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ORGANIC PRODUCTS
INTRODUCTION
Organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides,
synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation.
Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or
growth hormones. Organic agriculture is a systems approach to production that is working
towards environmentally, socially and economically sustainable production. Instead, the
agricultural systems rely on crop rotation, animal and plant manures, some hand weeding and
biological pest control. The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) defines organic as
follows:
Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources
and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future
generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are
given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most
conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge;
bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled "organic," a
Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the
farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that
handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be
certified, too. The Department for Agriculture and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) states that:
Organic food is the product of a farming system which avoids the use of man-made
fertilisers, pesticides; growth regulators and livestock feed additives. Irradiation and the use
of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or products produced from or by GMOs are
generally prohibited by organic legislation. For the vast majority of its history, agriculture can
be described as having been organic; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new
products, generally deemed not organic, introduced into food production. The organic
farming movement arose in the 1940s in response to the industrialization of agriculture. In
1939, Lord Northbourne coined the term organic farming in his book Look to the Land
(1940).
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In the 1970s, interest in organic food grew with the publication of Silent Springand
the rise of the environmental movement, and was also spurred by food-related health scares
like the concerns about Alar that arose in the mid-1980s. There is widespread public belief
that organic food is safer, more nutritious, and better tasting than conventional food.
Consumers purchase organic foods for different reasons, including concerns about the effects
of conventional farming practices on the environment, human health, and animal welfare. The
most important reason for purchasing organic foods seems to be beliefs about the products'
health-giving properties and higher nutritional value. These beliefs are promoted by the
organic food industry, and have fueled increased demand for organic food despite higher
prices and difficulty in confirming these claimed benefits scientifically.
Organic labels also stimulate the consumer to view the product as having more
positive nutritional value. Psychological effects such as the halo effect, which are related to
the choice and consumption of organic food, are also important motivating factors in the
purchase of organic food. The perception that organic food is low-calorie food or health food
appears to be common. In China the increasing demand for organic products of all kinds, and
in particular milk, baby food and infant formula, has been "spurred by a series of food scares,
the worst being the death of six children who had consumed baby formula laced with
melamine" in 2009 and the 2008 Chinese milk scandal, making the Chinese market for
organic milk the largest in the world as of 2014.
A Pew Research Centre survey in 2012 indicated that 41% of Chinese consumers
thought of food safety as a very big problem, up by three times from 12% in 2008. There is
no good evidence that organic food tastes better than its non-organic counterparts. There is
evidence that some organic fruit is drier than conventionally grown fruit; a slightly drier fruit
may also have a more intense flavor due to the higher concentration of flavoring substances.
Some foods, such as bananas, are picked when unripe, are cooled to prevent ripening while
they are shipped to market, and then are induced to ripen quickly by exposing them to
propylene or ethylene, chemicals produced by plants to induce their own ripening; as flavor
and texture changes during ripening, this process may affect those qualities of the treated
fruit. The issue of ethylene use to ripen fruit in organic food production is contentious
because ripeness when picked often does affect taste; opponents claim that its use benefits
only large companies and that it opens the door to weaker organic standards.
Any agricultural product that is labelled organic (including food for human
consumption, livestock feed and seeds) is regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
(CFIA). Producers of these products must be prepared to demonstrate that organic claims are
truthful and not misleading, and that all commodity-specific requirements have been met. All
food sold in Canada must comply with the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations, the
Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations, and any commodity-specific
requirements, such as those for dairy, eggs and meat. The Goods and Services Tax Bill or
GST Bill, officially known as The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Second
Amendment) Bill, 2014, proposes a national Value added Tax to be implemented in India
from 1 April 2017.
An organic product is made from materials produced by organic agriculture.. It also
requires Organic certification. There are some branches:
Organic baby products, organic products intended for babies and toddlers
Organic food, food produced from organic farming methods and often certified
organic according to organic farming standards
Organic clothing, clothing produced from organic fibers such as organic cotton
Organic wine
Agricultural products
Food
Processed foods
Frozen Dinners
Canned Foods
Organic juice
Canned goods
Frozen vegetables
Organic coffee
Consumer goods
Organic products are grown under a system of agriculture without the use of chemical
fertilizers and pesticides with an environmentally and socially responsible approach. This is a
method of farming that works at grass root level preserving the reproductive and regenerative
capacity of the soil, good plant nutrition, and sound soil management, produces nutritious
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food rich in vitality which has resistance to diseases. India is bestowed with lot of potential to
produce all varieties of organic products due to its various agro climatic regions. In several
parts of the country, the inherited tradition of organic farming is an added advantage.
