Derrick Willaby is author of next 2015-2016 MLHS senior student editorial
Is Certified Organic Really Worth the Extra Cost?
In the last couple years, certified organic foods have really taken off, but is there really a benefit to eating certified organic? All agricultural chemicals and vaccinations for food animals and agricultural chemicals and vaccines are extensively tested by the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) and proven safe. Organic food is not necessary and a waste of money because all other food is tested to insure that it is safe to consume.
A lot of different agricultural chemicals that help farmers raise better crops to feed the growing number of people on the planet. The use of agricultural chemicals has led to a large increase in yields that allows the average farmer feeds 155 people. Some people are against the use of agricultural chemicals and think that they should be banned, but without the use of agricultural chemicals farmers would not be able to raise enough food to feed the planet and more people would die of hunger.
Agricultural chemicals have been proven safe again and again but, people still think that they are harmful. Most of the chemicals used in agriculture have a lower l.D fifty (lethal dose fifty percent) than table salt and most chemicals are made from naturally occurring substances that only kill certain plants or bugs. In addition, agricultural chemicals are extremely safe because most chemicals are applied at a rate of four to eight ounces with ten gallons of water to the acre, which means a very small amount of that chemical is actually applied and what is applied is watered down. The chemicals applied to crops do not stay in the plant for an extended period of time, and all chemicals have a pre-harvest interval that means the crop cannot be harvested until the required amount of time has passed to insure that there are no traces of the product present in the plant or grain.
The livestock industry is another area that is feeling pressure to raise certified organic or all natural. In livestock that are raised organic or antibiotic free if the animal gets sick, the producer cannot do anything to help the sick animals but hope that they get better on their own, which is unlikely. If the animal does not get treated, the animal will probably die, and that would cause a shortage of animals, which would cause the price of meat to go up. Antibiotics are extremely safe to use since all drugs given to livestock have to be approved by the FDA after a long and vigorous testing process to prove that a drug is safe to give to animals and has no effect on the meat. All drugs have a slaughter withdrawal which prevents the animal from being butchered before the drug is out of its system. The slaughter withdrawal is how long there is a trace of the drug in the animals.
In my opinion, there is no reason for organic or all natural food since all food is actually free of chemicals by harvest. Raising organic produce can be more profitable for farmers, but it takes more labor to raise the crop, which increases the price of the product for consumers. Now that you know more about non-organic farming and that the chemicals used are extremely safe and well-regulated, you can make the decision if you want to spend the extra money to buy the organic food or not.