming. However, these agricultural limitations do not necessarily make
organic food more nutritious or beneficial to the overall health of a person who consumes it.
Becoming familiar with the food you buy and put into your body may help you avoid being
persuaded by companies to purchase certain goods that promise false results and possibly save
you money.
Many organic companies, and most companies in general, incorporate a variety of
business techniques when manufacturing and distributing their goods to convince a customer to
buy their products. This may include fancy organic and USDA labels, oh-so-appealing health
ads, or even a simple comparison to the competing conventionally-produced products. These
approaches are for the purpose of attracting customers and driving up sales. It is quite common
for people to fall for these business “traps” and end up buying a product they are unfamiliar with.
This is seen a lot in the health food industry, specifically with organic foods. Grocery shoppers
tend to believe that the organic food they buy is a healthier option because of its packaging or the
location it is being sold and use it as one of the main reasons for going organic, when in reality
these shoppers are being misinformed and misled. In fact, multiple studies were conducted in the
UK that show no evidence of organic food having any health benefits (London School of
Hygiene & Tropical Medicine). “One of the only differences that were detected were most likely
to be due to differences in fertilizer use (nitrogen, phosphorus), and ripeness at harvest (acidity),
and it is unlikely that consuming these nutrients at the levels reported in organic foods would
provide any health benefit” (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine). In other words,
organically produced food is not necessarily healthier than conventionally produced food,
however people are willing to pay more for it because organic food is perceived to have more
health benefits.
Michigan Farm Bureau
If people do not completely know the full effects of purchasing and consuming organic
products, why spend the extra money buying organic food? There are many reasons as to why a
person may choose to “go organic”, the same way there are many reasons a person chooses to go
vegan or vegetarian. Buying organic food can be a symbol of social or health status. According
to a behavioral scientist, “ buying organic products is connected to our perception of ourselves as
moral human beings” (Aarhus University). Whatever the reason may be though, studies show
that once a person buys a specific organic product, they are likely to continue buying that same
organic product over and over. They are also likely to begin buying more organic products. The
same studies also revealed the typical consumption pattern of organic shopping: “The typical
consumption pattern is that you go from dairy products to vegetables, eggs, baking ingredients,
until you are consistently buying organic products” (Aarhus University). In other words, once a
person buys an organic dairy product, they are more likely to increase the amount of organic
products they buy and less likely to stop buying organic products.
When people are deciding whether or not to purchase organic products, they tend to
overlook some very important aspects. It may be easy to judge a fruit or vegetable based on its
superficial features like its size, shape, color, taste, etc., but what about the things we cannot see
or feel? What about the things that may not affect us instantly or directly? Important factors like
air pollution from product distribution or plastic/land usage for farming are seldomly taken into
consideration by grocery shoppers. According to a study conducted by McGill University, “crop
yields from organic farming tend to be generally lower than from conventional agriculture”.
Because of the gap in crop yields between organic and conventional farming, more land must be
used for organic farming in order to successfully grow enough crops to sell (McGill University).
This results in more plastic, water, and land being required for a limited amount of crops; large
input to small output. Hence, why organic food is more expensive than conventionally-produced
food. The image below is a chart comparing the prices of organic and non-organic foods at two
different grocery stores, Trader Joe’s and Raley’s. You can clearly see a price difference between
the two, with the organic options costing more than the non-organic options.
(MYBW, 2018)
A similar issue exists concerning the transportation of organic food. As mentioned
earlier, organic farming is far more limited than conventional farming, due to the greater number
and size of conventional farms. With fewer organic farms, distribution vehicles must travel
longer distances in order to deliver organic products to supermarkets. A study conducted by the
University of Alberta revealed that many organic products have to travel much further than their
conventional counterparts. More specifically, this study revealed that organically-grown
mangoes were being shipped 4,217 kilometers further than conventionally-grown mangoes,
because they were coming from Ecuador and Peru, instead of Mexico, where our conventionallygrown mangoes derive from. In other words, the more miles needed to transport goods means the
more vehicular pollution being put into the air, which completely contradicts and defeats one of
the main purposes of growing food organically― to be healthier. "If you're buying 'green', you
should consider the distance the food travels. If it's traveling further, then some of the benefits of
organic crops are canceled out by extra environmental costs," says researcher Vicki Burtt
(University of Alberta).
Kathleen Elkins/BusinessInsider
Above you can see two images with the prices for similar tomatoes. The tomatoes on the
left are non-organic and cost $1.99 per pound, as opposed to the organic tomatoes on the right,
which cost $2.99 per pound. In the image on the left, the sign says Arkansas, whereas the image
on the right says Mexico. This shows the two different locations of where these tomatoes are
grown. As mentioned earlier, organic produce is often priced higher to compensate for the
money lost transporting these fruits and vegetables over long distances.
