blog entry #11
Organic
foods are healthier to eat.
Stop! Before you pick up those chicken and vegetables from the grocery store. Are
those products
healthy? Does it contain
any harmful antibiotics or hormones? Have you seen, heard, or bought organic
foods before? This paper
will tell you the history of organic
foods, how they are grown, the regulations and
certifications. The animal
welfare on
farms that produce organic products, harmful antibiotics, and artificial
hormones, the size of organic farms. How
to shop for organic products and what it can do to improve our
health. After
reading this paper you will definitely agree that organic foods are healthier to eat.
Lets start from the beginning. Where did organic foods originate? According to
an article
from
GRACE communications
foundation called “sustainable table—Organic Agriculture.” Organic farming
was founded around the
time of World War two. Synthetic fertilizers were being produced and were
affordable for farmers.
Tractors were faster and more
efficient than manual labor. Farmers were starting to
realize that industry
farming was
destroying their farms and by using synthetic fertilizers, there soil was
lasting longer. This is how organic
farming was founded.
How are organic foods grown? According to the same article mentioned above organic foods are
grown by producers who use
products that are environmental friendly. They make sure there soil is healthy.
Healthy soil equals
healthy foods being gown. These
farms rotate where the crops are planted yearly. This
means that if you plant
corn in
one section you change the location of where you plant the corn. You plant
it in a different section and
plant tomatoes where the corn was planted. This helps the soil stay enriched.
The soil is able to stay
healthy for the foods being grown. This also controls weeds from growing.
Conventional and factory
farming use chemical weed killers to prevent weeds. According to the article
“Nutrition and healthy eating” conventional farms use chemical
fertilizers to help their plants grow.
Organic farmers use
natural fertilizers
like manure for their soil and plants. Conventional farms spray
synthetic insecticides to get rid of
pests and disease. Organic farms use mating of insects and birds
to stop pests and
disease. These are a few facts on how organic foods are grow.
How animals are treated on farms is just as important as how fruits and
vegetables are
grown. If
our animals are healthy
and have proper treatments. It will be healthier for us to eat. For one of my
class
blogs in my English 101
class I watched a short video called
the “Meatrix.” Which I recommend you all
watch as well it is
entertaining with tons
of facts on factory farming and, what the animals are enduring
before being killed. In factory farms animals are
cramped up in a cage where they have no room to move.
They catch diseases quickly,
because they are next to each other. They do not run outdoors like other
animals. They are stuck in
that cage until they are killed. They are around there feces. Which is one way
they get sick often.
Organic farms give these animals access to being outdoors. When these animals are
outdoors they are able to
run free as a form of exercise.
Animals in organic farms are treated
better.
Lets get to the horrific part. The hormones and antibiotics animals are being given in factory and
conventional farms.
Factory and conventional farms use antibiotics for the animals. These antibiotics
prevent the animals from
getting sick due to the hazardous
conditions they are living in. The animals are all
cramped together with no room to move. It’s like
being in a room that fits fifty people and there are seventy
five people in the room. If one
animal gets sick it doesn’t take long until the animal next to that one gets
sick and so on. Farmers
inject them with antibiotics instead of feeding them proper nutrients, which
would
prevent them from being
sick, they use shortcuts. Short cuts, which is harmful to us as well as the animals.
These antibiotics also
help the animal gain weight.
The heavier the animal the more money the farmer
receives.
Farmers have also been exposing their animals to a large amount of hormones. These hormones
speed up the growth in
animals. According to the article “hormones”
by the
food program eighty percent of
cattle in the United
States are given hormones. These hormones help speed up milk production. The
hormones that are given to
the cattle’s are affecting
us. They are in the milk we buy and the meat. These
hormones are a risk to the animal and human health.
According to the article mentioned above these
hormones include Oestradoil,
Progesterone and Testosterone. These three substances can mess up
the human hormone balance.
They can lead to prostate and colon cancers. They are messing with the
reproductive system. They
are lowering sperm count in men and boys. Organic farms are not allowed to
use hormones or
antibiotics on their animals. Their animals are to be taken care of the natural way. They
are to be fed proper
nutrients and be in
an environmental friendly environment. This helps keep our animals
healthy.
In
order to become a farm that produces organic products, you not only take care of your animals
there are a regulations to
follow and certifications you must obtain. If there weren’t any of these any farm
would be able to call
themselves organic farms. Some
of the regulations I read from the article “organic
agriculture”
were pesticides and fertilizers
were prohibited from being used in organic farms. Antibiotics
and growth hormones are banned from
being used. The animals on organic farm must be fed one hundred
percent organic feed. All
animals on organic farm are required to have access to the outdoors. Any products
that are processed must
contain at least ninety five percent organic ingredients. In order to be a certified
organic farm you must
fallow these regulations
as well as pay a costly fee. It pays to be healthy.
So far I have provided you with a substantial amount of information on organic products. I’m pretty
sure you’re ready to
switch to organic products right? Let me help you with that. How do you
know if the
produce you are buying is
organic? Since I have switched
I also changed my grocery store. The local
grocery store I used to
shop at did not
have a wide variety of organic products. Some major grocery stores
that have a wide variety of organic
products are Trader Joe’s one of my favorites they are not as expensive
as other grocery stores
with organic products. Whole foods they are a bit on the pricey side. I have noticed
that the Super Wal-Mart’s
have begun to carry organic products. When shopping for organic product it is
important to make sure the
label says organic on it.
