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CennaPapola
Ms.Gardner
H.English10,period4
10May2016
ToBeOrganicOrNotToBeOrganic
Priceshavegoneupwhilequalityhasgonedown.Intheworldtoday,mostpeopleare
moreconcernedaboutthepriceoftheirfoodratherthanwhereitcamefromandhowitwas
made.Allpeopleseenowishow,o
rganicfoodsaremoreexpensive
andoftensignificantly
moresothannonorganic(Watson).Organicfoodshavetoberaisedwithoutpesticidesand
typicalfertilizerswhichslowsdowntheproductionrateandincreasesthecosttoraisethem.
Conventionalfoods,ontheotherhand,areheavilysprayedwithchemicalpesticidesand
fertilizerthatisprohibitedfromorganicagriculture.Theconventionalsystemhascomeacross
someproblemswiththepesticidesbeingusedcertaincancers,suchasParkinsonsdisease,
autism,respiratorydiseases,andreproductiveproblems,havebeencausedbythesepesticides
(Olson).Weneedtohavemoreresearchdonetotrulyensurethebenefitsofconventionalfoods
sothatwemaymakedecisionsforourselveswhetherornotconventionalisbetterthanorganic.
Conventionalfoodsshouldnotbeencouragedbecausetheycanharmorganicfarmswiththe
overspraycausedbythesprayingofchemicals,theyhavenotbeenfullyresearchedortestedfor
healthbenefits,andtheiruseofchemicalsandfertilizermayharmhumans.
Thoseinsupportofconventionalfoodsbelievetheyarebetterfortheenvironment,
wallet,andoverallbetterforpeople.Somestudieshaveshownthatalthough,...organicsdo
havesomesafetyadvantagesoverconventionalfoods,nutritionallyspeakingthey(organics)

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havelittleextratooffer(Tatar).Astudypublishedbytherenownedjournal
Nature
in2012also
said,...overall,organicyieldsaretypicallylowerthanconventionalyieldsrangingfrom5to
34percentloweryieldsbasedonthesystemandsitecharacteristics.Yieldscanbean
environmentalconcerndependingonontheirsizethemorelandneededtoproducea
commodity,thelargerthenegativeeffectontheenvironmentwillbe(Tatar).Basedoffofthese
ideas,conventionalsupportersbelievetheyaremakingthebetterchoiceoffoods,butalsothey
foundthat,o
rganicfoodsaremoreexpensive
andoftensignificantlymoresothan
nonorganic(Watson).Somebelievethatconventionalfoodshavethepowertoendworld
hungerbecausetheycangrowfast,arelessexpensive,andcangrowinsmallerareas.Also,they
maynotbeexactlythesame,butconventionalandorganicfoodshaveroughlythesame
nutritionalvalues,allowingonetosaythatconventionalfoodsareashealthyorevenhealthier
thanorganicinsomecases.Asitseems,supportersmaysayconventionalagricultureisbetter
thanorganicagriculturebecauseofitscostandfastgrowthhowever,conventionalagriculture
shouldnotbeencouragedbecauseofitsextensiveuseofchemicals,lackofresearchfoundand
tested,andscepticalhealtheffects.
Admittedly,conventionalfoodsaregrownfasterandcanbesoldcheaperthanorganic
foods,yetthisdoesnotmakethembetter.Complaintshavebeenfiledfromorganicfarmers
abouttheoversprayofpesticidesandotherchemicalscomingfromconventionalfarms.This
overspraycandestroyanorganicfarmerscropandprofit.Forinstance,Mr.andMrs.Dunham
liveinIowaandrunasmallorganicfarm.Theyaresurroundedbylargerconventionalfarmers
whousepesticides,insecticides,fungicides,andherbicidesfortheircornandtheDunhamshave
experiencedlargecloudsofchemicalsthathavedestroyedtheirasparaguscrops.Likewise,most

