Hope everyone is good in 5th week.
This week I would like to tell about food choice and organic food.
After Industrial Revolution, People came out
from farms to industries. Our ancestors used to produce food by themselves or
had easy access to get food guaranteed safety. Nowadays we are more rely on buying
food from markets. We have a bunch of different foods in the market, and
sometimes we have many choices in a certain kind of food. As a result, we
always spend time to decide which food we should buy.
Organic food is food produced by organic farming.
Organic farming described as “the farm as organism”, ecologically balanced
approach to farming. Organic food arose in response to the industrialization of
agriculture since 1940s. The standard of organic food varies worldwide. In
U.S., organic production is managed according to the Organic Foods Production
Act of 1990 (OFPA) and regulations in Title 7, Part 205 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
Here is a video offers specific introduction of
Organic Food:
Organic food supposed to be healthier because
the process of growth is natural. However, it is a controversial topic, some
research proves that organic food is not absolutely better.
This current report includes video and article, argues that Organic
food does not mean “good food”
Deena Shanker “How Organic Produce Can Make America Less Healthy”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-09/how-organic-produce-can-make-america-less-healthy
Researchers from Stanford University takes a serious research on
organic food, here is the summary:
If you want to read the whole academic journal article you can find
it on American College of Physicians
Liu, H., Bravata, D. M., Smith-Spangler, C., Brandeau, M. L., E, H.
G., Bavinger, C., . . . M, P. (2012). Correction: Are Organic Foods Safer or
Healthier Than Conventional Alternatives? Annals of Internal Medicine, 157(7),
532. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-157-7-201210020-00021
For the discussion in class, I would like you think about these
questions.
What factors affect you a lot on your food choices in markets? It
can be any kinds of food like fresh food, snacks, frozen food and etc.
Compare to conventional food, how do you think
about organic food?
Personal Reflection
For
me, it really depends on circumstances. I used to buy food looks really nice
and now I do not do it. For fruits and vegetables, I always prefer organic if
it has organic choice. If there is an OFPA certification on the food package, I
tend to think that is good. I always take a few seconds to check fruits,
vegetables and meats, then decide to get it or not. As my grocery shopping
experiences accumulating, I recognize myself well-experience on “checking food”.
For snacks and frozen food, the ingredients are always on package, and in most
of time I take a look on it even though I do not have any standard of it. I refuse
to get any food with the mark low-sugar. In my opinion, low-sugar means more
fat. If the food does not have enough sugar, the food producers probably choose
to add fat in it to balance the tastes.
Through
my personal experience of buying organic food and conventional food. I feel
that organic food is better in general, maybe part of the reason is
psychological effects. Sometimes organic food tastes better and sometimes it
tastes same as conventional food. Conventional food always looks good. Organic
food expires faster than Conventional food. I remember once I buy a package of
organic pears and forgot to put it in refrigerator. After a day it became
obviously worse, while it never happens on conventional food. I believe that
there is no certain evidence proves that Organic Food is healthy based on the statistical
data I have seen. I am not good on either Biology and Chemistry so I am not
able to think it in academic aspects. Looking forward to see your response of
it.
when I go to a grocery store I usually have a meal in plane that I want to cook so I get just the ingredients i need. These tend to be veggies or pasta or grains. I tend to not buy things frozen or pre made because I like it better from scratch. But I will buy things like bread and jelly.
ReplyDeleteI don't really look for organic things I just buy what looks the best and if it doesn't look pretty then I won't buy it. Also I don't like to spend money on something that I could get for a lesser price that taste pretty much the same.
Since this class I've never really thought about where my food comes from I just grabbed and went on to the next thing on my list.
Thanks for posting, Ruzhen! As someone who has often been confused by the “organic” label, I’m glad that we’re getting a chance to discuss this in class.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, my food choices are pretty disconnected from these debates surrounding organics, pesticides, and physical health. When I’m buying food, I’m thinking primarily about two things: (1) what I want to eat, and (2) what I can reasonably afford to eat. In an ideal world, I would want to consume the things that are most healthy for me, and that are produced in the most sustainable ways. In the real world, I am often influenced by other factors. I often do not have the time or energy to prepare food, which means buying things that are premade. Sometimes, I choose to prioritize my mental health over my physical health in terms of the things that I am eating. There is also the issue of body image – growing up, I never wanted to wear shorts and was extremely self-conscious about what I ate because I was concerned that I did not look attractive. In trying to move past this, I think it can be a positive thing to learn to eat what I want when I want, rather than obsessing over what is the most “healthy” for me.
