Yeah! Go Organic!: The Organic Myth

A lot of us believe that we are what we eat. With the digestion processes in mind, definitely, this is not an issue. Nowadays, it’s ideal to eat organic foods over processed foods. Organic foods are deemed to be pure, pesticide-free, and locally produced. Are there in fact significant differences between the organic and nonorganic foods?

According to Time Magazine, “Organic foods currently represent only about 3% of the total US market, and anywhere from around 1% to 7% in European countries. Japan has traditionally been the largest organic market in Asia…” Many believe that consuming foods which are naturally grown is a healthier option. Organic foods are also known to contain more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Lastly, organic foods do not contain chemicals such fertilizers and pesticides that may harm the human body and the environment. Although going organic offers great advantages to the body, it cannot be denied that it costs more than the ordinary produce. In the Philippines, this is evident on the price of brown (organic) rice over the white rice commonly sold in the market. Undeniably, for people that can afford organic foods, they prefer to go organic believing that it has its edge in terms of nutritional value. However, according to Time magazine, based on the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study of 2009, it has been found that there is “no difference between organic and conventional produce with regard to all but three of the vitamins and other food components studied, and conventional produce actually squeaked past organic for one of those three”. If this is the case, why go organic? In reality, the facts on nutritional value contents of organic and conventional are still indistinct.

With all these fuss about organic foods, many food companies are scrambling down the road to take a hitch on the organic lifestyle. This is organic business. However, the greater concern for us Filipinos is the actual food availability and food distribution. For a developing country, only the affluent elite can fully support the movement for organic foods considering that these are relatively expensive. In order to keep the foods (especially rice) flowing and the prices low, a lot of chemical fertilizers and other industrial engineering processing are involved which alters the state of the produce. For a country that can’t even feed millions of hungry Filipinos, prioritizing organic foods on their diet is not a big concern. However, it is a fact that many of the diseases today that cause death are mainly due to the type of foods we eat. The increase in the number of Filipinos patronizing fast foods and ready-to-eat products (high in fat, salt, food coloring, additives, preservatives, flavoring and other artificial ingredients) are proven to be one of the culprits for diet-related diseases.  According to the survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST) first degree obesity affects 18.9% of women and 14.9% of men in the Philippines.

Until now, there are still debates about whether organic foods are better over the conventional foods. But, consumption of organic foods is a personal choice. Whether naturally-grown foods contain more nutrients, it all depends on the person on what type of lifestyle he wants. Eating healthy and living healthy is a more important concern.

Reference:
Kluger, Jeffrey. "What's So Great ABout Organic Food?" Time, September 6, 2010: 34-39.

Solanzo, Florentino. Survey Notes More Obese Filipino Women than Men.

http://www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=807 (accessed

October 8, 2010).