Organic vs. Non-Organic

Organic vs. Non-Organic

By: Amanda Warren



         In general, what is better for you in terms of health? Would it be organic foods or non-organic foods? In my general opinion, organic foods have a lot more to offer for your health than non-organic foods. I am not saying that eating non-organic foods is that bad for you, after all humans have been eating them for years. However, with organic foods you are not wondering what is in the food you eat. There are no surprises with organic foods, you go out and buy a tomato and you do not have to worry about pesticides. Here is what I have discovered throughout my research of organic foods.

         This is an important subject to me for a more personal reason than just organic vs. non-organic. My mother was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia several years ago; when we found that out, we wanted to look into different types of remedies to maybe relieve some of the bodily stress and pain. We looked into different things such as, homeopathic remedies, different kinds of vitamins, as well as organic foods. We found that all three things can help with Fibro, relieving the stress, and pain that comes with the disease. During this time, we were no longer just interested in ways to help my mother but also for our own sakes, outside of her disease. Once my mother started eating organic foods, she did not have as many problems with her Fibro that she had when eating non-organic foods.

So here is a question for you, do you really know about what you put into your body? My mother and I found a number of disturbing things in our research. Here is what we found out; conventional farmers use these chemicals in the growing process. Pesticides and herbicides are highly toxic chemical residues found in food. Contaminated sewage sludge (or human waste, etc.) is used in the growing process. Hormones and antibiotics are in dairies and meats. Then there is irradiation. All of these things together are known to cause several health problems throughout the world. At the bottom of this paper, there will be links to sites with information on the side effects, and health problems that have occurred.

There are plenty of people out there that want to eat organic foods but are worried about the prices. Don’t organic foods cost a lot more than non-organic foods? There are many ways to buy organic foods without it costing an arm and a leg. First try to find a grocery store near you that is family owned, sells organic foods, and sells local produce.  A couple of good places to shop at would be Sunflower Market, they have a great selection, the prices are very reasonable, and they sell local produce. King Soopers also sells local produce and at an extremely reasonable price. Vitamin Cottage is the other store I would suggest. They sell local produce, have a great selection, prices are reasonable, and you can always rely on the fact that when they have sells that they are amazing. Also, pay attention to the grocery leaflets in the papers. They have great sales every week, if you take the time to look for them. In my opinion, it is okay to spend a little extra for organic foods. You know that you are buying an all natural food that does not have any additives in it or any chemicals either.

What are we really eating? Here are some of the additives, ingredients, and chemicals that are in non-organic foods. There will be some previously mentioned chemicals listed here as well. Pesticides and herbicides, what are they? The herbicide glyphosphate (also known as Roundup from Monsanto) which is commonly-used on non-organic soy and other crops is extremely toxic and scientists have recently issued an urgent warning about its use. Glufosinate (also known as Basta) is currently used in non-organic sugar beets and canola. It is also exceptionally toxic and is known to cause birth defects. Malathion is a pesticide that has been linked to numerous serious health effects, such as intestinal disorders in children, leukemia, kidney damage, human birth defect, brain damage, chromosome defects, gene loss, and lung damage are only a few side effects. As for contaminated sewage sludge, scientists say that if it was just human waste in the soil it would not be so bad. However, what is happening is that human waste is being mixed with industrial waste, and toxic chemicals and sent to waste treatment plants. One of the by-products of these waste treatment plants is toxic sludge with as much as 60,000 different toxic chemicals (e.g., PCBs, DDT, asbestos, dioxins, toxic heavy metals, etc.).

Now we are onto hormones and antibiotics, which we find in our meats, eggs, and dairy products. This means that the animals that we get our non-organic meats, eggs and dairy have been antibiotics, hormones, ground up remains of other animals, and other dangerous ingredients can be found in these foods. Regular ingestion of traces of these chemicals is a health disaster waiting to happen. For example, regular, long-term ingestion of non-organic dairy from cows injected with Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH) has recently been shown to be a high risk for prostate and breast cancers.

Irradiation is another source of food contaminants. The food industry is keen on portraying the irradiation of food as safe, but the truth is that there is experimental evidence of dangers and testimony from independent experts of these dangers. These dangers include chromosome damage, immunotoxicity, and greater incidence of kidney disease, cardiac thrombus, and fibroplasias. As you can see, this is only a few different kinds of additives. I have not even hit the surface.

Preservatives and additives are common in non-organic and processed foods and more than 3000 preservatives and additives are available in the market. Salt and sugar the most commonly used additives. Some of the commonly used food additives and preservatives are aluminum silicate, amino acid compounds, ammonium carbonates, sodium nitrate, propyl gallate, butylated hydrozyttoluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), monosodium glutamate, white sugar, potassium bromate, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, etc. Some artificial colors are also added to the foods to give them an appealing look. These coloring substances are erythrosine (red), cantaxanthin (orange), amaranth (Azoic red), tartrazine (Azoic yellow) and annatto bixine (yellow orange).

Now MSG (also known as Monosodium glutamate) is in almost every processed food out there. Here is a little bit of information on it that you might not have known. MSG is a flavour enhancer traditionally used in Chinese food, but found today in many foods like breakfast sausages, potatoes, and chips. Many people link headaches, flushing, poor attention and other symptoms, as well as diseases like fibromyalgia, to MSG intake. MSG is also related to symptoms like burning sensations of the mouth, head and neck, weakness of the arms or legs, headaches and upset stomach approximately 15 minutes after the MSG is consumed. Other symptoms include hives or allergic-type reactions, MSG exposure can also cause muscle tightness, fatigue, numbness or tingling.

As you can see, even though processed and non-organic foods are in an everyday diet they can cause mild to severe health problems. These are not problems that you should just brush off; these are some serious health issues that should be addressed to everyone.

Now onto the question of, is organic food really that much better for you? With the last few paragraphs, you can see why organic foods are better for you. With organic foods, you do not have to worry about any additives, chemicals, or preservatives. With organic foods, it is pretty much, what you see is what you get. Doctors say that eating organic foods is not only a lot safer for you but is generally healthier for you. Here is a fun fact for all; the production of organic foods is better for the environment and kinder to animals too. One of the major diseases that can be prevented by eating organic foods is cancer. Also to absence of fertilizers makes the ground water safe to drink. Eating organic foods can also help with protecting your heart and of course, there is the bonus of a larger abundance of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables that have been grown organically.

So we know now that there are no additives in organic foods because there are no pesticides or chemicals in the growing process. Now the ingredients in both organic and non-organic foods range with each food, so it is hard to say what the ingredients are. Although I can say with certainty that there are no preservatives in organic foods like there are in non-organic foods. This is why organic foods go bad quicker than non-organic foods. Now here is is an answer to the question, does organic food really taste better than non-organic food? Personally, I think so; I have also read from scientists that yes, organic food really does taste that much better.

Now I have been asked several times why I choose to eat organic foods over non-organic foods. This is because I feel so much healthier eating organic foods than non-organic. I know what I am putting into my body without having to worry about health problems occurring. That is not the only reason it is also because having my dad switch from eating non-organic foods to organic foods saved his life. See my dad has diabetes and when he was eating non-organic foods; his blood sugar was never what it should have been. Once he started eating organic foods, his blood sugar even out and instead of have type 2 diabetes, he is now at a steady pre to non-diabetic. All of these reasons are why I have chosen to eat organic foods over non-organic foods. I hope that everyone has gleaned a little bit of information from this essay.