When I walk into my local grocery store I see two sides of produce.
They both look exactly the same.
Apples on this side and apples on the other side. Carrots over here and carrots over there.
So what's the difference?
One side is conventional and the other side has a giant sign labeled 'ORGANIC'?
But is there really a difference between an organically grown carrot and a conventionally grown carrot?
I don't know yet, so let's find out.
What's the difference between organically grown vegetables and conventionally grown vegetables?
First, we need to find out what makes organic food and conventional food different.
The main difference is how they are grown.
With conventional farming, farmers use chemicals to fertilize and protect their food. In animals, they use hormones and antibiotics to make the animals grow bigger and beefier.
In organic farming, the goal is to grow the vegetables or animals without the use of synthetic materials.
Instead, organic farmers use methods like crop rotation, organic pesticides, and organic fertilizers like manure. They don’t use any genetically modified plants or animals.
What are the benefits of conventionally grown food?
The main reason people choose non organic food is because of how much cheaper it is compared to organic foods.
Conventional farmers are able to keep production costs lower because they get more food per acre, so they need as much land or labor. Using less land is actually an environmental benefit.
How do they get more food per acre?
You may think pesticides and genetically modified foods are bad, but they protect the food from insect damage and help it last longer on the shelf (and in your home.)
Because they last so long, conventionally grown foods can be shipped all around the world without worrying about spoilage.
No matter how high the demand is there should always be a supplier somewhere in the world to help make sure the costs don’t increase too much.
In this situation, your wallet is happy.
But that's not the only pro. You can find any food at almost any time of the year!
What are the cons of conventionally grown food?
The reason people are straying away from non-organic food is because of the pesticides and synthetic fertilizers that are horrible for humans, animals, and the environment.
Even just a small amount of pesticides can be toxic and the fact that conventionally grown foods use more pesticides means you’re increasing your exposure to those pesticides. The more exposure, the more chance of harm.
As for the effect on the environment, manufacturing the chemicals that go into creating pesticides and fertilizers introduce pollutants into the air and water. This can increase greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming.
It’s not just the chemicals, though. Cows are notorious for producing methane, a greenhouse gas, and that accounts for about a third of agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions.
Obviously, a bunch of bad stuff comes along with global warming, but we won’t get into that right now, because we just want to focus on the food.
Another con to conventionally grown food that most people don’t think about is how it affects smaller, local farmers. They don’t have the capital to compete as well with large farming companies.
Buying local food can help those smaller farmers out!
What are the benefits of organically grown food?
If you ask people what the main benefit of organic food is most of them would say that it’s environmentally-friendly.
The reason organically grown food is environmentally friendly is because it's grown with natural fertilizers like manure and uses crop rotation which keeps the soil from eroding as easily.
Organic farming uses less energy and conserves water.
And of course, they use less pesticides, and that is better for both people and animals that may live near the farm. Pesticides can runoff into rivers and even drinking water, so by using less pesticides organic farming reduces the risk and exposure to toxicity.
Speaking of animals, the livestock used for meats and eggs are given access to the outside and are able to roam around.
That probably makes them a lot happier, but we’re not sure if that affects the taste.
What are the cons of the organically grown food?
The big con with organically grown vegetables is the price. An organic apple is generally going to be a little bit more than it’s non organic friend.
That’s because of its limited supply compared to its demand and its production costs.
Organic foods take up way more land to produce.
In an example using cows, conventional farmers might pack a ton of cows together and feed them barrels of soybeans all day, but with organic farming cows will be grass-fed. Cows need about 26 pounds of food per day and use about 30 percent more land than conventional cows. That’s a lot of grass!
Organic foods do require more labor to produce. Farmers need to pay more workers and that increases the price of production.
All of these production costs go into the price that you see at the store. Part of these costs are coming out of your pocket as you pay an average of 47 percent more for organic versions of food.
Other cons of organic foods are that it easily goes bad, doesn’t have any extra health benefits, no differences in nutritional value compared to non organic foods, high levels of bacteria like e-coli, and is still allowed to contain pesticides, which can be harmful even at low levels.
And cows. Even grass-fed cows produce methane. In fact, grass-fed cows produce more methane than conventional cows.
Just because it’s organic doesn’t mean it’s totally great for the environment.
Should I buy conventionally grown foods or organically grown foods?
As you can see, there are many benefits to both types of foods. There are also many cons.
If you’d like to pick which one to buy next time you’re at the store, weigh the pros and cons of each and decide which one lines up more with your values.
If you don’t mind paying more to help the environment, then organic is for you. If you’re trying to save money, then conventional is probably better for you.
As for nutrition, there seems to be no difference between conventionally grown foods and organically grown foods.
But the bottom line is...
...it doesn't make a difference which one you buy. Just eat your vegetables!
