E.V.

S PROJECT
12 TH

COMMERCE
 IS ORGANIC FOOD REALLY ORGANIC ?
SELECTION OF PROJECT
Globally, due to many reasons , some food products may lead
to health problems which may affect the digestive system
of our body. Consuming organic food in our daily diet may
decrease the health problems. Organic food consumption
has become very rax because of today’s junk and
incompletely nutritious food. Organic food is food
produced by methods that comply with the standards of
organic farming. Organic farming in general features
practices that strive to faster cycling of resources,
promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.
There is not sufficient evidence in medical literature to
support claims that organic food is safer or healthier than
conventionally grown food. While there may be some
differences in the nutrient and antinutrient contents of
organically and conventionally produced food .
 AIM AND OBJECTIVE
 To know about organic food and it role in our daily life.
 To understand the importance of organic food and…….
organic farming...........................................................
 To understand the method and advantage of …………….
organic food. …………………………………………………………..
 To suggest measures about how common diet will……
consist organic food....................................................
 To study the consumer buying behaviour for organic ..
food in the Indian domestic market............................
 To analyze the potential for organic products in the….
Indian domestic market.............................................
 To study the marketing mix of organic food in India.....
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
 Organic Food Article
 Internet Website……
 Newspaper Article…
 International Article
regarding Organic Food
…
 IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIC FOOD
Organic food is food produced by methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards
vary worldwide, but organic farming in general features practices that strive to cycle resources, promote
ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Organizations regulating organic products may restrict the use
of certain pesticides and fertilizers in farming. In general, organic foods are also usually not processed using
irradiation, industrial solvents or synthetic food additives. Currently, the European Union, the United States,
Canada, Mexico, Japan, and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order
to market food as organic within their borders. In the context of these regulations, organic food is produced
in a way that complies with organic standards set by regional organizations, national governments and
international organizations. Although the produce of kitchen gardens may be organic, selling food with an
organic label is regulated by governmental food safety authorities, such as the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) or European Commission (EC). …………………………………………………………………………………………………………
There is not sufficient evidence in medical literature to support claims that organic food is safer or healthier
than conventionally grown food. While there may be some differences in the nutrient and anti nutrient
contents of organically and conventionally produced food, the variable nature of food production and
handling makes it difficult to generalize results. Claims that organic food tastes better are generally not
supported by evidence. 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. ....................................................................................................................
Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer
artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically
modified ingredients. 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............................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
 METHODOLOGY
The method which will be used in this project will include aspects
which are as follows :-
 PERSONAL INTERVIEW WITH FAMILIES
The questions asked to families about how they make use of
organic food will be as follows :-……………………
1. Do you think that organic farming or organic food production
plays an important role in a healthy life ?
2. What are the food products which you think would be included
in organic food ?
3. What would you say about the normal food which may include
fats and anti nutrient contents and organic food which includes
many nutrients ?
4. How can organic food , according to you, may lead to a healthy
and long life ?
  SURVEY WORK
There is evidence that some organic fruit is drier than
conventionally grown fruit , a slightly drier fruit may also have a
more intense flavour due to the higher concentration of flavouring
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 factor as flavour and texture changes during
ripening, this process may affect those qualities of the treated
fruit.
  COLLECTION OF DATA OR INFORMATION
FROM WEBSITES AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
 Website such as www.Organic Farming and
Organic Food.com and www. Healthy Life.com
are been referred because websites provide
worldwide information.
 Newspaper Articles named, “Is Organic Food
really organic ?” and “Organic Lifestyle of Food”
described in detail about the role and importance
of Organic Food.
IS ORGANIC FOOD REALLY
ORGANIC?
 OBSERVATION
The growth of the organic foods industry in the United States has been
dramatic in the past 2 decades. It is estimated that organic sales have
increased by nearly 20% annually since 1990, with consumer sales reaching
$13.8 billion in 2005 (Figure 1). While initial organic food production primarily
involved small farms and local distribution of fresh produce, today's organic
food system is a complex combination of small and large food producers,
local and global distribution networks, and a wide variety of products,
including fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and processed foods (Figure 2). This
rapid growth may be traced to increased consumer confidence in organic
foods as well as to concern about possible health risks and environmental
impacts of conventional food production methods. Recent food crises such as
mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth disease have lessened consumer
confidence in foods in general and especially in conventionally produced
foods that may use pesticides, antibiotics, and other chemicals in food
production (Dreezens and others 2005; Siderer and others 2005). Surveys
indicate that many consumers purchase organic foods because of the
perceived health and nutrition benefits of organic products. In one survey,
the main reasons consumers purchased organic foods were for the avoidance
of pesticides (70%), for freshness (68%), for health and nutrition (67%), and
to avoid genetically modified foods (55%) (Whole Foods Market 2005). Such
consumers appear to be willing to pay the typical 10% to 40% price premium
that organic products command.