This holds promise for the organic producers to tap the market which is growing
steadily in the domestic market related to the export market. As per the available statistics,
Indias rank in terms of Worlds Organic Agricultural land was 15 as per 2013 data (Source
FIBL & IFOAM Year Book 2015). The total area under organic certification is 5.71million
Hectare (2015-16). This includes 26% cultivable area with 1.49 million Hectare and rest 74%
(4.22 million Hectare) forest and wild area for collection of minor forest produces. The
Government of India has implemented the National Programme for Organic Production
(NPOP). The national programme involves the accreditation programme for Certification
Bodies, standards for organic production, promotion of organic farming etc.
India produced around 1.35 million MT (2015-16) of certified organic products which
includes all varieties of food products namely Sugarcane, Oil Seeds, Cereals & Millets,
Cotton, Pulses, Medicinal Plants, Tea, Fruits, Spices, Dry Fruits, Vegetables, Coffee etc. . The
production is not limited to the edible sector but also produces organic cotton fiber, functional
food products etc. Among all the states, Madhya Pradesh has covered largest area under
organic certification followed by Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. The total volume of
export during 2015-16 was 263687 MT. The organic food export realization was around 298
million USD. Organic products are exported to European Union, US, Canada, Switzerland,
Korea, Australia, New Zealand, South East Asian countries, Middle East, South Africa etc.
Oil seeds (50%) lead among the products exported followed by Processed food products
(25%), Cereals & Millets (17%), Tea (2%), Pulses (2%), Spices (1%), Dry fruits (1%), and
others.
Chemical composition
conventionally. When evaluating environmental toxins such as heavy metals, the USDA has
noted that organically raised chicken may have lower arsenic levels. Early literature reviews
found no significant evidence that levels of arsenic, cadmium or other heavy metals differed
significantly between organic and conventional food products. However, a 2014 review found
lower concentrations of cadmium, particularly in organically grown grains.
Pesticide residues
The amount of pesticides that remain in or on food is called pesticides residue. In the
United States, before a pesticide can be used on a food crop, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency must determine whether that pesticide can be used without posing a risk to
human health. A 2012 meta-analysis determined that detectable pesticide residues were found
in 7% of organic produce samples and 38% of conventional produce samples. This result was
statistically heterogeneous, potentially because of the variable level of detection used among
these studies. Only three studies reported the prevalence of contamination exceeding
maximum allowed limits; all were from the European Union. A 2014 meta-analysis found
that conventionally grown produce was four times more likely to have pesticide residue than
organically grown crops. The American Cancer Society has stated that no evidence exists that
the small amount of pesticide residue found on conventional foods will increase the risk of
cancer, though it recommends thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables.
They have also stated that there is no research to show that organic food reduces
cancer risk compared to foods grown with conventional farming methods. The Environmental
Protection Agency maintains strict guidelines on the regulation of pesticides by setting a
tolerance on the amount of pesticide residue allowed to be in or on any particular food.
Although some residue may remain at the time of harvest, residue tend to decline as the
pesticide breaks down over time. In addition, as the commodities are washed and processed
prior to sale, the residues often diminish further.
Bacterial contamination
A 2012 meta-analysis determined that prevalence of E. coli contamination was not
statistically significant (7% in organic produce and 6% in conventional produce). While
bacterial contamination is common among both organic and conventional animal products,
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With regard to the possibility that some organic food may have higher levels of
certain anti-oxidants, evidence regarding whether increased anti-oxidant consumption
improves health is conflicting. As of 2012, the scientific consensus is that while "consumers
may choose to buy organic fruit, vegetables and meat because they believe them to be more
nutritious than other food.... the balance of current scientific evidence does not support this
view." A 12-month systematic review commissioned by the FSA in 2009 and conducted at the
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine based on 50 years' worth of collected
evidence concluded that "there is no good evidence that consumption of organic food is
beneficial to health in relation to nutrient content." There is no support in the scientific
literature that the lower levels of nitrogen in certain organic vegetables translates to improved
health risk.
Consumer safety Pesticide exposure
The main difference between organic and conventional food products are the
chemicals involved during production and processing. The residues of those chemicals in
food products have dubious effects on the human health. All food products on the market
including those that contain residues of pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones and other
types of chemicals that are used during production and processing are said to be safe. Claims
of improved safety of organic food has largely focused on pesticide residues. These concerns
are driven by the facts that "(1) acute, massive exposure to pesticides can cause significant
adverse health effects; (2) food products have occasionally been contaminated with
pesticides, which can result in acute toxicity; and (3) most, if not all, commercially purchased
food contains trace amounts of agricultural pesticides."