Although my own personal choices are often disconnected from the debate on organic food, I do think that these are important conversations to have. As I said, I’ve never really received enough information to understand what the label “organic” means. I feel like that term gets used very loosely, particularly in contexts where people aren’t necessarily talking about having been certified as organic. I grew up in a household that didn’t really give too much consideration to whether or not something was labeled organic. My mother grows a fair amount of the vegetables that we eat (at least in the summer!) in her garden, and I know she does this without pesticides. However, when we purchase fruits and vegetables from the store, organic status is not something that we really think about. My family always tries to be frugal about our grocery bill. (I grew up hearing Whole Foods referred to as Whole Paycheck!!) As a result, I wasn’t raised to think about this issue.
Moving forward, I think that it is of upmost importance that we begin to clarify the label of “organic.” There is too much (mis)information floating around about what these means. Unless we establish a clearer system of certification and labeling, I’m afraid that the term is in danger of becoming meaningless. I’m wondering how we might begin to use this label as a force for good.
Growing up, I had no idea what organic meant. I don't even think my parents knew what they were. My diet mainly consisted of what my aunt or mother made to eat. However, my mother and father began to feed me fast food because this seemed to be what everyone else was doing. Now I know what organic food is but I still have trouble conveying the meaning. The agricultural system needs to be fixed since we have natural/basic food as being labeled as “organic”. I just feel like this goes to show how our system is heavily based on processed food and pre-prepared food. We need to get large corporations out of our policy, especially when the issue at hand directly impacts our health in a significant manner. There is much resistance from these corporations and we are starting to see the health effects on people. I would like to re-introduce my thoughts on questioning everything. The science behind food and specific benefits/complications for the human body is muddy. However, large food manufacturers are using this loophole to continuously offer the people poison. I believe that people continue to question, the truth will eventually surface and we will be better able to orient our food system to more natural/organic food.
ReplyDeleteA lot of times the choices I make when shopping for food are based on price and what I can afford to by, which on my student budget isn't always organic foods. That being said I imagine once I have more income I will probably start to buy more organically and honestly I think that's maybe because of how I was raised. Growing up, and even now, my mom has made a point of buying organic and I think, like so many of my habits around food, this is something that is going to stick with me.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do have thoughts outside of my upbringing, and its impending inevitability, about organics. Firstly, I don't think the label of organic is particularly significant in that it costs a lot of money to get certified, which prices out a lot of smaller farms that don't use pesticides and might engage in more sustainable agriculture as a whole, but who can't afford the label. Secondly, I think growing without pesticides is important for the consumer and for the land and ecosystem in which the farm exists, both of which the readings mentioned. In addition to that, I also think that not using pesticides is critical for the health and wellbeing of farm workers and this is a point that should not be undervalued or left out of the narrative surrounding organic farming.
For the none-manufactured foods, like meat, fish, vegetables and fruits, freshness of the food is the biggest concern. Usually I go to food market twice a week, which means some of the food I brought need to stay in my refrigerator for three days. So, if the food is does not seems fresh, they would probably can’t survive three days in my fringes and I won’t buy them. For the general foods, I would concern about how much carbohydrates in them. Since I am a sweet coffee lover, I can’t stop drinking those coffees, but on the other hand, I know too much sugar would be harmful for my body, so my strategy is to consume sugar from other food source as less as I can. For example, I barely eat potato, corn, rice, bread, flour product and ect. And lastly, just like other consumers, l like cheaper food (if they are in the similar quality).
ReplyDeleteIn my perspective, organic food is less productive, more expensive, more natural and healthier. Even though organic food is better than others, I seldom buy it, because for me, I think it’s healthy enough if I eat a fresh and healthy combination of meat and vegetables. Organic food would be an option of I am richer and have no idea to spend the money on somewhere else.