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ofthesmallerorganicbusinessesaresurroundedbytheseconventionalfarmsandhavebeen
experiencingthesameproblem.TheDunhamscannolongerselltheirasparagusasorganic
becauseithasbeencontaminated.Thesechemicalcloudshavethepowertocompletely
dismantleanorganicbusinessbytheirabilitytoexposeorganicfoodstoconventionalproducts.
Organicfarmershavefoundloopholesorbuffersfortheirissues.Theycanselltheir
contaminatedfoodsasconventionalorsimplymowdowntheaffectedproduce,buteitherway
theirbusinessisdamaged.Theaerialsprayingindustryandpesticidemanufacturers,
meanwhile,saythey'vemadebigstridesincontrollingdriftthroughpiloteducationandnew
technologies,yet,organicfarmersalsoworryaboutanewDowAgroSciencesweedcontrol
systemawaitingfederalapprovalcalledEnlistpartlybecauseituses2,4D,anoldherbicide
that'sbeenpronetodrift(
OrganicFarmsPlaguedbyPesticideDriftFromNeighbors
).Ifthe
conventionalfarmsareallowedtocontinuesprayingtheirneighboringorganicfarms,thenthe
organicfarmswillfailtokeeptheirproperlabel.Moreactionmustbetakeninordertofigureout
newwaysofsafelykeepingoversprayofforganicproduce.Ifnot,whatwillhappenas
conventionalfarmerscontinuetospray?Whatwillhappenwhenalloftheorganicgrowersare
victimstothiscrisis?
Asitseems,thehealthbenefitsofconventionalfoodshavenotbeenfullyresearched.
Dr.Hauser,mentionedinthearticle
OrganicFoodNoMoreNutritiousthanConventionally
GrownFood
,thatshebelieves,justbecausethesefoodsarentgoingoverwhattheycallan
acceptablelimitdoesntmeantheyresafeforeveryone...Shealsoadds,therehavent
beenenoughstudiesevaluatingpesticideexposuretoconfirmthehealtheffects,particularlyin
childrenandpregnantwomen(Watson).
Researchershavenotyetfoundmuchproofthat

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organicfoodsareindeedmorenutritiousormakeadifferenceinpeople'shealth(
"ToGo
OrganicorNottoGoOrganic?"
).
Obviously,theresultsoftheteststhathavebeendoneare
unanimousandreadthatconventionalandorganicfoodsareaboutequalnutritionwise,with
organichavingslightlybetterqualities.Asaresult,peopleontheopposingsideoftheargument
cannotconfidentlysaythatconventionalfoodsareahealthierchoicethanorganicfoods.
Correspondingly,theuseofchemicalssuchasherbicidesandinsecticideshavebeen
knownforhavingharmfulsideeffectsonhumans.Inparticular,conventionalfoodsthatare
consumedforashortorlongperiodoftimehavebeenresultinginsomecasesofcancer
development.Similarly,thechemicalsontheconventionalfoodscouldbedangeroustopregnant
womenandyoungchildren.Therehaventbeenenoughstudiesevaluatingpesticideexposureto
confirmthehealtheffects,particularlyinchildrenandpregnantwomen(Watson)
Thisimpliesthatthereneedstohavemoreresearchdonebeforewecansafelygivethese
productstocustomers.Otherwise,peoplecouldbecomeseverelyillresultinginapossible
lawsuitforthefoodcompanyor,moreimportantly,someonecoulddiefromapoisonous
chemical.Therefore,moreprecautionsshouldbetakenwhiledealingwiththesechemicalsto
ensurethesafetyofallconsumers.
Inconclusion,conventionalfoodsshouldnotbeadvertisedastherightchoicebecause
we,theconsumers,areallstilllearningaboutthem.Therearerisksandunknownsthatcome
withconventionalfoodsoverspraypollutingorganicfoods,insufficientamountofsafetytests,
andtheeffectonourhealth.Overusingconventionalagricultureandmarketingitashealthier
willwronglyteachpeoplethatfoodsisolatedfromnatureswondersarethewaytogo,ultimately
destroyingtheorganicfarmersanderadicatingorganicfoodsfromourdiet.Wemustbewilling

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toweanoffofourpreconceivednotionsthatconventionalfoodistherightchoicebecauseitis
thenewadvancementinagricultureanditislessexpensivetopurchaseandproduce.This
advancementmustbetestedandproventobe100percentthewisechoicefortheworldto
consume,otherwise,ourhealth,environment,andagriculturalbusinessescouldbeatriskwithout
anyoneknowingit.

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WorkCited
Olson,Samantha."WhatHappensToYourBodyWhenYouSwitchToOrganicFood
[VIDEO]."
MedicalDaily
.N.p.,22June2015.Web.03May2016.
"OrganicFarmsPlaguedbyPesticideDriftFromNeighbors."
Newsmax
.N.p.,7Sept.
2014.Web.3May2016.
Tatar,Emiliano."Organicvs.ConventionalFoods:EnvironmentalImpact,Nutrition,
Taste."
TheInquirer:DailyNews
.N.p.,7Jan.2016.Web.3May2016.
"ToGoOrganicorNottoGoOrganic?."
UniversityWire
.10Feb.2016:n/a.
SIRSIssues
Researcher.
Web.03May2016.
Watson,Stephanie."OrganicFoodNoMoreNutritiousthanConventionallyGrown
FoodHarvardHealthBlog."
HarvardHealthBlogRSS
.N.p.,05Sept.2012.
Web.03May2016.