However, as is frequently noted in the scientific literature: "What does not follow
from this, however, is that chronic exposure to the trace amounts of pesticides found in food
results in demonstrable toxicity. This possibility is practically impossible to study and
quantify;" therefore firm conclusions about the relative safety of organic foods have been
hampered by the difficulty in proper study design and relatively small number of studies
directly comparing organic food to conventional food. Additionally, the Carcinogenic
Potency Project, which is a part of the US EPA's Distributed Structure-Searchable Toxicity
(DSSTox) Database Network, has been systemically testing the carcinogenicity of chemicals,
both natural and synthetic, and building a publicly available database of the resultsfor the past
~30 years. Their work attempts to fill in the gaps in our scientific knowledge of the
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carcinogenicity of all chemicals, both natural and synthetic, as the scientists conducting the
Project described in the journal, Science, in 1992:
Toxicological examination of synthetic chemicals, without similar examination of
chemicals that occur naturally, has resulted in an imbalance in both the data on and the
perception of chemical carcinogens. Three points that we have discussed indicate that
comparisons should be made with natural as well as synthetic chemicals. The vast proportion
of chemicals that humans are exposed to occur naturally. Nevertheless, the public tends to
view chemicals as only synthetic and to think of synthetic chemicals as toxic despite the fact
that every natural chemical is also toxic at some dose. The daily average exposure of
Americans to burnt material in the diet is ~2000 mg, and exposure to natural pesticides (the
chemicals that plants produce to defend themselves) is ~1500 mg. In comparison, the total
daily exposure to all synthetic pesticide residues combined is ~0.09 mg.
Thus, we estimate that 99.99% of the pesticides humans ingest are natural. Despite
this enormously greater exposure to natural chemicals, 79% (378 out of 479) of the chemicals
tested for carcinogenicity in both rats and mice are synthetic (that is, do not occur naturally).
It has often been wrongly assumed that humans have evolved defenses against the natural
chemicals in our diet but not against the synthetic chemicals. However, defenses that animals
have evolved are mostly general rather than specific for particular chemicals; moreover,
defenses are generally inducible and therefore protect well from low doses of both synthetic
and natural chemicals. Because the toxicology of natural and synthetic chemicals is similar,
one expects (and finds) a similar positivity rate for carcinogenicity among synthetic and
natural chemicals.
The positivity rate among chemicals tested in rats and mice is ~50%. Therefore,
because humans are exposed to so many more natural than synthetic humans are exposed to
an enormous background of rodent carcinogens, as defined by high-dose tests on rodents. We
have shown that even though only a tiny proportion of natural pesticides in plant foods have
been tested, the 29 that are rodent carcinogens among the 57 tested, occur in more than 50
common plant foods. It is probable that almost every fruit and vegetable in the supermarket
contains natural pesticides that are rodent carcinogens.
While studies have shown via chemical analysis, as discussed above, that organically
grown fruits and vegetables have significantly lower pesticide residue levels, the significance
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of this finding on actual health risk reduction is debatable as both conventional foods and
organic foods generally have pesticide levels well below government established guidelines
for what is considered safe. This view has been echoed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and the UK Food Standards Agency. A study published by the National Research Council in
1993 determined that for infants and children, the major source of exposure to pesticides is
through diet.
In this study it was found that levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure dropped
from negligible levels to undetectable levels when the children switched to an organic diet,
the authors presented this reduction as a significant reduction in risk. The conclusions
presented in Lu et al. were criticized in the literature as a case of bad scientific
communication. More specifically, claims related to pesticide residue of increased risk of
infertility or lower sperm counts have not been supported by the evidence in the medical
literature. Likewise the American Cancer Society (ACS) has stated their official position that
"whether organic foods carry a lower risk of cancer because they are less likely to be
contaminated by compounds that might cause cancer is largely unknown."
Microbiological contamination
In looking at possible increased risk to safety from organic food consumption,
reviews have found that although there may be increased risk from microbiological
contamination due to increased manure use as fertilizer from organisms like E. coli O157:H7
during organic produce production, there is little evidence of actual incidence of outbreaks
which can be positively blamed on organic food production. The 2011 Germany E. coli
O104:H4 outbreak was blamed on organic farming of bean sprouts.
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Financial: Money stays within the local economy. More money goes directly to the
farmer, instead of to things like marketing and distribution.
Transportation: In the U.S., for example, the average distance a meal travels from
the farm to the dinner plate is over 1,500 miles. Produce must be picked while still unripe and
then gassed to "ripen" it after transport. Or the food is highly processed in factories using
preservatives, irradiation, and other means to keep it stable for transport.
