Is Eating Organic Really Worth It?

Mackenzie Foster
Jan 22, 2024
4 min read

Outline

1. What are organic foods?

a. Organic foods’ impact on society

2. Regulation of Organic Foods

a. Guidelines

b. Standards

c. Labeling of organic foods

3. Fertilizer used for organic and non-organic foods

4. Pesticides- organic vs non-organic

5. Bonus: antibiotics with food!

6. Conclusion

1. Organic foods

The Impact

The organic food industry has benefitted from the increase in interest and demand of organic foods due to trends and new preferences. The retail sales have gone from $1 billion to $57.5 billion within 31 years, 1990 to 2021. 2020 alone showed a total of 6% retail sale for organic foods, when 2011 was 4.2%. There can be a stigma around organic vs non-organic as we have seen on social media.

Organically grown foods cost ~15-50% more due to the smaller crop yields, increased labor needs, and increased cost to become certified.

2. Regulation of Organic

What is regulated with organic foods?

What is behind the meaning of the organic labels on foods?

3. Fertilizer

What is synthetic fertilizer?

Synthetic fertilizers are chemically manufactured material that has nutrients for plants. The goal of these is to help growth the plant using phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen. The government may regulate these by limiting the amount.

Organic fertilizers uses animal materials to help the plant and soil. The animal contents may include parts such as the digestive tract of the animal, the manure which is from animal feces and urine, and the compost and digestion remains of the animal.

The way organic farms do this is by using an organic fertilizer that feeds that soil, rather than the synthetic ones that feeds the plant.

Organic fertilizers affect the plant directly and indirectly, and synthetic fertilizers affect the plant directly.

4. Pesticides

The big debate

Media has given conventional foods a bad rap for their use in pesticides claiming that any use of pesticides is harmful. But that’s not really the case. Pesticides by definition, are substances that destroy insects and harmful organisms that could injury plants or animals.

Why are pesticides even used in the first place? These aid in decreasing mold growth, increasing crop yield, create a more affordable price of fruits and vegetables for the public, and help prolonging the self-life of food. Organic crops may have some synthetic pesticides due to cross-contamination from wind and ground water, but this amount is lower than conventional crops.

The pesticide amount is regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, also known as EPA, the USDA, and the US Food and Drug Administration, also known as the FDA. There is a legal limit of residue allow in food and on the foods (on the foods meaning on the surface of food that can be washed away when cleaning your produce). They describe this amount using verbiage of ‘tolerance’. Of note, companies submit scientific studies for the EPA to review to establish this tolerance.

The pesticide will not get approved or will be required to have an action to reduce the risks if the studies suggest children may be harmed. You can find more information on food safety from the United States Government Food Safety website and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Food Safety website. For more information on the regulation of pesticides and chemicals in foods and crops: EPA's website.

5. Bonus: Antibiotics in Food

Marketing to facts.

Although packaging will promote that their food item does not have antibiotics, it is important to note that all foods have this standard. All animal owners are required to guarantee that the animal products are drug-free before they are used as food. This does not mean all animals are never treated with antibiotics because they get sick just like humans do. They need medicine to become healthy and survive an illness. The bad side of this is that when an animal is treated repeatedly with antibiotics, it can decrease the susceptibility of using the medicine correctly. The bacteria within the animal can create a resistance to the medication and may not be killed by the medication anymore. The fear marking has led to society is that this resistant bacterium can go from the animal to humans which is why ‘you should eat organic’ and the positive that ‘organic food specifically does not have antibiotics.

But what happens if an animal has had to be on antibiotics?

There are strict rules on how to go about using an animal who has had a previous antibiotic history when using them for future human consumption. This includes implementing a period of time to allow the drug to leave the system of the animal. Products that test positive for antibiotics remains do not enter the food chain. This is done for eggs, animals, and includes milk. Other than the creation process and packaging, the USDA also strictly regulates a testing action. This test is for meat, eggs, poultry, and milk. This really makes sure that there is no antibiotic residue left in the products. Link of the testing process: (https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-04/10800.1.pdf).

Again, remember all foods, organic or not, must be antibiotic free when created, processed, and packages for human consumption.

6. Conclusion

Whether to eat organic or not will simply be up to you, your priorities, and your financial situation. Eating organic does not have significant changes to your nutrition.