Many people do not take into account how wasteful and environmentally damaging
agricultural practices can be. A majority of grocery shoppers get to see an abundance of fruits
and vegetables on their supermarket shelves, but do not get to see what exactly it takes to put
these rich crops there. One of the major issues in organic farming is weed control, due to the
limitations on herbicides and pesticides issued by the U.S.D.A. This makes it extremely difficult
for organic farmers to successfully stop weeds from killing their crops. As a result, organic
produce farmers must turn to things like plastic coverings and while conventional farmers also
use plastic, organic produce farmers rely on it since chemical weed killers are banned in organic
farming. (Held) “At One Straw Organic Farm, the plastic film used on just 30 productive acres in
one year would stretch 36 miles in a straight line. Bigger organic operations like Lady Moon
Farms, with farms in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida, spread it over thousands of acres. And
when the season is over, it ends up in landfills” (Held). When farming practices are creating this
amount of waste, consumers must reevaluate which food features are most important: is the size
and taste of a fruit more important than the environmental damage it takes to grow it?
Lisa Elaine Held/NPR
The image above is from One Straw organic lettuce farm. The plastic (white stripes)
mulch is stretched across the ground, underneath the lettuce sprouts, to prevent weeds from
killing the lettuce. Once the farming season is over and all crops are harvested, the plastic is
discarded and sent to a landfill.
As a grocery shopper, it is important to have some knowledge about the food you buy
and put into your body. It is easy to be misinformed or misled about certain food products by
companies who want your money. I, myself, became a victim of the common misconception that
organic food is healthier than conventionally-produced food and began spending the extra dollars
on products like organic butter and organic eggs. As an athlete and generally active person, I
tried my best to fuel my body with whole foods that I believed were better for my overall health.
I watched closely as fitness social-media-influencers posted about their healthy eating habits and
how they incorporate all different types of organic and natural foods into their diets. I wanted to
achieve the same dietary style, so little by little I began converting to this supposedly healthier
option of organic food. May I say now, almost one year later, the only visible difference I ever
saw and felt, was in my wallet. Organic food is more expensive, but not more nutritious.
There are many other people with stories like mine. An interview was conducted with
two individuals asking the following question: “Do you buy organic food? If so, then why?” The
first interviewee is Vanessa Solis, 34 year-old wife and mother of three children. She has a very
fast pace, on-the-go type of lifestyle. She and her husband consider themselves to be fit and
workout about four times a week. “I don’t buy organic food because I have a big family with
many mouths to feed, so spending more money on food that tastes the same to me isn’t
something I am willing to do” (Solis). (Below is a photo of Vanessa Solis and family.)
Solis 2022
The second interviewee is Adrian Palomo, a 38 year old husband and father of two. His
occupation is a firefighter/EMT, requiring a decent amount of strength and stamina. Other
physical activities he participates in outside of his job include crossfit training and bicycle riding.
“I do not buy organic food because it’s expensive and I honestly just don’t feel like it's worth it”
(Palomo). (Below is a photo of Adrian Palomo in his firefighter uniform)
Palomo 2022
As depicted in the statements above, one of the main concerns when deciding whether or
not to purchase organic food or “go organic” is the price. People should not feel bad if they
cannot afford organic food or stress about eating solely conventional food. As stated earlier,
shopping in the organic section is highly connected to how you view yourself as a person
(Aarhus University). Organic food is not more nutritious than conventionally-grown food, so
spending the extra dollars is completely unnecessary. In other words, a person who buys organic
strawberries at Whole Foods supermarket is no better than a person who buys regular
strawberries at Walmart.
There are multiple studies that can be carried out to see if consuming organic food has
health benefits. You can compare pesticide residues, consumers’ health, nutrient and vitamin
levels, among much more. A Stanford research team conducted a study involving all of these
factors in which they revealed no consistent evidence that organic food is more nutritious or that
consuming it often is healthier for you than consuming conventionally-grown food (Aubrey).
“The question that lots of us want answered - if you buy organic food - is that if I spend the extra
money, right, and I buy and eat organic food now, am I somehow going to reduce the risk of
developing a disease or cancer 10 or 20 years down the road, right? And unfortunately, this
question can't be answered, because the study or studies you need to determine this have never
been done” (Aubrey). This is to say that as of now, we cannot classify organic food as more
nutritious or continue to name it as the healthier option. Therefore, there is no need to spend
extra dollars on an ordinary tomato or lemon. So next time you head down to the supermarket,
remember not to stress if the only butter options are non-organic.
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