Organic vs. Inorganic Activity
Objective:
Students will gain an understanding of the term “organic” and why these foods are healthier for
our bodies and the environment than inorganic foods. The taste test will also hopefully debunk
the myth that organic food tastes worse than inorganic food.
Key Points:
1) Definition of organic foods: Chemical free products (no pesticides, fertilizer, etc.)
2) Benefits of buying organic produce:
 Sustainable agriculture
 Eliminates ingestion of toxic pesticide residue
 Better treatment of livestock and cattle
3) Why organic products are currently more expensive:
Discuss whether trade-offs in medical bills, farming practices, and environmental cleanup are worth paying a little more for organic produce in the long run. You may also want
to have students brainstorm ideas on how to lower costs as a supplementary project.
Materials:
These are the foods I found at my local grocery store. I tried to incorporate a range of food
groups and checked with students about food allergies beforehand. The materials in this lesson
can be easily substituted. Just make sure you have a version that is organic, and one that is
inorganic.
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Carrots
Organic Carrots
Off brand Oreos TM *
Organic Vanilla Crème Sandwich Cookies
Apple Juice
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Organic Apple Juice
Schneider’s Honey Wheat Pretzels
Schneider’s Organic Honey Wheat Pretzels
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Since regular OreosTM have labels on cookies and therefore are easily identifiable as the
non organic cookie
Class Activity:
I found that the students had a common misconception that the organic food, which is portrayed
as healthier for you, would taste worse than the regular versions of the food. In efforts to debunk
this theory, I developed a taste test.
1) Bring in both the organic and inorganic versions of a few different snacks: Carrots, offbrand Oreo cookies, Apple Juice, and Schneider’s Honey Wheat Pretzels (they make
organic and inorganic versions of same flavors).
2) Divide both versions of the food into small portions and placed one organic version of
each snack on a paper towel and their non-organic counterparts on a piece of paper.
3) Next, ask the students to participate in a taste test and record which they like better,
noting: freshness, flavor and which was more filling.
4) When students finish tasting and recording, discuss their results and vote on which they
think are the organic foods (foods placed on paper towel or on paper)?
Closing
As in my class, you may find that the results are mixed, and that there is no consensus on
which foods are the organic snacks. In fact, I found that more students voted incorrectly,
demonstrating that the myth of taste (or tastelessness) was false. Being as it was food, they
loved the activity. The experiment led into our discussion “Organic vs. Inorganic”, which
you can find below:
Organic vs. Inorganic Discussion Guide:
This is a quick overview of some of the main points about organic farming that may come up in
conversation. This lesson plan was originally part of another class and therefore the text below
is not all encompassing. I advise readers to check out the “quick links” if they are interested in
learning more information beyond what is written here.
Organic products are chemical free meaning: no genetic modification, irradiation, hormones in
livestock, fertilizer made from sewage sludge (comprised of human/organic waste, industrial
waste matter, storm-water runoff from roads and other paved areas and so on), pesticides, and no
synthetic ingredients; all of which are allowed in traditional foods.
Organic farmers are responsible for emphasizing the use of renewable resources and the
conservation of water and soil (by practicing crop-rotation) to enhance environmental
quality for future generations. Ideally, this all means fewer chemicals on your food, going
into your body, and sent into the environment during the food growing process. In the
U.S., organic farmers must be certified by the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) in order to label any food 'organic' (Alford 2007).
It may help to note that organic farms come in different sizes. Although some organic farms are
smaller, family-run farms that provide their local area with seasonal goods and are committed to
preserving their land, many organic farms are also large agribusiness operations that ship their
produce to consumers of organics around the world. Buying organic and locally supports family
and local farmers, maintaining a sustainable community.
One of the benefits eating organic is the use of natural pesticides in place of chemical ones.
Chemical pesticides have been found to alter hormones and reproductive systems of animals in
the wild (such as increased levels of estrogen in shellfish due to run off) causing animals to
unnaturally change sexes. These chemicals are considered hormone mimics and endocrine
disruptors. Although such extreme cases have not been found in humans yet, it would not be a
stretch to assume that a build up of pesticides over time could eventually hurt our bodies as well.
Non-organic fruits and vegetables are grown with synthetic pesticides and fertilizer. “Studies
show that more than 90% of children in the U.S. ‘have detectable residues of at least one
neurotoxic pesticide in their urine.’ Neurotoxins are poisonous to your brain and nervous
system” (Watkins 2008).
Quick Links:
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A funny educational cartoon that spoof the movie “The Matrix” explains farming
practices and why going sustainable agriculture is important: http://www.themeatrix.com/
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A website that explains the organic label, debunks organic myths, and helps consumers
budget their money in order to buy organic: http://www.organic.org/
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Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) gives the low-down on the
economic benefits for sustainable agriculture and eating organic:
http://www.sare.org/publications/organic/organic07.htm
Sources:
Alford , Dietrich . "Switch to Organic Foods?." Go Ask Alice. 21 Sep 2007. Health Services at Columbia. 12 Dec
2008 <http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/6338.html>.
Watkins , Donna . "Organic Food vs. Inorganic Studies." Nature In Us. 26 Mar 2008. 12 Dec 2008
<http://www.thenatureinus.com/2008/03/organic-food-vs-inorganic-studies.html>.