Figure 1. Organic Food Sales in the United States from 1997 to
2005 (Source: Organic Trade Association 2006)
Figure 2. Organic food Sales in the United states by food
category, 2005 (Source: Organic Trade Association 2006)
 ANALYSIS
Are organic foods healthier, and therefore worth the extra
expense? The scientific debate over this issue has raged
on for many years now. I believe the answer is clear-cut,
at least if you believe that toxic chemicals have the
capacity to harm your health...Two years ago, meta-
analysis by Stanford University received widespread
media coverage, and with few exceptions, conventional
media outlets used it to cast doubt on the value of an
organic diet. This despite the fact that the analysis—
which looked at 240 studies comparing organically and
conventionally grown food—found that organic foods are
less contaminated with agricultural chemicals. In an effort
to further clarify the 2012 findings, a group of European
scientists evaluated an even greater number of studies,
343 in all, published over the last several decades.
 Organic Foods Have Higher Levels of
Important Antioxidants
Just like the Stanford study, the new analysis also found that while
conventional and organic vegetables oftentimes offer similar levels of
many nutrients, organic foods have fewer pesticide residues. They
also have on average 48 percent lower levels of cadmium, a toxic
metal and a known carcinogen—a clear bonus, if you ask me. One
key nutritional difference between conventional and organics
however, is their antioxidant content. According to the featured
findings, organic fruits and vegetables can contain anywhere from 18-
69 percent more antioxidants than conventionally-grown varieties.
According to the authors: “Many of these compounds have
previously been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases, including
cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases and certain
cancers, in dietary intervention and epidemiological studies.
Additionally, the frequency of occurrence of pesticide residues was
found to be four times higher in conventional crops... Significant
differences were also detected for some other (e.g. minerals and
vitamins) compounds.”
 CONCLUSION
The popularity of organic foods continues to grow dramatically: organic foods now constitute more than 2% of all
food sales, and sales of organic foods in the United States surpassed $13.8 billion in 2005 (Organic Trade Assn.
2006). Consumers purchasing organic foods may do so for a number of reasons, including perceived benefits to the
environment, animal welfare, and worker safety, and the perception that organic foods are safer and more
nutritious.
This review discusses the differences between organic foods and conventional foods with respect to food safety and
nutritional composition and makes clear that several qualitative differences exist. Organic fruits and vegetables
possess fewer pesticide residues and lower nitrate levels than do conventional fruits and vegetables. In some cases,
organic foods may have higher levels of plant secondary metabolites; this may be beneficial with respect to
suspected antioxidants such as polyphenolic compounds, but also may be of potential health concern when
considering naturally occurring toxins. Some studies have suggested potential increased microbiological hazards
from organic produce or animal products due to the prohibition of antimicrobial use, yet other studies have not
reached the same conclusion. Bacterial isolates from food animals raised organically appear to show less resistance
to antimicrobial agents than those from food animals raised conventionally (IFT 2006).
While many studies demonstrate these qualitative differences between organic and conventional foods, it is
premature to conclude that either food system is superior to the other with respect to safety or nutritional
composition. Pesticide residues, naturally occurring toxins, nitrates, and polyphenolic compounds exert their
health risks or benefits on a dose-related basis, and data do not yet exist to ascertain whether the differences in the
levels of such chemicals between organic foods and conventional foods are of biological significance.
This review illustrates that tradeoffs exist between organic and conventional food production. Organic fruits and
vegetables rely upon far fewer pesticides than do conventional fruits and vegetables, which results in fewer
pesticide residues, but may also stimulate the production of naturally occurring toxins if organic crops are subject to
increased pest pressures from insects, weeds, or plant diseases. Because organic fruits and vegetables do not use
pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, they have more biochemical energy to synthesize beneficial secondary plant
metabolites such as polyphenolic antioxidants as well as naturally occurring toxins. In some cases, food animals
produced organically have the potential to possess higher rates of bacterial contamination than those produced
conventionally since organic production generally prohibits antibiotic use. The prohibition of antimicrobial agents
also explains the apparent lower incidence of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial isolates of organic food animals,
as some studies have shown a correlation between increased rates of antibiotic use and increased antimicrobial
resistance.