My choices at the grocery store are entirely dependent on the individual item. For example, I drink a huge amount of milk and can't afford to sustain that trend with organic milk. Conversely, I am very picky about which eggs I am willing to buy- I only buy eggs from USDA organic, certified cage-free, and vegetarian fed hens. I even have a list of organic and cage-free egg brands to avoid because their practices only meet the bare minimum requirements for those certifications. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, I try to buy organic whenever I can find comparable prices or feel like splurging (which only accounts for about 20% of my vegetables). I'm hoping to learn a little more about organic fruit and vegetables in class so I can be more consistent and knowledgable about these choices.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad we're going to tackle the issue of "organic" this week. As a board member of the Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance and a farmer dedicated to growing using organic methods, you might assume that I'm wholeheartedly behind the organic movement and always buy organic everything whenever I'm shopping. And usually I do. But I also have a lot of issues with the way that organic farming is practiced, marketed, studied, and (mis)understood.
ReplyDeleteI'd be very curious to hear what assumptions each person in our class makes about food that is grown organically. What visions come to everyone's minds when they visualize an organic farm? I suspect that many people may be surprised to learn that organic farms don't always measure up to idyllic visions of contented cows, happy farm hands, and lush fields. This article by Michael Pollan on the "organic-industrial complex" is ten years old, but still holds truth: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2001/06/03/organic-industrial-complex.
One of my pet peeves is this focus on the eating value of organic food (nutritional value; pesticide content) to the exclusion of other impacts. It may be true, for example, that the trace amount of organophosphate left on the conventional apple I buy at the grocery store isn't going to hurt me--but what about the pregnant farmworker who picked it? What about her unborn child?
For me, it really comes down to knowing as much as possible and in as much detail as possible where my food is coming from, how it's grown, and who it is impacting. And unless you are buying at a farmer's market where you can talk to the farmers, that's hard. The organic industry is as guilty as other corporate structures of subterfuge and deceptive marketing. This chart shows the structure of the organic industry. It's an interesting look at who owns what: https://msu.edu/~howardp/OrganicJan16.pdf
The factors affecting my food choices have signicantly evolved over my lifetime in conjunction with the amount of information regarding food, nutrition, and food systems that has been presented to me. Now, the factors that affect my food choices are accessibility to get to a certain grocery store, my food budget for the week which stays fairly consistent, the knowledge of nutrition and how food affects my gut/brain, and the commercial/organic farming factors. As someone whose diet is 100% plants, I buy probably about 1/2 and 1/2 organic and inorganic produce from stores like Aldi, Meijer and the food Co-op/farmers market. The reason for not buying all organic is price, I buy veggies from organic sources and fruit from larger conventional sources, and I do notice a huge difference in the quality and taste from both of these sources, with the organic ones being richer and often fuller.
ReplyDeleteThere are many factors that affect my food choices in markets. When I think about food that I want to purchase, I think what how much it will cost and if it is closely accessible to where I currently live. When I look for foods, I usually look for food that will be healthy, have flavor, and food that wont take too much time to cook. I usually look for fruits, vegetables, meats, and snacks. I am especially thinking about this as I prepare to graduate. I am thinking about how and what I will eat while living in Boston and in Los Angeles (Both in which are very expensive cities to live in). When I think about organic food, I think of stores psych as Whole Foods and Harris Teeters. When I think of about organic foods, I also make the assumption that it is expensive and that it is only accessible to white upper residents in the United States.
ReplyDeleteWhen I go grocery shopping I try to pick out foods that will give healthy nutrients to my body and from companies that seem sustainable (i.e. organic, free-trade, grass fed). I think organic food is unaffordable for most, and that’s really bothersome to me. However, I think the taste of organic food is better and I believe the processes to produce organic food are more sustainable for the environment and for the consumer’s body.
ReplyDeleteMe and processed food is a major No No because of its distinct flavor. I think that was because of the way my mom raised my sister and I. She really pushed against us eating chips, crackers, ready-made food, etc. And even now I can’t eat lot of the US snack food because they taste too fake for lack of better words. So I try to cook as much as I can, but that’s not always possible. If I can’t cook my own food, I opt to eat at the cafeteria, which means I can’t choose what the ingredients are and can only eat what is made that day for that meal.
ReplyDeleteSo because of my eating patterns, I typically buy produce as they are. However, I feel that the term “organic” is one of those terms that started out with good intentions but now is ruined by capitalism. Before we never had “organic” farming, as in all farming methods were “organic". The fact that we need to differentiate between the two now is astonishing if we think about it. So, to be honest, I don’t know. I still feel uncomfortable buying spinach in a bag and salad in a bag all washed and ready to eat. The term organic means different things in US and Korea/China.