Research Draft Part 3

Research Draft: Benefits of Choosing Organic

Choosing organic has its many benefits to local famers, the people that consume the food and the environment that it is grown in. Organic farming is healthier and provides more nutrients to the consumer and soil. Although consumers are paying more by purchasing organically farmed foods, it is healthier to the consumer and the environment.  Most consumers may not know the actual price that it costs the earth’s surface and the environment when purchasing goods that are not organic and filled with harsh chemicals. Although eating organic food appears to be more expensive it is actually cheaper in the long run because the food that is consumed has no preservatives, it lacks pesticides and chemicals that kill living organisms and erode the earth’s surface, and it uses less energy than conventional farming.

Often time’s people do not think of the effects of farming foods and the environment when shopping for their weekly grocery list. The organic section in the grocery store if often smaller than the rest and costs consumers a considerable amount more to purchase then food with a sticker or label that states, organic. What people fail to realize is the effect of farming foods that are not organic and the harm that it costs the environment versus industrialized farming. Organic means that you are purchasing a food or a product that contains no preservatives versus a food that does. Conventional farming uses large amounts of preservatives to keep food from rotting over longer periods of times. However, the side effects that is hard to the earth to produce mass quantities of food at a cheap price to the consumer come at a greater cost to the environment. There are antimicrobial food additives; other preservatives contain ethanol and methylchloroisothiazolinone, propionic acid, and MSG. These preservatives cause not only health concerns for the consumers but also kill the living cells of other plants or insects that surround them. MSG is a common preservative that causes major health concerns and is usually posted where it is commonly used. It can cause the consumer headaches, difficulty breathing, chest pain, drowsiness, and nausea. Long term health concerns for the use of preservatives also include respiratory problems, anaphylactic allergic reactions, cancer, and noted birth defects. Most packaging material for products also contains preservatives. Sulfide is a common preservative on packaging material. Many consumers are finding that they are allergic to the sulfide in the packaging. Now, the FDA has made it state on the packaging if the material contains sulfide.

Many foods that are not organic contain pesticides and chemicals that are harmful to the environment and harmful to the consumer. Many pesticides and chemicals kill livestock and other animals. Pesticides are used to destroy or prevent insects, weed, birds, and other things from killing the crop. However, pesticides are very toxic to consumers and very toxic to the land and other animals if consumed. Pesticides can cause water pollution and other contamination of soil and vegetation. Crop dusters often spray the pesticides on a field and further pollute the environment with the gases that hurt the ozone layer. Farmers use the pesticides to prevent their crop from being destroyed by insects and other weeds and plants. But, the pesticides are toxic to not just the insects and weeds that they are trying to prevent from ruining their crop. They are also very harmful and toxic to other agriculture and vegetation that does not need to be compromised by the chemical.

Pesticide drift is something that is people are starting to research and learn more about as well. While the crop dusters spray the area for the crop with the pesticides they do not take into consideration where the pesticides fall as long as the crop gets dusted with the chemical. Pesticides can often drift with the direction of the wind and can spread across several miles of land. This can also lead to contamination of the water table which can negatively impact the environment and water source for human consumption and animals. Pesticide drift can also cause toxic effects to other foliage and animals by contaminating their ecosystem. Spray drift is often a type of pesticide drift that is supposed to be sprayed directly onto the crop and can often times float to surrounding homes and forestry and other ecosystems. Volatilization drift is also dangerous and occurs when the pesticides vaporizes off the plant or soil several days later and then creates a cloud of vapor that can drift off into nearby neighborhoods and other plants and water sources. Not only can both of these types of pesticides make people, animals, and other ecosystems sick but it is also very toxic to the land and the plants and is often hard to recover. Regardless of whether pesticide drift is intentional or not, it happens. Pesticides cause more harm and deter healthy soil and land from growing.

Lastly, fossil fuels are used to create and make the pesticides that are used to spray the crop. Fossil fuels create green house and methane gases which pollute the earth and ruin the ozone layer. Pesticides are also distributed by airplane or a crop-duster and thus use fuel and pollute the earth, the air, and the air quality further. Pesticides then deplete the top soil. Depleting the top soil causes erosion to the land. This then creates poor soil and growing conditions and causes less nutrient in the food. Most consumers do not realize the effect that it causes on their food. Nor, do they realize that the growing conditions often have a negative effect on their food and create fewer nutrients for consumption.

Pesticides and fossil fuels also increase energy consumption. Organic foods are raised completely pesticide and chemical free. Organic food uses renewable energy sources whereas conventional or factory farming uses non-renewable energy sources.  Organic food also uses natural fertilizers. All of the fertilizers are naturally occurring such as manure, slurry, and worms. Organic fertilizers also have increased nutrient content. Therefore, it is better for richer soil and the environment as well as healthier for the consumer. Organic fertilizers also create healthier soil. It uses existing nutrients from the soil. Is also helps to prevent topsoil erosion whereas pesticides and other chemicals actually cause top soil erosion and create soil that is not good for farming. The costs for organic fertilizer are also a factor that should be considered. Pesticides and fuel cost a great deal of money whereas organic fertilizer is naturally occurring and cheap if not free. Cows are able to graze on land which then creates manure. The manure is then able to fertilize the land and creates great and rich soil that is ideal for growing crops and other vegetation for the land. Although naturally occurring fertilizers often take a longer time for the crop to grow it costs the land less because it does not damage the soil, the agriculture, the consumers, the plants, and the other animals that graze or live in that ecosystem.

Eating organic is more than a preferred choice of healthy eating. It costs consumers more financially but in the end it is less expensive to the environment and it pays for a healthier lifestyle. Factory farming contains a large amount of preservatives and pesticides. These chemicals kill living organisms, are toxic to the land, the soil, and the water table. Although eating organic may appear to be more expensive in the short run, it costs the environment and the ecosystem a great deal less in the long run.

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