The production process for foods from farm to table has drastically changed within the last couple of decades with the intention of benefiting the farming and grocer market financially. Pesticides and preservatives have been used since the 1960s and have taken up a vast majority of foods in grocery stores, and as time progressed, people have taken notice. Genetically modified foods span more than just fruits and vegetables, reaching every single food group and drink within the most popular grocery and farming businesses. Organic eating has become a substantial trend in individuals’ diets as a preventative from the risks of chemically integrated foods. With the reality that pesticides and preservatives often appear amongst people’s everyday lives through breakfast, lunch, and dinner, organic eating has become a massive trend amongst households and overall has grown as an industry.
To start, the most notable cause of organic eating’s growth is the extensive use of pesticides and preservatives As stated by the NCBI in their article, Impact Of Pesticides Use In Agriculture: Their Benefits And Hazards “Foodgrain production, which stood at a mere 50 million tons in 1948–49, had increased almost fourfold to 198 million tons by the end of 1996–97 from an estimated 169 million hectares of permanently cropped land.’ In turn, this has made way for the growth of the organic food market with such examples as the largest primarily organic store Whole Foods. Whole Foods has become a large competitor for the supermarket industry especially when major investor Warren Buffet took part in Whole Foods shares as he was previously invested into Walmart but sold the last of those shares after two decades of owning them.
Comment on by Ryan Downie highlights the effectiveness of Whole Foods as a brand “Whole Foods’ scale provides a competitive advantage over its more direct competitors. Profit margins and economic profit metrics confirm the presence of an economic moat. This moat is sustainable as long as larger competitors do not move more directly into the organic and natural food market, but such competition could lead to rapid deterioration of any competitive advantage.”
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Because of Whole Foods branding and competitive drive, it allows for organic foods to grow more mainstream alongside major corporations who are also leaning towards the organic industry. Regional Business News stated: “Companies quickly adapting to this changing landscape are emerging as the top performers and earning attractive revenues through a sustainable transition, innovation, efficient pricing, and sales execution strategies.” That being said, the popularity of organic eating is based on the demand for chemical based foods because of the dynamic between the two types of marketed foods.
Another cause of organic eating is how much of an impact pesticides and preservatives have on people’s health. As pesticides have grown to be a widespread farming practice, the chemicals that come with it have shown to be a cause for various health concerns. Research shows in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health Worland
says that “The chemical glyphosate, sold around the world as Roundup by Monsanto, should be subject to further safety review about whether it causes cancer.” Not only have pesticides shown to have dangerous results over time but immediate results have been apparent as the count for pesticide poison-related deaths increased. According to Sabarwal et al.“Pesticides have shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases as well as various disorders of the respiratory and reproductive tracts.” (2)
That being said, these disorders caused by a multitude of pesticides can cause death in the long run. Pesticides have also been known to neglect individuals with food sensitivities. As researched by Sue Dengate of Art of Healing “The author states that some of the plant-derived natural colors in food supply may cause problems for because of their salicylate content. According to the findings of a study of 229 food sensitive patients, 60-70% reacted to salicylates and preservatives while 40-60% reacted to colors, flavor enhancers as well as other natural food chemicals.”
Showing that by merely being coated in food chemicals can make those foods dangerous. On the contraposition, organic eating has been shown to correlate with generally healthier lifestyles. A study done by Pellegrini & Farinelloin in 2009 showed people’s views on the relationship between foods and overall well-being stating “The participants felt that they had more responsibility for their own well-being, tended to be more reflexive and autonomous, and used more unconventional healing practices when forced to make decisions concerning their health.”
They also noted the psychological effects which include appreciated for the taste of organic foods, the experience of being healthy, and being able to contribute to a better future for themselves. They even found evidence for organic consumers having a strong sense of ethical self-identity being that organic eating is seen to be a way of life by many. To summarize, pesticides have rarely been known to have adverse health effects, and as stated by Sabarwal, Monsanto, Pellegrini, Farinelloin, and Dengate supporting that organic food provide more nutritious results versus the likely detrimental outcomes pesticides have on human health.
While preservatives and pesticides affect people, they also affect the environment. They are shown to poison plants, soil, and animals by making water unable to sustain organic entities being more harmful than good. When animals ingest the chemicals pesticide companies put out, research shows that the ingredients within these pesticides and preservatives are capable of manipulating animals’ hormone levels. A study published by Mao et al. who tested the change in hormones of rats states “BHA directly inhibits the activities of CYP17A1 and HSD3B1, and the expression levels of Hsd17b3 and Srd5a1, leading to the lower production of androgen in Leydig cells.”
CYP17A1 and HSD3B1 being what makes up testosterone and BHA being a synthetic antioxidant used for food preservation. Another study was done on how soil that absorbed certain pesticides affected earthworms who have a large impact on the ecosystem. This study published by The American Chemical Society states “The results suggest earthworms have the potential to be a new entry point for sulfoxaflor into the wildlife food chain. Since earthworms significantly contribute to soil function and ecosystems, the high safety risks of sulfoxaflor to the earthworm could extend to the environment.”
This means that with the impact earthworms have on the soil system if one ingests such chemicals, all matter that requires soil to grow is at risk for pesticide integration within its DNA thus potentially leading to evolutionary changes through future generations of these organisms. These effects have the potential to be irreversible thus showcasing the importance of organic farming. Statistics organized by Jay Squalli from Journal of Cleaner Production states “Using U.S. state-level data over the 1997–2010 period, we estimate that a one percent increase in organic farming acreage could reduce GHG (Greenhouse Gases) emissions by 0.049%,” showing that if farmers focus on changing even half the 783.9 million acres dedicated to farming in the U.S, GHG could reduce up to 19,000%. Concerns of global warming and climate change have drastically changed the way communities have performed a multitude of tasks, and with evidence regarding the substantial possibility of danger due to the use of pesticides and preservatives, organic eating has become a no-brainer for millions across the globe as a way of protection against such environmental risks.
In the final analysis, there are many causes as to why organic eating exist. It stems from the effects of chemicals, specifically pesticides and preservatives in foods. Because of said chemicals, organic eating is known for being derived from being marketed as “better” than processed foods in the food industry, its impact on health as it prevents long-term and immediate health effects caused by pesticides and preservatives, as well as being more environmentally sound versus such chemicals which are capable of spreading toxicity in soil which can be detrimental to water, animals’ genetic compound, and the possibility of change in the ecosystem.
