II. Are We Buying the Future Hope or Peace of Mind?
A. Is Organic Food Safer?
Safety is one of the main reasons why people turned from conventional food to organic. The whole trend, which pushes us to change our purchasing habits, combined these two things, food safety and organic food, together as one thing; however, we should ask one question before we trust this theory – is it true that organic food is safer?
Although it is common to link organic food with pesticide-free or non-GMO, it is not the truth. The principle of organic farming is the inhibition of the usage of synthetic materials, including synthetic fertilizers, pesticide, and herbicides, but some chemicals, which are seen as natural materials, can be used in organic agricultural practice, such as rotenone; or biological materials, such as the spores of Bacillus thuringiensis (Magkos et al., 2006; Winter & Davis, 2006).
Based on the report in 2002, although it was comparatively lower than conventional food products which had been detected that 80% were at least one kind of pesticides remaining, approximately 20% of organic vegetables and fruits had detected the remains of pesticide (Magkos et al., 2006). In other words, even though the percentage was relatively low, the organic food did not equal to “pesticide-free”. Moreover, the word “organic” might mislead people to think all those organic pesticides are harmless to people; however, just as the synthetic chemicals, those natural compounds also have their own danger. It is believed that approximately 60% natural and synthetic pesticides are carcinogenic to rats or mice, and some common pesticides used in organic farming have the risk to endanger human health (Trewavas, 2001). For example, despite the good characteristics of rotenone, which is natural plant-based insecticide and affirmed to degrade rapidly in the nature, the relationship between rotenone and the induction of Parkinson's disease has been demonstrated (Trewavas, 2001; Magkos et al., 2006). Another example is the spores of Bacillus thuringiensis, which is an effective weapon to fight bugs. The mechanism is that the spores will enter the bugs’ bodies, and absorb nutrition from them to germinate. Finally, the spores grow as the mature fungi and kill the bugs, and then spread the spores in the air that can provide more resources to kill more bugs. However, although it seems to be an effective way to resolve the problems of insect pests, the animal tests in mice showed that it could also cause fatal lung infections (Trewavas, 2001). That is, the natural materials using in organic farming also have the possibilities to result in health problems.
On the other hand, according to the current food policy in the U.S, under the “USDA organic” certification has two sub-categories; one is labeled as “100% organic”, which should contain organic ingredients only; the other is shown as “organic”, which, in fact, can contain 5% ingredients not to be organic (Winter & Davis, 2006). It is controversial whether genetically modified organisms (GMOs), especially crops, can be included in part of organic farming system or not. At first, it was allowed to be part of organic farming, but currently it has been banned (Cranfield et al, 2009). The main reason that the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) has excluded GMOs from the list is the public concern of the risk of GMOs, although this potential risk has yet to be confirmed (Chassy, 2007; Cranfield et al, 2009). Genetic modification is a powerful technology to reduce the use of fertilizer, pesticides and other chemicals for the management of crops. Thus, the concern of GMOs in health issues mainly focuses on its possibilities of inducing allergenic and toxic responses, or creating new toxins and microorganisms, which might bring new diseases (Azadi & Ho, 2010). However, until now, there is no answer that can really tell how great these possibilities are.
In short, organic food production can be regarded as safer food. But as Chassy (2007) argued, “no food is 100% safe and no technology for processing a food is 100% safe.” Organic food should not be seen as sacred and inviolable, whereas conventional food (which includes GMOs) is not completely sinful. Furthermore, since the scientific development changes so fast and sometimes it is easy to wipe out what we have already known, to pursuing better life qualities we need to keep an open mind that is available for all kinds of information.
B. Is Organic Food More Nutritious?
Under the pursuit of food quality, it is not only the concern for eating safety, but also the grades of nutrition contents inside the food we eat. For a long time, the organic food industry has tried to convince consumers that organic food is more nutritious than conventional products (Rosen, 2010). However, in fact, it is more complicated than what we might think, since the nutrition contents would have been altered because of several reasons, such as cooking process, periods of storage, farming conditions, and different cultivars or species of plants (Matallana González et al., 2010; Lima & Vianello, 2011). Thus, instead of a positive answer from organic food industry, most scientists tend to hold off on their conclusions and expect a more detailed and specific analysis in the future.
According to current research, most theoretically agree that in the part of major nutrition, conventional vegetables and fruits have higher nitrate concentrations, while the organic products have higher phosphorus contents (Dangour et al., 2009; Lima & Vianello, 2011). This difference seems to be reasonable due to the different preference of fertilizers (Dangour et al., 2009). Some critics claim that conventional food contains too much nitrogen, which, probably based on current researches, shows the possible relationship between high nitrate intake and cardiovascular diseases, although other research indicates that the cooking methods and growth conditions strongly affect the nitrogen contents in both farming systems (Matallana González et al., 2010; Kevil & Lefer, 2011; Lima & Vianello, 2011). Moreover, when the consumption preferences has been included, it showed that organic food buyers tend to consume more vegetables, which make it fail to demonstrate that eating organic food will consume less nitrates than eating conventional food (Hoefkens et al., 2010). Also, although a few cases showed higher major nutritional levels in some specific crops, generally, there is no significant difference among other micro elements, such as potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, and copper, between organic and conventional food (Dangour et al., 2009; Lima & Vianello, 2011).
