May 06 2008
Going Organic: A Food Fashion Trend
Organic foods are becoming a more available option for consumers, but are there any benefits to eating organically?
According to EPA guidelines, organic produce is grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers, and organic meat and dairy products come from animals that have not been given antibiotics or growth hormones. Eating organically is a purer, more natural lifestyle that doesn’t involve consumption of chemicals, which is its biggest advantage if you believe that “you are what you eat. Organic foods don’t have added sugar, salt or fat, which usually goes into processed foods. Although there is not an agreement among scientists on whether organic is better, some say that the natural foods contain more nutrients than nonorganic ones. At this point it’s a decision the consumer has to make.
However, bacteria such as E. coli is as natural as organic food, so even if all of the farms adopted the organic way of processing, this bacterium could still find its way into our food like it has before with our spinach. Unclean water, poor worker hygiene and the presence of domestic as well as wild animals on the field are all potential sources of E. coli. So being organic or inorganic is not the issue when it comes to bacteria like E. coli.
