Aleksandra Petrova Susan Urbania English 101 November, 2009 Essay # Organic Food

Petrova 1

!hether a "erson#s belie$ is that his li$e %as &reated by 'ar%in#s (heory o$ Evolution, )od, or *uddha, human beings %ill al%ays be &onne&ted to the earth under their $eet+ (here &an be no denying or mistaking that %e are de"endent on the earth+ !ithout this "lanet our bodies %ould not e,ist+ And that brings us dire&tly to the to"i& o$ ho% "eo"le in the 21st -entury are &onne&ted %ith .other Nature+ /or e,am"le, our $ood in the U+S+ 0s o$ten not natural1 it &an be highly "ro&essed and $illed %ith &hemi&als+ 2nly organi& $ood is le$t in the natural state+ /or this reason, organi& $ood "rodu&ts are the most health$ul $oods $or us to eat+ .ost "eo"le hate the idea o$ eating $oods that may have been gro%n %ith &hemi&als, but they are doing this unkno%ingly+ .any big $arm "rodu&ers no%adays s"ray their "rodu&e %ith gallons o$ "esti&ides and $ungi&ides+ (hese &hemi&als &an &ause serious health issues+ 3ere are some o$ the harm$ul things &hemi&als &an do to us humans4 &ause lo% birth %eight and birth de$e&ts, inter$ere %ith &hild develo"ment and &ognitive ability, disru"t hormone $un&tion, &ause a variety o$ &an&ers, in&luding leukemia, kidney &an&er, brain &an&er, and non53odgkin#s lym"homa6by )rinning Planet7+ Peo"le believe that i$ you %ash $ood "rodu&t good enough or "eel the skin o$ $ruits or vegetables they &an eliminate "esti&ides+ *ut they &an#t be $urther a%ay $rom truth, most o$ the &hemi&als that are s"rayed make their %ay into the "art o$ the "lant "eo"le eat+ And then there is another issue1 .ost o$ the $oods "eo"le buy $rom the su"ermarket may have been laying on shelves $or days or even %eeks be$ore they are "ur&hased+ So the li$e energy o$ the "lant "eo"le are eating is "retty mu&h gone+ 0t is very likely these kinds o$ $ruits and vegetables have no remaining nutritional value+

Petrova 2 3ave you ever bought a""les $rom a regular su"ermarket8 0$ yes, do you remember $or ho% long they looked edible8 0 &an tell you that 0 did buy some and they looked good $or at least t%o to three %eeks+ (hey never %ent bad, but started shrinking a$ter a %hile+ *ut %hen 0 buy "rodu&e $rom organi& market the a""les rot in a &ou"le o$ days i$ le$t out or in the re$rigerator+ 0 started to e,"eriment and &om"are li$e s"ans o$ the "rodu&e $rom my $avorite su"ermarket and organi& store and 0 &an tell you results %ere astonishing and s&ary+ Nothing %ent bad $rom the regular su"ermarket1 0 noti&ed that most o$ the "rodu&t lost taste and started shrinking+ 0 le$t rare steak in the $ridge $or more than a %eek, but %hen 0 un%ra""ed it, the meat lost its red &olor, %hi&h usually ha""ens any%ay in a day, but it didn#t have any odor or residue on the side o$ the meat, that 0 usually noti&e on the organi& meats that are le$t in the $ringe $or a day or t%o+ 0$ 0 didn#t kno% better, 0 %ould "robably say that the one %eek old meat $rom the su"ermarket looked better than the organi& meat+ (hat#s %hen 0 reali9ed that 0 needed to learn more about organi& $ood "rodu&ts+ No% 0 try to buy only organi& $oods, es"e&ially $rom lo&al markets+ :ike the author, Neil ;evnik, 0 agree that the neighborhood $armers# markets are e,tremely im"ortant1 and as you &ome to kno% your lo&al su""lier you &an not only be &on$ident about the $oodstu$$s they "rovide, but you &an $eel &loser to the a&tual sour&e o$ your $ood<and that &an be so satis$ying+ *ut %hat is organi&, that is, ho% is it de$ined8 ;evnik des&ribes %hat is really &onsidered to be organi& $ood and agri&ulture4 =2rgani& $ood is "rodu&ed by $armers %ho em"hasi9e the use o$ rene%able resour&es and the &onservation o$ soil and %ater to enhan&e environmental >uality $or $uture generations+ 2rgani& agri&ulture is an e&ologi&al "rodu&tion management system that "romotes and enhan&es biodiversity, biologi&al &y&les and soil biologi&al a&tivity+ 0t is based on minimal use o$ o$$5$arm in"uts and on management "ra&ti&es that restore, maintain and enhan&e e&ologi&al harmony+? (his "roblem is %orst in the United States then any other &ountry in the %orld+

Petrova !hen 0 %as gro%ing u" in :atvia, our $amily o%ned a house and a $arm %ithin a $orty minute drive $rom our &ity a"artment+ !ith time, my $ather, an e,e&utive at a large &om"any, de&ided to move to the $arm house $ull5time to begin his o%n organi& $arm business+ (hat#s %hen 0 started learning everything about &hemi&al and antibioti&5$ree agri&ulture+ 2n %eekends my sister and 0 %ould hel" him take &are o$ animals, "i&k $ruits and vegetables, %ork in the $ield, and &ut and &olle&t hay+ (he %ork %e did %as very di$$i&ult1 ho% many times 0 %anted to >uit+ *ut the desire to >uit and leave subsided >ui&kly be&ause des"ite our %ants, my sister and 0 kne% that our $ather needed our hel"+ At the end %e learned a lot, be&ame very res"onsible and &onne&ted %ith nature+ !e learned everything there %as to learn about $arming, and at the end o$ it all, %e tasted the $ruits o$ our labor+ 0 still remember the ri&h &ris" aroma o$ our a""le garden+ So$t autumn leaves under my $eet and those green big a""les that %eighted do%n tree bran&hes+ 0 %ould "i&k an a""le $rom the ground, &lean it %ith the side o$ my s%eater and take a big bite1 @ui&e $rom the a""le %ould stream do%n my &hin 0 %ould have a satis$ying smile on my $a&e and nothing &ould even &ome &lose to that re$reshing taste+ 0 kne% that $ood gave me energy and li$e+ No%adays, ho%ever, on the rare o&&asion that 0 buy a non5 organi& $ood, 0 $eel that they o$ten are tasteless and dry, and 0 >uestion the nutritional value+ (o me there is only one resolution to this4 to sho" at lo&al markets and $arms %henever "ossible+ 'oing this %ill also "romote and hel" the lo&al agri&ultural e&onomy+ And like Neil ;evnik 0 urge "eo"le start taking small ste"s that at the ends %ill &reate a big "i&ture+ *uy organi&+ *uy lo&al+ :ove your $ood, love the earth under your $eet, love your $amily and yoursel$ by "aying attention and making the best &hoi&es you &an+