Whenever you buy food, you have to make a decision: healthy or cheap, organic or industrial. If organic food weren’t so expensive, the decision would be easy. Everyone would simply consume organic food. But unfortunately, not everyone can afford it. Sometimes it seems like healthy food is becoming a luxury good. Or are some people just trying to make big money off organic food labels? Find more nutrition-related topics at Nutrition Main.
In the rush to produce more and more food for the growing population on this little planet, chemicals came into play.
Farmers try to sell the highest possible percentage of their harvest and therefore often use pesticides, genetically modified corn, chemicals, etc. The farmer’s investment in pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and chemicals usually pays off. They earn more, their fruits look better, and customers are happy with large pest-free fruits and vegetables.
If a farmer refuses to use chemicals and pesticides, he risks losing a harvest due to pests, and if he doesn’t use hormones, his animals grow slower and cost more. The only way to compensate for this cost is to charge a higher price for organic food. You can’t ask everyone to pay more, and many people would starve without the use of chemical cocktails that protect crops against pests. But the wealthy want to eat healthy, and someone has to produce food aside from what is available for the masses. In many countries, people have no choice. When I lived in South America and China, I often heard that only rich countries use chemicals. But when you walk to the backyard of a farm, guess what you find? The same plastic bags you see behind most European and American farms. To be honest, I am convinced that world hunger would be much worse without pesticides, and I was glad I didn’t have to pay European prices for food when I lived in China.
Now that you know how farmers must plan their budgets, imagine what a farmer would do if he were in financial trouble.
Almost every time you eat something, you also consume pesticides, flavorings, etc. These substances are added to produce and sell more efficiently, and it’s no secret that pesticides and flavorings are not good for us. Fortunately, there are strict rules regulating the use of chemicals. Even if you buy only organic food, you are still consuming some of these substances, but the allowable levels are set much lower, so you consume fewer harmful substances.
There are maximum residue limits for all pesticides and chemicals. The health department determines how much of each substance is safe. These limits are set to be safe for everyone, but laws change from time to time. Sometimes it’s discovered that a substance causes cancer or a new disease after thousands of people consumed it in excess for many years. Remember the BSE crisis? A law was changed, then a few months of beef sanctions, and the case was closed. Eating organic food lowers the risk of being affected by a similar scenario, but it’s not a 100% guarantee.
However, the risk of getting seriously ill from cheap food is not that high. As long as you read food labels and try to avoid chemical cocktails, you can eat cheaply and healthily at the same time. Even if you eat only organic food, you still consume some unhealthy substances—the limits are just set lower, so the risk that your food will harm you is lower. Your body has to deal with fewer unhealthy substances and therefore can function a bit better and more efficiently.
If you want to live healthily, don’t philosophize about healthy food while you’re still smoking, drinking 10 cups of coffee a day, or drinking alcohol excessively. Quit your worst habits first. You can’t start building a house by just cleaning the floor.
Buying organic food can easily cost three times more than regular food.
Try to eat natural foods. If you have the choice between a protein bar and a real meal with the same amount of protein, choose the real meal. If you don’t have time for a meal but need your protein, take the protein bar. Anyway, a protein bar can never be as unhealthy as coffee, cigarettes, chocolate, or potato chips. So don’t let a smoker tell you your protein bar is unhealthy.
The only way to be sure your nutrition is 100% organic is to grow everything at home. Even then, there is a residual risk of chemicals in the soil or water. So take it easy and don’t fear the worst. Don’t be fanatic.