Freshness: Local food is harvested when ripe and thus fresher and full of flavor.
Small local farmers often use organic methods but sometimes cannot afford to become
certified organic. Visit a farmers market and talk with the farmers.
Organic Food Benefits Others, Too
Some of the advantages of organic food seem to have less to do with you than they do
with others. But we all know that what we do to others, we do to ourselves. A few of the
benefits for others when we choose organic:
Supports the Local Economy
Purchasing organic, especially from the farmer's market, supports your local
community's economy, creating jobs and keeping farmers thriving.
Keeps Our Families Healthy
Conventional food practices have been linked to birth defects, learning disorders,
childhood leukemia, ADHD, autism and nervous system disorders in children.5 In fact, even
a newborn baby's cord blood shows traces of 21 banned pesticides and 200+ other harmful
chemicals!6
Keeps Our Neighbors Healthy
Supporting organic farms means fewer people - neighbors or farmers or people in
distant countries - coming into contact with harmful chemicals. This benefits the entire
nation's and world's health and wellness.
Organic Food and the Environment
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And lastly, the advantages of organic food to the environment. Not only does this
protect the planet, but it obviously still protects our health, the health of loved ones, and the
health of other living creatures. A few more advantages of organic food to support the
environment:
Variety
Every type of food has a healthier alternative now that organic food has been around
for a while and because the harmful facts of non-organically produced food have come to
light. While there is more education and funding needed to make sure everyone is aware of
what they are putting in their bodies and to help farmers continue to be innovative and create
products at lower costs, you can get almost anything you want in an organic form.
The innovative farmers and scientists who work in the organic food industry have
worked to create an alternative for virtually every food you can imagine, one that is healthier
and produced the right way.
Creates Healthy Conditions
No topsoil erosion, pollution, nutrient depletion, antiobiotic-resistant bacteria, or
scarred landmarks from clear-cutting and mono-cropping when we work with Nature to
provide for our needs.
Supports and is Supported By Nature
Let's face it. We don't know it all. We may not know all the advantages to organic
food (or manufacturing) practices. But we know "organic" has been working for millenia, so
why mess with a track record like that when we don't need to?
Keeps Animals Healthy
No sick birds, dying sea or freshwater life, or infertile wildlife from chemical
exposure.
Keeps Plants Healthy
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ADVANTAGES
The biggest advantages of organic food include:
Nutrient-Denser Food
According to a State of Science Review done in 2008, organic food has more
nutritional superiority than its non-organic counterparts.
Stronger, More Energetic Body
No pesticides, chemicals, or processed additives bogging down your system means a
smaller risk of disease, illness, and disorders in yourself. Nothing leaves you feeling tired and
gross like unhealthy junk food.
Yes, It's Cheaper
Although some organic food and products are more expensive, you actually will save
money in several ways:
Whole foods help to prevent major and minor diseases and illnesses, meaning
lower health care costs and less likelihood of missing work. One of the hidden
advantages of organic food.
Your brain tells your body to eat partially based on the nutrients it receives. Now
that we know eating organic means more nutrients, it means your brain won't tell
your body to keep eating like it does with junk food.
Buying organic food from the farmer's market is incredibly inexpensive. You also
have the option of bartering with farmers for good or services.
Growing your own can become free when you get your organic vegetable garden
in place!
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And this might not be one of the advantages of organic FOOD, but when it comes
to non-food products, organic merchandise are generally a higher quality, so you
don't need to buy a new cotton shirt every year when the old one falls apart.
It Tastes Better
True, it may not taste as good if you're accustomed to the addictive qualities of junk
food additives, such as processed sugar and MSG. But after just a short time of your body
experiencing truly healthy food, you'll be craving it. No, really, you will. And all the crap will
start having a bad after-taste.
Safe from Dangerous Pesticides
Chemical pesticides has been linked to breast, prostrate and other cancers, nonHodgkins lymphoma, leukemia, infertility, convulsions, immune and endocrine disorders,
Parkinson's disease and depression. Just to name a few
Safe from Scary Chemicals
Herbicides and fertilizers have been connected with various cancers, immune
disorders, infertility, cardiac disease, hypertension, and numerous other diseases.
Safe from Other Crazy Shizz
Things like genetically engineered foods (frankenfoods, such a tomatoes spliced with
fish genes for cold weather tolerance), food fertilized with sewer sludge, appetite enhancers
given to animals and synthetic hormones are just a few more advantages of organic food.
Peace of Mind
Knowing your buying organic food can help you to enjoy what you eat for all the
reasons outlined above and below.
DIAGRAMS
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