On the other hand, however, what is more controversial is whether the contents of plant secondary metabolites can be seen as the standard to distinguish which farming system is better or not. It is also hard to say that if organic fruits and vegetables contain higher concentration of phenolics compounds, organic acids, flevonoids, and other specific molecules, because of the disagreement among different researches (Winter & Davis, 2006; Dangour et al., 2009; Hoefkens et al., 2010; Lima & Vianello, 2011). Since more and more research suggested some specific plant metabolites, such as carotenoids, flevonoids, and Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid), as antioxidants, can provide health protection; consumers prefer to purchase food that has high contents of those kinds of compounds (Magkos et al., 2006; Rosen, 2010). There are two possible hypotheses suggesting the reasons why organic food has higher possibility to contain more phenolics compounds and organic acids. One hypothesis suggested this difference comes from the different compositions between organic fertilizers (which are basically rich in phosphorus contents) and conventional fertilizers (which usually have higher nitrogen concentrations); while another hypothesis considered the more stressful conditions plants suffering are under organic farming system, which triggered plants to produce more secondary metabolites to increase the stress tolerance (Winter & Davis, 2006). Although the current scientific progress has not been able to confirm those hypotheses yet, both of them offer the other concern of the balance between ability of antioxidation and toxicity. A lot of plant secondary metabolites, which are believed as potential natural toxins, rapidly increase after plants encounter stress, such as infection by microbes, and then trigger plant defense mechanisms (Magkos et al., 2006). Most of those natural toxins have not yet been tested for their toxicities (Magkos et al., 2006). Furthermore, since it is still unclear how plants react during the reactions to different kinds of stress, it needs further examinations to not only demonstrate the ways plants react to stress, but also to clarify the possible relationship between the increase of beneficial metabolites and harmful compounds.
In short, based on current information, although some people are holding a bright view, the truth is that we still have failed to conclude that organic food is superior to conventional food. Some reports might give a positive conclusion that organic food is much more nutritious, though most of them still lack crucial evidences to support their hypotheses (Rosen, 2010). Although we can believe that somehow organic food has a possibility to be a better type of food, to be convinced of it we still needs more detailed studies and more specific examinations; this will require more improved detection technologies in the future.
TBC.
A. Is Organic Food Safer?
Safety is one of the main reasons why people turned from conventional food to organic. The whole trend, which pushes us to change our purchasing habits, combined these two things, food safety and organic food, together as one thing; however, we should ask one question before we trust this theory – is it true that organic food is safer?
Although it is common to link organic food with pesticide-free or non-GMO, it is not the truth. The principle of organic farming is the inhibition of the usage of synthetic materials, including synthetic fertilizers, pesticide, and herbicides, but some chemicals, which are seen as natural materials, can be used in organic agricultural practice, such as rotenone; or biological materials, such as the spores of Bacillus thuringiensis (Magkos et al., 2006; Winter & Davis, 2006).
Based on the report in 2002, although it was comparatively lower than conventional food products which had been detected that 80% were at least one kind of pesticides remaining, approximately 20% of organic vegetables and fruits had detected the remains of pesticide (Magkos et al., 2006). In other words, even though the percentage was relatively low, the organic food did not equal to “pesticide-free”. Moreover, the word “organic” might mislead people to think all those organic pesticides are harmless to people; however, just as the synthetic chemicals, those natural compounds also have their own danger. It is believed that approximately 60% natural and synthetic pesticides are carcinogenic to rats or mice, and some common pesticides used in organic farming have the risk to endanger human health (Trewavas, 2001). For example, despite the good characteristics of rotenone, which is natural plant-based insecticide and affirmed to degrade rapidly in the nature, the relationship between rotenone and the induction of Parkinson's disease has been demonstrated (Trewavas, 2001; Magkos et al., 2006). Another example is the spores of Bacillus thuringiensis, which is an effective weapon to fight bugs. The mechanism is that the spores will enter the bugs’ bodies, and absorb nutrition from them to germinate. Finally, the spores grow as the mature fungi and kill the bugs, and then spread the spores in the air that can provide more resources to kill more bugs. However, although it seems to be an effective way to resolve the problems of insect pests, the animal tests in mice showed that it could also cause fatal lung infections (Trewavas, 2001). That is, the natural materials using in organic farming also have the possibilities to result in health problems.
