Organic Foods Are No Healthier Than Conventional Foods According to Researchers

The organic food industry, which brings in around $27 billion a year, has turned out to be a big lie according to researchers (Pettypiece, 2012).

According to the research, organic food does not contain any additional vitamins as compared to its cheaper counterpart (Pettypiece, 2012). The researchers also note that the extra pesticides, hormones, and genetically modified organisms found in our everyday foods are unlikely to cause any unhealthy side effects; an interested deduction based on past research.

Past research has proven beyond a doubt that pesticides cause side effects including cancer and nervous system toxicity (Donovan, 2010). There is also proof that pesticides cause ADHD in children, and since 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides are used every year in the United States, there is a lot to worry about (Donovan, 2010). While some foods, such as celery, are packed full of pesticides, there are others which are safer so it is best to do your own research depending on what you like to eat. All of this goes to prove that the statement made by researchers of pesticides being safe for us to eat is absolutely absurd and lacking in facts, and also proving that perhaps there is something useful about organic food as those who eat it is found to have 90% less pesticides in their food (Zerbe, 2011).

So a lack of pesticides is obviously a major plus for organic foods, but there are other traits of conventional foods that make organic foods all the better even though they lack extra nutrients. According to the FDA, hormones found in livestock products are harmless to humans (Health.com, 2011). The issue with this is that relatively little research has been done on excess hormones effect on humans, and some worry that they may be causing cancer (Health.com, 2011). One aspect of hormones that many have noticed simply when strolling through the local supermarket is the alarming speed which young children are approaching puberty. The excess sex hormones found in our foods, placed by companies in livestock to speed up production of consumables, are believed to be causing children to hit puberty at twelve, eleven, even ten years old and younger (Health.com, 2011). The health effects of this are not immediately apparent, if present at all, but early puberty definitely shows that hormones in food are not benign in the way researchers of organic food had hoped to portray.

While the news of hormones in the food may be alarming, one Dr. Willet has stated that it is no reason to go to organic meats (Health.com, 2011). Instead, he claims that humans need to slow down on red meat consumption in favor of fish and other meats. According to Willet, organic red meat for someone who eats about two servings a week will not make a difference because they would not be consuming too many hormones from conventional meat (Health.com, 2011). With this said, if red meat is a part of your daily diet, consider the organic because it does not contain the un-researched hormones which are present in a Big Mac or Whopper.

According to all of this news, it is obvious that researchers were wrong in their assumption that organic food is no better than conventional foods. The statement that pesticides and other additional traits of typical foods are nearly harmless is absolutely ludicrous and not backed up by any facts or in-depth research. If one wants to avoid organic food due to the cost or their own reason, then this is fine, but people should be well informed on the benefits of organic food.