Have you seen some foods labeled natural and organic on the outside when you go to the
supermarket?
Have you ever seen numerous passages on the internet mentioning why organic food is better than non-organic food because it’s more natural, more nutritious, and more environmentally friendly?
Have you ever wondered what exactly is organic food?
In general, organic food means food without any non-natural substances or pollution
contained. It’s easy to see that this type of food without any fancy artificial substances is less
harmful to the human body than other foods. But is it better than non-organic foods in the
three aspects mentioned above? Let’s find out together.
Among these three aspects listed above, which one will you consider the most
important? I think most readers will focus on the aspects of nutrition just like me. So, let’s look at this aspect first. According to several studies, organic foods contain more antioxidants (a type of substance that can delay ageing and increase body resistance) than non-organic foods. However, these studies show that the nutritional content of organic foods does not have a huge difference compared with non-organic foods although organic foods have fewer non-natural substances.
When we buy foods, we always think about less harm and more benefits from the foods we
buy. According to various studies, organic foods contain fewer pesticides and non-synthetic
substances because, according to their definition, they were grown under more natural
conditions. Therefore, organic foods are less harmful than non-organic foods. That’s also why
more people tended to buy organic foods rather than non-organic ones. Just imagine, two
foods with the same amount of nutrition, one of them is less harmful than the other one, which one will you choose?
After knowing that organic food is more natural and the same nutritious as non-organic food,
now let’s find out if organic foods are more environmentally friendly than non-organic ones
together. During my research, I came across a study that found organic food agriculture
consumes less energy and requires fewer pesticides. In that same research, I found a report by the Swedish Food Authority, stating organic farming is not far behind conventional farming in most aspects because of its benefits. Although organic farming has a lower land use rate and can’t be applied widely right now, it has a clear advantage in terms of ecological toxicity. Therefore, we can see that organic foods had their advantages but still had some limits.
Generally speaking, organic food production does seem more environmentally friendly than non-organic agriculture. In a nutshell, organic foods do have a lot of advantages that non-organic foods don’t have. But it’s not necessarily perfect in all aspects.
- Brian
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