Organic Vs Convetional foods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organic Vs Convetional foods - Research Paper Example Conflicting ideas have emanated on the use of organic foods over conventional leading to a heated debate between organo-skeptics and those in favor of organic technology. The debate emanates from those who say that its worth to spend more money on Organic Foods because of their overall health benefits, and those who urge people to save money and buy conventional food products. My choice of organic versus conventional foods debate is related to the fact that I live New York City that is characterized by Health revolution. I have lately witnessed the closure of old restaurants in order to give way to the new ones offering organic foods. Additionally, supermarkets that offer all-organic experience have been popularized more compared to those trading on conventional food products. The New York Times reports a new study from researchers at Stanford University that suggests that there is minute nutritional variation between organic fruits or vegetables over their more expensive counterpart s. This has sparked the debate on the superiority of the two forms of food products in related to nutritional as well as non-nutritional factors. THE DEBATE The debate surrounding organic versus conventional foods revolves around three issues namely productivity, benefits and costs. The recent trend in the increased popularity of organic products among Americans has nothing to do with the perceived nutritional superiority. The Stanford study focused more on nutrients that contribute minimally to the reasons leading to the debate. According to the American Prospect (2008), many people perceive that organic food products are healthier than conventionally produced food products. However, organo-skeptics portend that it is not worthy spending more money buying organic foods when one can purchase cheaper conventionally produced products. The opinion of the organic lobbyists is based on the fact that organic production is devoid of fertilizers or pesticides use. This leads to the assumpti on that pesticides residues cannot be deposited in the foods products. The absence of pesticides implies that the products develop a natural defense mechanism. Scientists suppose that the defense factor occurs in the form of natural chemicals called phenols. The supporters claim that the chemicals act as antioxidants. Organic fruits and vegetables are becoming popular in the supermarkets because of the notion that the antioxidants they possess protect the body from cancers and heart disease. However, organo-skeptics portends that the natural pesticides may possess negative impacts on the body health. They insist that there is no proof for any health gains from organic foods. According to organic lobbyists, this is disputable because lack of such evidence can be attributed to the absence of appropriate research studies on the topic. Organo-skeptics claim that the use of manure in production of organic fruits and vegetables has led to contamination of food products with bacteria E. Co li. Critics associate the presence of these harmful pathogens with food poisoning. However, research has shown that composting the manure for a precise period of time and maintaining it at an exact temperature reduces bacterial composition (Lester, Manthey and Buslig 4474-80). Supporters of organic farming argue that safety strategies are already in place to ensure that the risk of food poisoning is minimized. Supporters of the use of