Thursday’s class, in discussing organic vs. nonorganic foods; the use of pesticides vs. natural techniques, raised a lot of questions left unanswered. Are we more in control of the products we eat when we choose organic, or less? Is anyone actually going to consider the chemicals put into industrial-grown foods at the grocery store? I don’t think I know one person (including myself) who does. Hilary (Hillary?) brought up a good point by saying that we have less control over the food’s actions throughout the organic growing process, but much more control over what we ingest chemically. I completely agree with this, but there are also consequences such as defective crops and irregular products that come with the organic process of farming.
I guess the question you have to ask while choosing between the two food types is: what is my opportunity cost (the value I hold to the option I didn’t choose) compared to the profit of what I did choose? One must weigh out the benefits and detriments of organic (no pesticides, but more costly) and industrial (insecticides used, but cheaper) growing techniques. On one hand it seems like society prefers the quick, cheap way of consuming food while at the same time disregarding the health risks of that food (McDonald’s, for ex). On the other, there seems to be a uniform perspective of Americans that we as a whole need to A) get healthier, and B) “become environmentally conscious.” These two opposing notions are, I believe, the reason for the division among the people who buy organic foods and those who don’t. Will there ever be a medium?
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In response to your first point, I think that one of the problems that organic food has to overcome is that many people (myself included) never were informed that industrial farming can be dangerous. I know I used to not consider organic food when I would shop for groceries because it was more expensive and I really didn’t know of any downsides to the “normal” crops I was used to. It would be interesting to find out what would happen if a lot of publicity was done showing evidence of chemicals being retained in plants and the subsequent health risks and environmental problems that result from these chemicals. The unfortunate thing is that most of the information concerning this is not widely publicized outside of books and many Americans would rather get their news from other places (i.e. TV).
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I think that since many of us have grown up eating the industrially produced plants, we consider these as “normal”. Now that organic foods and crops are on the rise, they seem new to us, even though these farming methods actually predate the methods we are used to. Since many people are resistant to change, this may be another roadblock that organic farmers must overcome.
I agree with your views on the aspects of control for both organic and industrial foods. It is a complicated process, and I liked how you point out that there are tradeoffs for each method.
I have to agree with Eric, as well as encourage him to pursue Agriculture. There's a guy named John Jeavons that has alot of really good stuff to say about organic farming. For instance, Farm-efficient crops are able to produce a large number of calories in a given area because of high yields. Perfect example of the potato, garlic, and turnips....He also says that the living "canvas" we are "painting" will always get better. If we as a society bear witness, realize, and process this fact, we can work WITH nature and the plants, if we let them, do their own thing! (Naturally).
ReplyDeleteI think that a medium may never be reached, or at least in the way we would like to see it come to fruition. There will always be a market for those who are into the cheap, easily accessible food supply, regardless of the negative consequences to their health. I think a medium could be reached if the organic food market fit into this context, but unfortunately, it has a long way to go before it gets to that point. As long as money and convenience drive our society, we are going to have a dichotomy when it comes to the market.
ReplyDeleteI do not know if there will ever be a medium either, however I have recently learned in another class that industrial grown foods are sprayed with pesticides and herbicides that are fat soluble, not water soluble. This is so that the chemicals do not wash off due to rainwater. For the farmer, this is positive. However, this also means that they do not wash off with our kitchen water. For the consumer, this is negative. The actual act of rubbing the fruit/vegetable gets some of the chemicals off but in reality we consume them. Because they are fat soluble the chemicals go right to our body fat! Same with animal fat such as cows and pigs. Now, there are clearly not enough chemicals ingested to do much harm but it is another aspect to think about when purchasing and consuming foods. As a college student, I know that money is the number one consideration when I go grocery shopping.
ReplyDeleteDuring the warmer months there are several local farmers markets and stands in and around State College. Some may pass these by but others take full advantage. I think these are the best ways to purchase fruits and vegetables for several reasons: supporting local farms and farmers, buy organic, (sometimes) spend less...
Again, money contributes to this argument too. Darn that little piece of dirty paper!