Lindsey Smith Smith 1

Dr. Gayle Salter

FACS 242-Position

15 April 2006

Going Organic

Organic living is a way of life that is growing enormously every day. It seems like

the word “organic” is everywhere now. However, I am surprised that I do not hear more

about organic nutrition in Family and Consumer Sciences. In fact, in some classes I have

been taught that there are no significant differences. After doing much research to see if I

have been taught correctly, I have come to the conclusion that there are in fact many

differences between the two, and organic foods are much healthier. They are not only

healthier for humans, but also healthy for the environment, local economies, and the

animals themselves.

Animals raised in today’s factory farms are not grown. They are instead harvested

and manufactured. These animals do not live full natural lives as they should; instead

they begin their lives in a factory and they never see the light of day. Fed antibiotics,

growth hormones, and filler food of no nutritious value, these animals are forced to live

sped up lives to quicken the process in which they can be slaughtered and sold. This

shortens the amount of time of production while maximizing profits for the factory farms

and slaughterhouses. There are three interdependent areas in which detrimental problems

can be observed. These areas are consumer health, environmental conservation, and

animal welfare.

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 Humans are subjected to many artificial chemicals by consuming animals raised

in factory farms, also called concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). First, cows

that are raised to produce milk are injected with recombinant Bovine Growth Hormones

(rBGH) to increase milk production by 10 to 15 percent (Sustainable rBGH) and increase

the amount of time that the cows are able to produce milk by 8 to 12 weeks, in addition to

the natural 12 weeks of milk production after they bear their calves (Health). This may

seem like a very efficient way to mass produce milk, but it has serious health

consequences. “Cows injected with rBGH suffer increased rates of udder infection

(mastitis) and other health issues, forcing farmers to increase their use of therapeutic

antibiotics including important human antibiotics. Antibiotic use in food animals

contributes to antibiotic resistance transmitted to humans. More generally, the increased

use of antibiotics in animals has contributed to the global crisis in antibiotic-resistant

infections in humans” (Health).

It is believed by some scientists that the growth hormones in animal products also

cause hormone imbalances, reproductive problems, and cancer (Sustainable hormones).

Young females who ingest these added hormones reach puberty at a much younger age

which causes them to potentially have breast cancer (Sustainable hormones). Mad Cow

Disease is also a risk since there is no ban on feeding these animals the remains of other

slaughtered cows (Organic).

Because of all of these health concerns, rBGH has been banned in Canada, New

Zealand, Australia, Japan, and all 25 of the countries in the European Union (Health).

These countries have even taken a step further by making the importation of hormone

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implanted meat against regulation. For some reason, America is going in the opposite

direction; “According to the Cattleman’s Beef Association, 90% of all U.S. feedlot cattle

are hormone implanted” (Sustainable hormones).

However, organic livestock is fed organically. “Compared with conventional

products,[…] grass fed products are lower in artery clogging fats but higher in beneficial

nutrients including antioxidant vitamins, polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, and the

cancer fighting fat CLA,” (Robinson) which shows the first benefit of choosing to live an

organic lifestyle. A study has shown that organic soups sold commercially in the United

Kingdom contain almost six times as much salicylic acid as non-organic soups. Salicylic

acid, which is responsible for the anti-inflammatory action of aspirin, has been shown to

help prevent hardening of the arteries and bowel cancer. The average level of salicylic

acid in 11 brands of organic vegetable soup was 117 nanograms per gram, compared with

20 nanograms per gram in 24 types of non-organic soup (Edwards 10). Reviewing 41

published studies comparing the nutritional value of organically grown and

conventionally grown fruits, vegetables, and grains, certified nutrition specialist Virginia

Worthington has concluded there are significantly more of several nutrients in organic

crops. These include: 27% more vitamin C, 21.1% more iron, 29.3% more magnesium,

and 13.6% more phosphorus. In addition, organic products had 15.1% less nitrates than

the inorganic products. She also noted that five servings of organic vegetables (lettuce,

spinach, carrots, potatoes and cabbage) provided the recommended daily intake of

vitamin C for men and women, while their conventional counterparts did not

(Worthington).

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 Beyond the frontier of the health concerns for humans, another reason for not

supporting this immoral market is for the health of the environment. A prime example of

one hazard that these farms pose to the environment can be examined through one of the

most common fertilizers in the world. Manure. The CAFOs have far too much manure to

dispose of properly. One farm in North Carolina had 178 ‘Notices of Violation’ for

dumping excessive manure into streams and wetlands, dumping on unlicensed disposal

fields, busted waste filled pipelines, and “breached lagoons” just to name a few

(Kennedy). In many cases, this means that manure leaks into water supplies causing “skin

rashes, infections, and other health problems” in farm communities (Nierenberg). These

problems can easily be solved. All that we have to do is go to our local farmers’ markets

and buy our meats, eggs, and produce. Small family farms at the local level do not have

problems with manure because they use it to fertilize their crops. What is left over is

manageable and easy to be disposed of properly. This is yet another benefit of buying

organic.

