Ecomyths: What Is The Difference Between Organic And Conventional Products

Today, environmentally friendly or, as they are also called, organic products are very popular. As a rule, their cost is an order of magnitude higher than food without the “eco” sticker. Does it make sense to pay more or is it a waste of money?

We are willing to overpay for organic products, confident that these particular vegetables, fruits, meat and milk will benefit our bodies. The media, advertisements, popular singers and actors, obsessed with healthy eating, tell us about the benefits of organic foods and make us feel guilty if we don’t go to farm stores. But few people think about what is so bad about conventional products and why they have not yet been banned by the government, if they kill our bodies?

What does “eco” mean?

The essence of organic agriculture comes down to the fact that synthetic “chemicals” (i.e. artificial fertilizers and plant protection products) are harmful and bad by nature. Therefore, they are not used for growing organic products. However, the division into bad artificial and good natural “chemistry” is not scientifically substantiated in any way. The harm of a substance to the human body depends on its properties and dose, not on its origin.

Chemistry does not mean harmful

So purchasing of eco-products does not mean that you have made something incredibly important and useful for your health, as they say in the advertising. It sounds paradoxical, but the health of organic animals is worse than that of their congeners raised with the same “chemicals”. It makes sense: organic farmers boast that they don’t feed their animals antibiotics and anthelmintics, so they are more susceptible to disease.

At the same time, the pesticides so feared by producers of “clean” fruits and vegetables are also present in organic products – they simply would not reach store shelves if the plants were not treated with chemicals. EU regulations allow 26 so-called organic pesticides, but they are not necessarily less toxic, and no one keeps track of the actual amounts of natural pesticides. And the level of pesticides in conventional products is acceptable for consumption.

Fraud

The growing demand for organics encourages many producers to put green labels on their products although they have nothing to do with organic production. This is because Russian legislation simply does not have standards for this segment of the market.

Organic production is a complex process that requires a huge amount of natural resources and money.
Speaking of natural resources. Many people believe that organic products are good for the environment, and choose them for this reason. But here, too, lies the trick marketers: the production of organic requires more land than conventional, has a greater effect on a warming climate, significantly pollutes the water and contributes more to the creation of acid rain.

In addition, an organic apple is unlikely to save your body, if every night you drink beer, snacking on chips. True, a regular apple won’t help much either, but it’s at least a few times cheaper. So, instead of overpaying for the prefix “eco”, it’s better to spend the money on a gym membership – the benefits to your health will be greater.