Organic Foods

After reading three different texts in Food, I realized that each article represented a different stance on the production of organic foods. The first, "Beyond Organic," supported the sale of true organic foods, which they called 'Authentic' food. The second, "Organic Foods: Do Eco-Friendly Attitudes Predict Eco-Friendly Behaviors," just observed how organic food affected people and their attitudes, without taking much of a stance on the sale of it. The third and last, "Attention Whole Foods Shoppers," was strongly against selling organic foods. It gave examples of how organic farmers in rural parts of Africa were starving because their product was not being produced by "precision farming," which is where everything about the agricultural process is electronic. 

These different posts made be question organic food. I have always believed that organic was the best way to go. It's friendly toward the environment and it tastes better, however, is it sustainable? The third article states that "if Europe tried to feed itself organically, it would need an additional 28 million hectares of cropland, equal to all of the remaining forest cover in France, Germany, Britain, and Denmark combined." That doesn't sound very eco-friendly, does it? Is there a way to produce organic, healthy food without destroying the environment? I think it could be possible, but it would take a lot of effort and money, two things which the world does not have a lot of. 

The second article uses studies to prove that people who eat organic food are more eco-friendly and healthy people in general. This is important too. Generally, people who consume local food also recycle and carpool more. If we want to save the environment we live in, then it seems as if eating organic is the way to go. But the third article disagrees with that, so is there a middle ground?

The first article says that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has corrupted the name 'organic,' and the only way to ensure truly healthy food is if you purchase what they now call 'authentic' food. This label identifies "fresh foods produced by local growers who want to focus on what they are doing, instead of what they aren't doing." It claims that, by eating food that is manufactured through chemicals and GMO's, we are poisoning ourselves, and eating organically is the primary way to stop it. 

This draws the question: is there a right way to do things? Should we leave people to decide for themselves what type of food they eat? What amenities are we willing to sacrifice to save the environment, and vice versa? There isn't a right or wrong answer, but these three articles get people to begin thinking about what they are doing to be environmentally friendly and healthy.