Organic is Not Worth the Money

With the rise in awareness and diagnoses of diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease, many people are turning towards leading healthier lifestyles. When it comes to healthy diets, there has been a big push for people to buy organic because it is supposed to be good for you. However, many feel less than healthy because they cannot afford the price of organic, which can be nearly twice the cost of their non-organic counterparts. Organic is not necessarily healthier than non-organic and thus not worth the money.

When people hear that something is "organic" they automatically assume that the food product was grown without pesticides or in the case of meat, no antibiotics or hormones were given to the animal. In fact, this is a common misconception, as organic does not mean that hormones or synthetic pesticides were "not" used. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, organic just means that it reduces the uses of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and/or antibiotics. The USDA cites organic farming as the "Reduction of external and off-farm inputs and elimination of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and other materials, such as hormones and antibiotics."

It is important to understand that the focus of organic [farming] is not just on reducing the use of synthetics, rather, it's concerned with the overall environmental harmony that can be achieved through "natural" techniques such as, crop rotation, composted animal manure, and crop covering, just to name a few. In my opinion, if the main focus is not on eliminating the use of synthetic pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics in the culturing of food products, I don't feel that I am necessarily getting a better product than the one that came from the non-organic farm. In addition, organic products just have a reduction and not elimination of the chemicals that we fear can have adverse health effects. Just being exposed to or ingesting a small portion of chemicals can do harm to someone's health, especially if exposed for a long period of time. I am only willing to pay for a guarantee that no artificial or synthetic chemicals (in the form of hormones, pesticides, or antibiotics) are used. So until there is a 100% guarantee of no synthetic or artificial chemicals, I will stick with the cheaper non-organic food products. After all, there are natural products that can be bought from the local health food store, that can wash away the pesticides from your fruit and vegetables. . .and it is still cheaper than buying organic.