Reed 'n' Seed 3: Second quater "The Organic Food Guide: How to Shop Smarter and Healthier

Okay, so this week I read chapters 3 and 4, pages 29-45.  In chapter 3, How It All Began: Origins of Organic Agriculture, mainly discuss how farming was once such a respected trade to be apart but because of economics, many famers went bankrupt. This bought about a change in farming and has prompted the notion of modern day farming where pesticides, herbicides and insecticides are commonly used as a way to produce more foods. Two infamous chemicals that were talked about throughout the chapter three were DDT and AgentOrange. These two chemicals were first introduced on crops in the 1940’s.  DDT which is an insecticide was used to poison insects found on crops. This chemical was later banned in the U.S. in 1973. Agent- orange is still used as a herbicide today and is used as a weed killer.

In this chapter, I learned that agriculturists, Sir Albert Howard and Lady Eve Balfour were the earliest known opponents against chemical farming and came up with the idea of composting. This organic enrichment of soil became known as “organic farming.” Biologist, Rachel Carlson exposed the harmful effects of DDT and pesticides on food, animal’s people and the environment in her book named the Silent Spring .

In 1970, two organic-related events took place: The world held its first Earth Day and President Nixon established the environmental protection Agency.  One of the agency’s first acts was to ban DDT. In the 1990’s, the movement of organic grew into an industry and has inspired several companies to adopt the organic sensation by incorporating organic foods unto their menus or products.

In chapter 4 Organic Foods: Healthier or Not? This chapter primarily focused on what organic foods offer versus what conventional foods offer.  This chapter elaborates on some of the advantages to organic foods which is to reduces or eliminate the typical health and safety risks associated with modern farming that uses chemicals. For example, in organic raised cows or chicken, there are no antibiotics used in such livestock because they are able to roam free and are fed with grass and organic grains.  On the contrary, conventional farm raised livestock use growth hormones and use antibiotics because the livestock are packed in tight living quarters and are more susceptible to diseases. Because it has been proven there are health hazards associated in our diet today as far as conventional foods, that’s why organic foods are deemed to be healthier (p. 37).  Another aspect this chapters focus on are the controversial issues that surrounds conventional foods are the pesticides and public health, pesticides and children health, GMO.

In pesticides in the public health, the FDA estimates about 20 pounds per person of pesticides are used every year in the U. S. At least 59% of those pesticides are carcinogens (p. 38). In 1993 there was a report that concluded that the government pesticides standards did not protect the health of children. In a study from the University of Washington stated that children consuming conventional foods had a 6-9% higher pesticide residue in their bodies than of those children who consumed organic foods. The most discerning issue that focused on GMO’s is that there is no law mandating that foods in America be labeled as a GMO.

These two chapters that I read really coincided with the movie that we saw in class yesterday “Future of Food.”  I think such negative indication surrounding conventional foods really implies that we as a society need to make some changes for the sake of humanity. It seems to me that the government really does not have the American peoples health in their best interest, it so disheartening.   For goodness sake, we are literally eating poison, yikes!  I know for me, it has prompted me to make some personal changes within my diet as well as my family. The more I learn about the overwhelming issues as it relates to our foods, the more disturbing it is becoming for me personally  about what I have been putting into my body for  years. Having this knowledge is such a revelation!