The Essay Question “Is Organic Food Really Organic?” Is Answered Here

supermarket with organic food

There has been much discussion on the matter of organic products. Although it has become common to treat organic products as “better” ones, the problem is that little thought is put into understanding how exactly organic food is better than non-organic and whether it is worth the money it costs. There is a growing concern that what people call organic might be neither healthier nor more natural than the products not labeled as such. Firstly, chemical pesticides are not the biggest problem in the food industry. Secondly, it is often hard to define whether food is really organic or not.

This guide provides some details and facts on the topic. So there are much more chances to write a good essay on the topic, “Is Organic Food Really Organic?”. Additionally, if you follow some effective ways of writing, you’ll get considerable success. Succeed together with us!

The Term “Organic” Used Today

For a start, you should understand the term “organic” to address in your essay on the given topic. In general, it means that no chemical pesticides, antibiotics, or fertilizers are used in an environment where a product develops. Heard anything about the Organic Foods Production Act? It is a program based on federal regulations concerning the organic standards applied in farming.

There is the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances you may refer to when writing an essay. The main problem is that 99.99% of pesticides are produced by plants for the sake of their self-protection, which makes only 0.01% of all pesticides non-organic. Besides, organic pesticides might be toxic to humans as well. It turns out that there is a little difference between the two in terms of health risks. For example, it was found that approximately half of the illnesses caused by food came from vegetables, with 20% from leafy greens such as spinach. The examples of the most common bacteria that cause diseases include salmonella and campylobacter. Legally, the food safety is not the area of concern of those who maintain the standards of organic goods. Read 10 facts on food safety provided by the World Health Organization.

The National Organic Program led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture ensures that the products are organic, meaning that no prohibited substances or practices are used when producing it. There is also the Organic Foods Production Act which lists all prohibited practices, pesticides, antibiotics, fertilizers, and the like. USDA orders and conducts testings of organic products to see whether they meet the standards or not. Certifying agents that work under the Department are obliged to test 5% of the products annually. Such tests are expensive, which makes the “organic” products costly. Indeed, the market for agricultural goods has increased over 1,000 times in price during 2010-2014. The biggest problem is that, after the products were certified, farmers can shift to non-organic production anytime and market it under the organic label. The whole system is trust-based, and the customer may even not know that he or she consumes non-organic products at the price of organic ones.

To illustrate the point, here are some facts for consideration. In 2012, 571 product samples were tested by the USDA. 43% contained traces of substances that were prohibited by the Organic Foods Production Act. Some products were really organic but came into contact with non-organic pesticides, and the rest of the products were simply mislabeled as organic. Moreover, almost 47% certifiers with USDA between 2005 and 2014 failed in their role to provide organic standards.

While there is still a discussion going on regarding whether organic food is healthier than non-organic food, it might be the case when people are creating the problem out of nowhere. There are natural products which can cause more harm to the human body than chemicals. On the other hand, it is hard to be sure that certain products are really organic. While the budget money is spent on tests and certification, and people’s money is spent on food labeled as organic, there is no guarantee that producers are not using this low frequency of food testing to their advantage. The issue must be studied more thoroughly; until then, “organic food” is mostly just a trend.

7 References to Use in the ‘Organic Food’ Essay

  1. Canavari M, Olson KD. Organic Food: Consumers’ Choices and Farmers’ Opportunities. Springer Science & Business Media, 2007;
  2. Eves A, Lumbers M, Morgan J. “Factors Influencing the Consumption of Organic Food.” Marketing Trends for Organic Food in the 21st Century. World Scientific, 2004;
  3. Reed M. Rebels for the Soil: The Rise of the Global Organic Food and Farming Movement. Earthscan, 2010;
  4. Freyer B, Bingen J. Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World. Springer, 2014;
  5. Strom S. “Recalls of Organic Food on the Rise, Reports Say.” New York Times, 20 Aug 2015;
  6. Roberts JL. Organic Agriculture: Protecting Our Food Supply or Chasing Imaginary Risks? Twenty-First Century Books, 2011;
  7. Langley A. Is Organic Food Better? Heinemann Library, 2009.

What Will Make My ‘Organic Food’ Essay Stand Out?

  • The first paragraph. Hm… how does the first paragraph influence the reader? Instantaneously! It is the first thing every reader pays attention to when reading an essay, especially if it is read by a strict instructor. So your task is to grab the readers’ attention in the introduction besides writing it without any mistake. What can attract? For example, a direct quotation from Prince Charles’ speech: “The demand for organic food is growing at a remarkable rate. Consumers have made it clear that they want organic produce and every sector of the food chain is responding, with the kind of results we have just seen.” As an alternative, you may ask the questions: “What is your preference for food and health? Do you choose fresh and natural or organic food?” Keep in mind that direct communication with the reader always wins.
  • The wealth of information related to the topic. However, at this point, there is a pitfall – too much information doesn’t mean good content of your essay. Even if you manage to find a lot of sources where the necessary information is available to you, filter it according to its credibility and relevance in relation to your topic. For example, if you follow this link and get some valuable information on ‘Organic Food’, you’re unlikely allowed to use it in the references.
  • The accuracy of essay writing. What does it mean? In fact, it covers many aspects of academic writing – the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content. So you need to make sure that your essay is reliable, truthful, and correct. Answer the following questions:
    essay writing tips

Final tip! If you face some troubles with writing an essay on the topic “Organic Food”, it is better to analyze some written essay and make right conclusions:

  • What makes them the best or the worst ones?
  • What information do they contain?
  • Is the information reliable and error-free?

As a result, after reading this article, you get all the knowledge on the topic to answer the question “Is Organic Food Really Organic?” in your essay. Moreover, you know what exactly will make your essay stand out from the others.

5.00 avg. rating (94% score) - 1 vote