CONVENTIONAL CONFUSION
CONVENTIONAL CONFUSION
We've all heard the phrase "You are what you eat". We could even state that the phrase encourages us to watch what we eat as a means to guard against making ourselves unhealthy. Today, we are dealing with several issues regarding the food we eat. In the midst of these issues, there is a new push within America to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables. This new urgency to consume more fruits and vegetables may be a result of the obesity that has taken over in the United States. As more and more people in the US consume more "healthy" foods, one major issue in the news right now is conventional foods versus organic foods. Conventional foods are vegetables and fruits that are grown with the use of pesticides. Organic crops cannot be sprayed with pesticides or fertilized with pesticides or preservatives.
The current fight between conventional and organic foods has been a highly contested one. Those who support organic foods suggest that organic food is better due to more vitamin content and claim that they are grown the way nature intended, naturally. To thwart these claims, conventional food growers have displayed studies that suggest that there is virtually no difference between conventional and organic foods. Hence, why would a person spend more money at the grocery store for organic foods when conventional foods offer the same amount of nutrients for up to half the costs? While there are several studies to support each side's claims, we as consumers are left miffed and confused.
The biggest claim supporters of organic foods may have against conventional foods is regarding the pesticide residue within the fruits and vegetables. These pesticides are used to ward off several pests that harm the growth of fruits and vegetables but also end up polluting bees, birds, and fish, and get into rivers, streams, and underground water sources. Organic supporters also cite that pesticides taint soil, making it harder for future growth on that land. It is interesting to note that the United States uses over 1 billion pounds of pesticides annually on its crops.
There's a high probability that we have all been affected by the use of pesticides in some manner. The major concern for pesticide ingestion is that it affects infants, children, and even fetus development. The health issues that these pesticides can create in children include low birth weight, reproductive problems, and abnormal neurological development. Why would anyone eat foods that could cause illnesses in children and whose long-term effects harm adults? The foods labeled with the most pesticide residues are apples, celery, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, spinach, strawberries, and sweet bell peppers.
Amazingly, 75% of all fruits and vegetables that are consumed by infants are tainted with pesticide residue. 95% of the apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, and strawberries tested were found with one or more types of residue on them when arriving at the grocery store. Now let's ask ourselves another question: why aren't we given this information about pesticides and the risk they pose to ourselves and our future? One billion pounds of pesticide use may be the answer - there is a lot of lobbying done by the companies that supply the pesticides to farmers. In other words, big business seems to rule again. They offer research that informs the public that there is nothing wrong with conventional foods and that they are safe. They even fund studies to support their claims. One such study performed by the University of Minnesota suggests that organic foods (especially lettuce) are more susceptible to fecal matter. The report also made claims that fecal matter "cannot be washed off" from the lettuce due to the feces getting within the root of the lettuce and growing inside the vegetation itself. They have even gone so far as to suggest that organic food activists have claimed organic foods' superiority in an effort to scare consumers into buying their foods for safety.
Conversely, organic food producers can use fecal matter (manure) and they can also use pesticides that are not petroleum-based on their crops. Organic farmers can also use soaps. The debate over manure has been a hotly contested one. Some studies have suggested that E. coli, salmonella, and campylobacter all come from manure. However, would this be the same risk for conventionally grown foods also? Yet, conventional farmers are not questioned by the public when it comes to the manure issue. Even ABC News did a test on Organic versus Conventional foods in which John Stossel reported "Our tests (ABC's) surprisingly found no difference in organic foods and conventional foods". However, it was not reported to the public that ABC's scientists tested for bacteria rather than pesticides. This lack of information allowed the public to believe that conventional foods are just as safe and bacteria-free as organic foods, which would only be partially true. In a re-airing of the same show, 20/20's John Stossel stated that there was "also no evidence of any pesticide residue in either organic or conventional foods". This statement also came under fire when it was found that ABC's staff members never did any testing for pesticides. ABC later issued an apology to its viewers.
Let's list some reasons why organic foods are better for the consumer than conventional foods. Pesticide testing by the USDA shows that conventional foods are 3-4 times more likely to be found with pesticide residue. Conventional foods are also 8-11 times more likely to have multiple pesticide residues than organic samples. Pesticides such as Organophosphate and carbamate chemicals both disrupt the nervous system of insects and earthworms and have been found to do the same in mammals and humans. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests that 60% of herbicides, 90% of fungicides, and 30% of insecticides are carcinogenic. Conventional farmers can use all three simultaneously to protect their crops, thereby increasing the probability of pesticide residue reaching our meal plates. Furthermore, cattle, pig, fish, and chicken farms may not clean the plant feed given to the animals; the animals may be ingesting the pesticides directly, affecting the animals and the humans that eat them. Although studies vary as to the immediate effects of pesticides on adults, over a period of time they have been linked to several types of cancer such as brain cancer, bladder cancer, testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and leukemia. Studies have also shown that foods that are not affected by pesticide residues are more likely to have greater vitamin and mineral content.
The choice between conventional and organic foods is always the consumer's. Spending more money on organic foods is a tough choice, especially in today's strained economy. Consumers should be well-informed before they go out and buy their next fruit, vegetable, or meat product, considering organically grown foods are a greater option for our health and our environmental well-being. Make an effort to do your own research.