On the other hand, according to the current food policy in the U.S, under the “USDA organic” certification has two sub-categories; one is labeled as “100% organic”, which should contain organic ingredients only; the other is shown as “organic”, which, in fact, can contain 5% ingredients not to be organic (Winter & Davis, 2006). It is controversial whether genetically modified organisms (GMOs), especially crops, can be included in part of organic farming system or not. At first, it was allowed to be part of organic farming, but currently it has been banned (Cranfield et al, 2009). The main reason that the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) has excluded GMOs from the list is the public concern of the risk of GMOs, although this potential risk has yet to be confirmed (Chassy, 2007; Cranfield et al, 2009). Genetic modification is a powerful technology to reduce the use of fertilizer, pesticides and other chemicals for the management of crops. Thus, the concern of GMOs in health issues mainly focuses on its possibilities of inducing allergenic and toxic responses, or creating new toxins and microorganisms, which might bring new diseases (Azadi & Ho, 2010). However, until now, there is no answer that can really tell how great these possibilities are.
In short, organic food production can be regarded as safer food. But as Chassy (2007) argued, “no food is 100% safe and no technology for processing a food is 100% safe.” Organic food should not be seen as sacred and inviolable, whereas conventional food (which includes GMOs) is not completely sinful. Furthermore, since the scientific development changes so fast and sometimes it is easy to wipe out what we have already known, to pursuing better life qualities we need to keep an open mind that is available for all kinds of information.
B. Is Organic Food More Nutritious?
Under the pursuit of food quality, it is not only the concern for eating safety, but also the grades of nutrition contents inside the food we eat. For a long time, the organic food industry has tried to convince consumers that organic food is more nutritious than conventional products (Rosen, 2010). However, in fact, it is more complicated than what we might think, since the nutrition contents would have been altered because of several reasons, such as cooking process, periods of storage, farming conditions, and different cultivars or species of plants (Matallana González et al., 2010; Lima & Vianello, 2011). Thus, instead of a positive answer from organic food industry, most scientists tend to hold off on their conclusions and expect a more detailed and specific analysis in the future.
According to current research, most theoretically agree that in the part of major nutrition, conventional vegetables and fruits have higher nitrate concentrations, while the organic products have higher phosphorus contents (Dangour et al., 2009; Lima & Vianello, 2011). This difference seems to be reasonable due to the different preference of fertilizers (Dangour et al., 2009). Some critics claim that conventional food contains too much nitrogen, which, probably based on current researches, shows the possible relationship between high nitrate intake and cardiovascular diseases, although other research indicates that the cooking methods and growth conditions strongly affect the nitrogen contents in both farming systems (Matallana González et al., 2010; Kevil & Lefer, 2011; Lima & Vianello, 2011). Moreover, when the consumption preferences has been included, it showed that organic food buyers tend to consume more vegetables, which make it fail to demonstrate that eating organic food will consume less nitrates than eating conventional food (Hoefkens et al., 2010). Also, although a few cases showed higher major nutritional levels in some specific crops, generally, there is no significant difference among other micro elements, such as potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, and copper, between organic and conventional food (Dangour et al., 2009; Lima & Vianello, 2011).
On the other hand, however, what is more controversial is whether the contents of plant secondary metabolites can be seen as the standard to distinguish which farming system is better or not. It is also hard to say that if organic fruits and vegetables contain higher concentration of phenolics compounds, organic acids, flevonoids, and other specific molecules, because of the disagreement among different researches (Winter & Davis, 2006; Dangour et al., 2009; Hoefkens et al., 2010; Lima & Vianello, 2011). Since more and more research suggested some specific plant metabolites, such as carotenoids, flevonoids, and Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid), as antioxidants, can provide health protection; consumers prefer to purchase food that has high contents of those kinds of compounds (Magkos et al., 2006; Rosen, 2010). There are two possible hypotheses suggesting the reasons why organic food has higher possibility to contain more phenolics compounds and organic acids. One hypothesis suggested this difference comes from the different compositions between organic fertilizers (which are basically rich in phosphorus contents) and conventional fertilizers (which usually have higher nitrogen concentrations); while another hypothesis considered the more stressful conditions plants suffering are under organic farming system, which triggered plants to produce more secondary metabolites to increase the stress tolerance (Winter & Davis, 2006). Although the current scientific progress has not been able to confirm those hypotheses yet, both of them offer the other concern of the balance between ability of antioxidation and toxicity. A lot of plant secondary metabolites, which are believed as potential natural toxins, rapidly increase after plants encounter stress, such as infection by microbes, and then trigger plant defense mechanisms (Magkos et al., 2006). Most of those natural toxins have not yet been tested for their toxicities (Magkos et al., 2006). Furthermore, since it is still unclear how plants react during the reactions to different kinds of stress, it needs further examinations to not only demonstrate the ways plants react to stress, but also to clarify the possible relationship between the increase of beneficial metabolites and harmful compounds.
In short, based on current information, although some people are holding a bright view, the truth is that we still have failed to conclude that organic food is superior to conventional food. Some reports might give a positive conclusion that organic food is much more nutritious, though most of them still lack crucial evidences to support their hypotheses (Rosen, 2010). Although we can believe that somehow organic food has a possibility to be a better type of food, to be convinced of it we still needs more detailed studies and more specific examinations; this will require more improved detection technologies in the future.
TBC.
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