Another hazard the factory farms pose to the environment is their release of

chemicals into the air. As the CAFOs grow, so do the amounts of ammonia and hydrogen

sulfide that are released. These emissions directly correlate to the high levels of

respiratory illness found in the people living in the surrounding areas of the factory farms

(Cook).

It should be of no surprise that most people who make claims about the horrors of

the treatment of the environment are dismissed as ‘tree huggers and hippies’. Most people

would not give a second thought to the triple meat patty burger they order from their

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favorite fast food restaurant every other day. These people think that it is insane for

anyone to think that eating non organic food is bad for the environment. They are correct,

as long as they stay in the shallow ends of their minds. Eating the food itself is, of course,

not bad for the environment. However, buying these products supports everything that is

going wrong in the environment as far as factory farms are concerned. Buying into these

money making machines does nothing but sink the factory farm owners’ sinister teeth

deeper into our way of life. This is the message that the ‘tree huggers and hippies’ are

attempting to convey when they voice their concerns about the environment.

On top of issues such as consumer health and well-being of the environment,

there is another issue that calls for a drastic change in America. This final issue is ethics

of animal welfare. These factory farms pose a huge problem for the ethical treatment of

animals because they simply do not allow for these animals to live a natural life. “…

[These hormones have] given us dairy cows producing ten times as much milk as their

calves would drink, double muscled beef cattle so large that Caesarean births are the

norm…”(D’Silva) is evidence to prove such abnormalities. The aforementioned rBGH is

harmful to the cows as well. This hormone weakens the cows’ immune system causing

illness and infections throughout the cows’ life. There have also been cases reported of

incapacitated animals being dragged behind trucks, kicked, beaten, whipped, confined,

and fed insufficient meals all after these animals are injected with substances that have

caused their incapacitation (Factory).

The owners of factory farms do not care about the health of the people who

consume their products. They do not care about the environment that they are destroying.

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They do not care about the way they treat the animals that they profit from. All these

people care about is their profit. All they feel is greed and a lack of conscience. If

America can shift away from these factory farms and move more to their local farmers

and buy organic at the grocery stores, then there will be nothing but benefits for the

consumer, the environment, the animals concerned, and for the local economy.

I feel that it is my duty as a Dietetics major to educate as many people about this

topic as I possibly can. I encourage those Dieticians that are already established, to do

their own research and not rely on just what they hear or their own assumptions. I was

easily led astray once by someone who did not have the correct information and I feel

blessed that I now know the truth. The only way to make a change in the world is to be

the change you wish to see in the world, as Mahatma Gandhi so wisely spoke so many

years ago. This consists of living the lifestyle by example and opening as many eyes as

possible on these horrors. It may be a slow process but I have faith that others will see the

benefits of going organic and choose to do the same.

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 Works Cited

Cook, Christopher D. “New rules to stem pollution on factory farms draw fire,” Christian

Science Monitor 97.57 (2005): 2. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. McNeese

State U., Frazar Memorial Lib. 11 April 2006 <http://www.epnet.com/>.

D’Silva, Joyce. “Faster, cheaper, sicker. “ New Scientist 180.2421 15 November 2003:

19. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. McNeese State U., Frazar Memorial Lib.

11 April 2006 <http://www.epnet.com/>.

Edwards, Rob. “The Natural Choice.” New Scientist 173.2334 16 March 2002: 10.

Factory Farming. www.factoryfarming.com 19 April 2006

< www.factoryfarming.com/gallery/photos_video.htm.>

Health Care Without Harm. “Health Care Without Harm Position Statement on rBGH.”

10 April 2006 < www.noharm.org>

Nierenberg, Danielle. “Factory Farming in the Developing World.” World Watch. 16.3

May/June 2003: 10. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. McNeese State U.,

Frazar Memorial Lib. 11 April 2006 <http://www.epnet.com/>.

Riddle, Jim. “Why Organic Beef is Safer than Conventional Beef.” Organic Consumers

Association. 11 April 2006 <www.organicconsumers.org>.

Robinson, Jo. “Cows, Pigs, and Chickens are Going Back to the Pasture.” Mother Earth

News 207. Dec. 2004/Jan.2005: 26. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. McNeese

State U., Frazar Memorial Lib. 11 April 2006 <http://www.epnet.com/>.

Sustainable Table. “The Issues: Hormones.” www.sustainabletable.org 12 April 2006

<www.sustainabletable.org/issues/hormones/.>

Sustainable Table. “The Issues: rBGH.” www.sustainabletable.org 12 April 2006

<www.sustainabletable.org/issues/hormones/.>
Worthington, Virginia. “Nutritional Quality of Organic Versus Conventional Fruits,

Vegetables, and Grains.” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary

Medicine 7.2 (2001): 161-173.