Are Organic Foods better for Our Health?

I have heard for many years that organic foods are better for our body than the other
processed food, and I wonder if its true or not. Are organic foods better for our health than other
foods or it is just a myth?
There is a controversy about how good organic food is and if they are better for our body
than non-organic foods.

Organic food is known to be grown without the exercise of usual pesticides and fertilizer that
are used in the production of other foods (Williamson, 2007).
The head of the Food Standards Agency in UK, Sir John Krebs showed some evidence of
how organic food is better for our health than conventionally produced foods. Organic foods is
safer because the organic food doesnt allow pesticide and herbicide use, so that chemical
residues are not usually found in organic foods; unlike non-organic foods that can be
contaminated with chemical residues that are often dangerous for the health. Studies have found
that pesticide residues affect reproductive function in males and decrease the fertilization rates,
and the sperm concentration in adults was 43.1% higher than in men eating conventionally
produced food (Organic food is better for your health, 2003).

Organic food may be a better benefit for children than for adults, to see how organic food act
on children, scientists evaluated preschool children and calculated that the concentration of
dimethyl metabolite, a pesticide, was six times higher for children with conventional diets. Also
children that had in their diet more organic foods like fruits and vegetables were able to decrease
their exposure levels to below the guidelines of US Environmental Protection Agency (Organic is
better for your health, 2003). From these studies, there is enough evidence to conclude that
organic foods may be helpful in reproduction and pregnancy on the health of the animals and
humans (Williamson, 2007).
Children put organic diets for 5 days showed to have a lower concentration of
organophosphorus pesticide, for what scientists concluded that organic diets provide protection
to organophosphorus pesticides exposure that are used in agriculture. (Lu etal, 2006)
The National Research Council (NRC) states that the major cause of pesticide exposure in
children was their dietary intake, and after the study done with children the conclusion they got
is that organic foods lower the pesticide exposure in children. (Lu etal, 2006)

In contrast to the argument that organic foods are better than non-organic foods, even though
organic foods are known to be better for the body due to the reduce amount of pesticides they
use, the level of infectivity in organic and conventional grown foods are under the tolerable
limits. Some organic vegetables were found to have lower levels of nitrate. To conclude
causation, we need a good experiment and a good experiment requires the individuals to be
subjected to the same conditions. Because of the natural variation that exists in food, researchers
have found difficulties to find evidence against difference between organic and non-organic
foods (Williamson, 2007).

In addition to it, there is no significant evidence that conventionally grown foods have
different levels of vitamins and proteins compared to organic foods. Furthermore, even when
studies have found higher concentrations of vitamin C in organic foods and some other essential
mineral, theres not strong enough evidence that proves there is a difference between organic and
non-organic fruits and vegetables (Magkos, Arvaniti and Zampelas, 2003).

In conclusion, even though there is no hard evidence that vitamin concentration is

significantly different in organic foods than in non-organic foods; studies that have been made
before have shown that organic foods are better for the body, and lower our exposure to
pesticides found in non-organic foods.
In my opinion, organic foods are better for us than non-organic foods, because the pesticides
residues in non-organic foods are bad for our body and affect the reproduction and pregnancy in
people. Thanks to the fact that organic food is grown without the use of pesticides that non-
organic foods use, the quality of life in people will increase.

Sources

1. Williamson, C.S. (2007).Is organic food good for our health?. Nutrition Bulletin. 32, 104-
108.
2. Magkos, F., Arvaniti, F., & Zampelas, A. (2003). Organic food: nutritious food or food
for thought? A review of evidence. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition.
54, 357-371.
3. Lu, C., Toepel, K., Irish, R., Fenske, R.A., Barr, D.B, & Bravo, R. (2006). Organic diets
significantly lower children's dietary exposure to organophosphorus pesticides..
Environmental Health Perspectives. 114, 260.
4. Independent Science Report, (2003, June 29). Organic Food is Better for Your Health.
Retrieved March 14, 2009, from Organic Consumers Association Web site:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/organic_health_062903.cfm