Organic Food
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Organic food is very popular these days. It can also be very expensive.
Some organic food costs twice as much as non-organic food. Parents of young
children, and even some pet owners, will pay high prices for organic food if
they think it's healthier. But many others think organic food is just a waste
of money.
There is one main difference between organic and
non-organic food. Organic farms do not use agricultural chemicals
such as pesticides that stop insects from damaging
crops. In many countries foods that claim to be organic must have special labels that
guarantee they're grown organically.
Some people think organic also means "locally
grown", and originally this was true. But over time organic farming has
become big business, with many organic foods now being grown by large
agricultural companies that sell their products far from where they're grown. Processed food
made with organic ingredients has also become more
popular. At first, only small companies produced these
products. But as demand overtook supply,
big food companies that had been selling non-organic products for many years
also began selling organic products. Small organic food companies found it
difficult to compete with these big companies, and many didn't stay
in business much longer.
Is organic food safer and more nutritious?
This is an important part of the debate. Many farmers and consumers believe
it is. They think agricultural chemicals can cause serious illnesses like
cancer, but there isn't much evidence proving this
is true. However recent studies have shown that eating organically-grown produce reduces
your chances of developing heart disease. Many doctors think it's more
important to stop dangerous bacteria from contaminating foods.
These bacteria can contaminate both organic and non-organic fruit and
vegetables, and doctors recommend washing produce carefully before eating it.
Meat, fish and chicken can also become contaminated, so washing your hands
before handling these foods is also very important.
Many doctors also believe we should reduce the amount of sugar in our diets,
and there is a lot of evidence to support this idea. They recommend carefully
checking the list of ingredients on processed food and drinks for all the words
that really mean sugar, like glucose, sucrose and fructose. And they remind us
that the aim of most big food companies is to make lots of money, even if they
damage our health while doing so. This means processed foods that are called
"organic" can also be very unhealthy if they contain lots of sugar.
Most people agree that naturally grown food tastes
better. Is tastier food worth the extra money? That's a matter of opinion.
Whether organic food is healthier or not is still not clear, so more research
is needed. However, consumers of organic food often say "better
safe than sorry" when it comes to what we eat.