Compare/Contrast Organic Food vs Processed Food Essay

How important is the food that the averages person puts into their bodies every day? Eating is a way of making peace, passing the time, sharing friendships, and having a communion. The narrator of Food Inc points out that, â€Å"The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000† (2008). How has it changed? Americans have gone from eating hunter-gatherer style organic greens and fruits, to severely processed sugars, carbohydrates, and high protein meats. Most Americans eat something similar to a â€Å"chicken and pasta† diet nowadays. This may not be bad, but is this â€Å"new† food really better for us than what people ate 50 and 100 years ago? Organic foods are substances that are produced using ways that do not involve modern unneeded synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Organic foods are also not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives (dictionary). Convenience food, or tertiary processed food, is commercially prepared food designed for ease of buying and consuming. Products designated as â€Å"convenience or processed foods† are often prepared so they can be sold as hot, ready-to-serve plates; as room-temperature, long lasting shelf life products; or as refrigerated or frozen products that require minimal preparation (usually just microwaving). There are studies that show that the food people consume on a daily basis Taylor 2 can influence them for years to come, and can impact the longevity of lives through weight fluctuation, energy, and healing powers. The most common ads on TV nowadays are weight loss commercials. The average American is overweight, sluggish, and unhealthy. More than one-third of U. S. adults (35. 7%) are obese (Ogden). How does food control our weight? Does processed food cause weight gain more than organic would? Processed and packaged food is filled with unnatural dyes, toxins, and genetically modified ingredients that our bodies don’t know how to react to. These artificial chemicals give the food flavor, color, and a long shelf life, but they also build up in the body and cause the nutritional system to be confused, blocked, and set into fat-storing mode (Davis, William). Consuming fresh vegetables, fruits, and other items grown naturally without any preservatives is what the body naturally expects. It’s easy for that sustenance to be converted to energy because that’s what one’s body expects. An organic diet usually results in a trimmer and more energetic body and mind set. Eating organic is not always helpful to one’s budget; the supply of organic food is more limited than the demand. Handling the food results in higher costs because of the mandatory separation of organic and conventional products, and selling and dispersing the organic food throughout the country can also result in higher costs because it’s rather inefficient and the volumes are smaller (FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization). Fast food may appear to be cheap food and, in the literal sense it often is, but that is because huge social and environmental costs are being excluded from the calculations. Taylor 3 Any analysis of the real cost would have to look at such things as the rise in food-borne illnesses, the advent of new pathogens, such as E.coli 0157, antibiotic resistance from the overuse of drugs in animal feed, extensive water pollution from intensive agricultural systems and many other factors. These costs are not reflected in the price of fast food (Prince Charles). Beyond prices is food security. Can farmers produce enough organic food to sustain the global population? Conventionally made food is easier to find, a lower price, and quicker to prepare. But organic food does yield more than one would think (Michigan State University). The wrong foods have been known to cause diseases, but the right ones have also been known to prevent them, or rid the body of harmful toxins causing the illness. â€Å"Although human bodies are incredibly adaptable and may maintain themselves for a long time when nutrition is improper or lacking, ideal health is dependent on optimum nutrition. † (Allman, 9). â€Å"In 1972, the FDA conducted approximately 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the FDA conducted 9,164† (Food, Inc). Not all food is safe for the body to digest. This quote is not saying that all processed food is bad for the body, and that all organic food is perfect, it’s saying that most food people eat isn’t as clean as it used to be which is much like â€Å"going backwards† from all the progress America has made with food codes and regulations. The question throughout all of this still stands, â€Å"Can the food one eats truly help them live longer? † One of the oldest people alive, Walter Breuning, had an interview about his diet recently. All his life he’s said that most people eat â€Å"just too darn much† (Sanders). Breuning hasn’t eaten supper for the past 35 years. He eats lots of fruit, lots of vegetables, and drinks a Taylor 4 large amount of water. He says that’s the way he likes it, and there’s no denying that it’s helped him go far beyond the average lifespan of an adult male. Whether one considers their weight, lifespan, budget, or general health next time they go out to the grocery store, or consume something to eat, it’s always good to consider something. Mindless eating doesn’t benefit anyone. Do people â€Å"eat to live,† or do they â€Å"live to eat? † Food can affect our weight, lifespan, energy, and health. Eating will never go out of style, and it will always be something that’s talked about in everyday lives.