有机食物与非有机食物

这些天来有机食物非常流行，而且也很贵。有些有机食物的价格可能是同类非有机食物的两倍。年轻孩子的父母，甚至一些宠物的主人可能会花高价买有机食物要是他们认为这更健康的话。但也有很多其他人认为有机食物只是浪费钱罢了。
Organic¹ food is very popular these days. It can also be very expensive. Some organic food costs twice as much as non-organic food. Parents of young children, and even some pet owners, will pay high prices for organic food if they think it's healthier. But many others think organic food is just a waste of money.

 

There is one main difference between organic and non-organic food. Organic farms do not use agricultural chemicals such as pesticides² that stop insects from damaging crops. In many countries foods that claim to be organic must have special labels that guarantee they're grown organically³.

 

Some people think organic also means "locally grown", and originally this was true. But over time organic farming has become big business, with many organic foods now being grown by large agricultural companies that sell their products far from where they're grown. Processed food made with organic ingredients⁴ has also become more popular. At first, only small companies produced these products. But as demand overtook⁵ supply, big food companies that had been selling non-organic products for many years also began selling organic products. Small organic food companies found it difficult to compete with these big companies, and many didn't stay in business much longer.

 

Is organic food safer and more nutritious⁶? This is an important part of the debate. Many farmers and consumers believe it is. They think agricultural chemicals can cause serious illnesses like cancer, but there isn't much evidence proving this is true. However recent studies have shown that eating organically-grown produce reduces your chances of developing heart disease⁷. Many doctors think it's more important to stop dangerous bacteria from contaminating⁸ foods. These bacteria can contaminate⁹ both organic and non-organic fruit and vegetables, and doctors recommend washing produce carefully before eating it. Meat, fish and chicken can also become contaminated¹⁰, so washing your hands before handling these foods is also very important. Many doctors also believe we should reduce the amount of sugar in our diets, and there is a lot of evidence to support this idea. They recommend carefully checking the list of ingredients on processed food and drinks for all the words that really mean sugar, like glucose¹¹, sucrose and fructose. And they remind us that the aim of most big food companies is to make lots of money, even if they damage our health while doing so. This means processed foods that are called "organic" can also be very unhealthy if they contain lots of sugar.

 

Most people agree that naturally grown food tastes better. Is tastier food worth the extra money? That's a matter of opinion. Whether organic food is healthier or not is still not clear, so more research is needed. However, consumers of organic food often say "better safe than sorry" when it comes to what we eat.

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