Organic Food Research Paper

Growing up, I thought my mom read too much, and I knew when she was reading, the next time we went to the grocery store one of my favorite childhood snacks would not make its way into the shopping cart. What she was reading were these health magazines and online articles that outlined the basics for a better diet and lifestyle. And due to her always reading, my mom was slowly developing into an eco-friendly, mildly modified and healthy food nut. Organic was the big word to my 9 year old self.

I can remember asking my mom “What even is organic, and why does it mean I can’t eat fruit snacks!’ At the time, I didn’t know that her food change was based off of eating healthy and ultimately making the right decisions, not that she had a hatred for fruit snacks.

She always described organic to me very simply: No chemicals. And at the time, that was good enough, I didn’t question why they didn’t have chemicals or why non-organic fruits and vegetables had chemicals in the first place. I just ate what she put on my plate and didn’t complain, as long as it tasted good. In addition to this change, certain cereals that had BHT or yogurt with aspartame were not allowed in our …show more content…
According to the USDA, the definition of organic is “foods that are grown and processed...among many factors, [such as] soil quality, animal raising practices, pest and weed control, and use of additives.” An important factor to remember when buying USDA organic foods is that you’re not doing it for the health benefits. According to studies by the American College of Physicians, organic foods do not have higher vitamin or mineral content than the same foods grown using conventional methods. The idea behind shaping your diet to accommodate this change should not be for typical health benefits such as weight loss or heart health, but for environmental impact, pesticides, and chemical