Organic Food Nutritional Powerhouse Or Expensive Myth

Organic Food; Nutritional Powerhouse or Expensive Myth? It is a common held belief that organic foods and products are significantly healthier than conventionally grown foods but the evidence does not support such claims. Organic foods only have a slight nutritional benefit and may cost the consumer more than just dollars. Organic foods are defined as products â€Å"generally grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and without the routine use of antibiotics or growth hormones† (Brandt). Health conscious consumers have driven up the demand for organically grown foods from a $3.6 billion industry in 1997 to over $24.4 billion in 2011. According to Consumer Reports, organic foods can cost anywhere from 47% more in price to 300% in some†¦show more content†¦According to the USDA it is found in the body fat of most Americans, farm animals, and wildlife (Haspel). Even with strict organic milk production, both conventionally produced milk and organic milk farmers can do little to keep DDT residue out of milk. The levels are declining but it will take decades before they are so low that they are no longer detectable and buying organic milk does not protect the consumer from accidentally consuming some level of DDT. In addition, 99.99% of the pesticides that show up on routine testing of conventionally grown and organic produce are â€Å"naturally† occurring pesticides that plants produce to defend themselves (Miller). Also, there is no way that organic farmers can prevent chemical pesticides from an adjacent field being carried by the wind and affecting their own product making buying organic to avoid all pesticides simply not practical. Consumers also purchase organic milk and meats in an attempt to avoid hormones and antibiotics, but the claim that organic animal products are free of these substances and the danger to human health is misleading. The average consumer of organic milk assumes they are avoiding antibiotics by purchasing the more expensive product in lieu of regular milk. In reality, organic and conventionally produced milk contain no antibiotics. It is the law that milk be routinely tested for antibiotics by dairy workers and any truckload found to be positive is taken out of the food supply and never reaches the