What Are Organic Products

Organic has been a popular buzzword lately, and it seems as if any environmentally aware individual makes a conscious effort to purchase organic products. But what does organic really mean? Organic is basically just a word that when used in production means a certain standard with which something is made. Usually organic products contain no chemicals and minimal human interference. For example, organic food doesn’t use any chemical pesticides or fertilizers and organic meat, such as beef, means that the cow fed natural foods and given minimal, if any medicines such as antibiotics or hormones.

Now, whether or not these organic products are any healthier for humans is anybody’s guess. Logic dictates that the absence of unnecessary chemicals and hormones in what we eat and put on our skin would be a good thing, but there is little evidence that suggests remarkable differences. What we do know is that when it comes to making or growing organic products, the farmers or manufacturers are generally more environmentally friendly and aware. They usually implement other earth-friendly techniques such as sustainable farming practices by growers of organic fruits and vegetables. Also, they are not using any pesticides or other chemicals on the plants that they are growing which means that there are no harmful chemicals being leached into the soil and effecting the earth’s delicate eco-systems

There are many different organic products available, and this continues to increase. Everything from the food we eat, to the soaps we use to the shirts we wear are available as organically grown or made. But is it worth it to buy organic? Perhaps. If you are worried about ingesting unknown harmful chemicals with your food, then buying organic produce would be a good decision for you. But don’t spend the extra money on all organic fruit. Fruit with a peel, such as bananas, for example, may have chemicals on the outside, but because we don’t eat the skin of the banana, the meat inside is ok. For this reason, spending the extra money on organic bananas would not benefit you at all. On the other hand, raspberries are a very difficult fruit to wash and because the whole raspberry is eaten, they are prime candidate for ingesting harmful chemicals. For this reason alone it is probably a lot healthier to eat organically grown raspberries.

Even though organic farming sounds so wonderful, there are some strong arguments against it. Because of the lack of fertilizer used, organic crops typically yield a lot less than traditional crops. Some say that this can’t feed the entire world without making more farmland and destroying fragile ecosystems in the process. With all this information is still seems unclear as to whether buying organic products is really as beneficial as the advertisers tout, or if it is simply another fad that will have dire consequences in the future.

It is also prudent to point out that organic and natural, though similar, are not synonymous. There is a legal defintion of what constitutes an organic product, but the same cannot be said for “natural” products. So don’t fork over extra money for an ‘all-natural’ cereal because it may not be any different from a regular cereal.

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