You can also read the label to make sure it states that it
does not include
preservatives, artificial
hormones or any antibiotics. This product may have the USDA
seal which tells you that the product came
from a certified organic farm. There are some products that say
made with organic
ingredients this does not mean that it is fully organic and cannot have the USDS seal on
the label. Just remember
when purchasing your products at the supermarket read the label.
There is a reason I choose this topic to write my paper on. Organic foods have changed my life. On
February 14, 2013 I went
to the emergency room with a stomach pain. The doctor told me that I had three
fibroids. For about two
years before that I ate unhealthy.
Tons of processed foods red meat never read
labels. I did my research
on fibroids
and saw that many women who changed their eating habits have been
able to stop their
fibroids from growing or multiplying. Some have even gotten rid of them. I decided
to
change the foods I was
eating. I switched all my produce that I buy to only organic products. I never
buy
anything that I am putting
on or into my body without reading the label. I changed my whole entire
lifestyle
of course. Started exercising
and getting more sleep. A year later I went to my doctor for a checkup and she
only saw one fibroid. Changing
to organic products has truly changed my life. It has improved my health. I
lost weight from switching
to organic products my body is not being fed those hormones injected in
animals. According to the
article “All natural noshing” posted
by Food & Recipes buying organic products
is one of way going green.
Saving the environment, because organic farms use healthy fertilizers for there
soil the earth is getting
the nutrients it needs. When your body is used to conventional foods like fast
food
the habit is hard to
break. Trust me I’ve been there the urge to have it is hard to kick. It has
been a little
more than a year sine I
have only eaten organic products. I have gotten so used to the fact of looking
at
labels it comes natural.
When my friends offer me foods or snack I have a habit of always reading the
label
before eating it. Whatever
grocery store I go to I will not pick up any products unless they have an
organic
label. It has become a
ritual in my lifestyle. I recently went to a birthday party and being around
all that
food I got hungry. I
usually carry snack in my bag at all times so I don’t give in to eating
conventional
foods. This time I forgot
to add snacks in my bag. So there I was taking out chicken nuggets from
McDonalds, and about to
drink a soda. As soon I drank the soda I spit it out. I haven’t had soda in a
year
and it tasted so weird to
me. My taste buds adjusted to organic foods which are not as high as
conventional
foods in sugar. The soda
was so sweet I felt like I had took a spoon of sugar and put it in my mouth.
The
chicken nugget was so oily
it tasted weird. I used to be addicted to fast foods so this was a bit freaky
for
me. If I had never made
the switch to organic foods I would never be able to tell the difference of
what
healthy and unhealthy
foods taste like. Its not as bad as not sounds unhealthy doesn’t taste bad at
all. You
can still have the foods
you love just choose the healthier versions. Instead of ordering that Chinese
food
which contains MSG and the
chicken they use are from factory farms try cooking the same meal you were
about to order, using
organic products. Your taste buds take a while to adjust but after they do you
would
be glad they did after
tasting what is really in those conventional foods. There’s a saying you have
to see it
to believe it well I’ve
tasted it to believe it.
According to the same article Dr. Therese Pasqualoni
has done research stating that two year olds
who had asthma and
eczemas, who eat organic products their symptoms have decreased. Those who were
eating conventional foods
their symptoms stayed the same. A study done from the same article by the
University of Washington
stated that preschoolers who ate conventional foods showed mental health
issues.
The organophosphate
pesticides were casing health issues such as depression and memory problems.
Organic products do not
contain organophosphate pesticides. Poor nutrition can lead to so many health
problems. When your body
is used to conventional foods like fast food the habit is hard to break. Trust
me
I’ve been there the urge
to have it is hard to kick. It has been a little more than a year sine I have
only eaten
organic products. I have
gotten so used to the fact of looking at labels it comes natural. When my
friends
offer me foods or snack I
have a habit of always reading the label before eating it. Whatever grocery
store I
go to I will not pick up
any products unless they have an organic label. It has become a ritual in my
lifestyle.
After reading all of these wonderful facts about organic
foods you probably cant wait to go to the
grocery store to switch
your products. You’ve read about the history of organic farming. Where it
originated from. How they
are grown, the regulations and certifications needed to obtain an organic farm.
In case you wanted one
day. How the animals are treated. Not being exposed to those antibiotics and
hormones, which affect out
health. Being fed organic feed and having proper exercise not being cramped in
a cage where they are
unable to move and stuck in their feces. You’ve read about the danger of
hormones
and antibiotics. What they
do o our bodies. I’ve given you a little of my personal experience with organic
foods and what it has done
for me. I’ve given you some advice on
how to shop for organic products. Now
that you have this
information I’m pretty sure you agree with me in saying organic foods are
healthier to
eat. Do the right thing
your mind, body and the earth will be sure to thank you and switch to organic
foods.
Cites
used:
Organic
Framing Research Foundation, Organic FAQ’S What is Organic Farming?
She
knows Food and Recipes, All Natural Noshing, 2014.
Mayo
Clinic, Healthy Lifestyle Nutrition and healthy eating, 2014.
National
organic program, March 4, 2013.
Grace communications foundation sustainable
table - Organic Agriculture, 2014.
Grace communications foundation, Hormones,
2014.
