Sources

= = =The Orange Box of Research =

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media type="youtube" key="hVrIyEu6h_E" height="344" width="425"  [|Consumer Health & Food Safety - Organic Food]
 * Provides an extensive list of research sites for organic foods.
 * Will be useful for further research.

[|Organic Food Navigator]
 * Also provides an extensive list of research sites for organic foods.
 * Additionally provides an extensive list of newspaper articles on organic foods.
 * Will be useful for further research.

[|The Benefits of Organic]
 * "Most shoppers say they buy organic food for reasons of personal or family health, the environment, and/or animal welfare."
 * Organic food - reduction in pesticide intake (especially in children)
 * "organic farming also supports more wildlife than non-organic farming"
 * "Organic farming also uses much less energy (30% less) than conventional agriculture"
 * "The claim being made in the UK is that 'No food has higher amounts of beneficial minerals, essential amino acids and vitamins than organic food'"

[|Organic vs. Non-organic] (biased site favoured towards organic, but still has some interesting arguments)
 * organic farming = free from genetic engineering, sewage sludge and irradiation
 * if you eat non-organic food, you could be subjected to toxic chemicals and sewage sludge from poorly designed irrigation systems

[|The "Organic" Stamp]
 * is organic safer?
 * organic certification technically has __**nothing to do with food safety**__ (??)

[|Trends in Organic Food Industry]
 * - in bad economic times, people are less concerned with eating organic foods if organic foods cost a lot more
 * - food geared towards children are still popular
 * - ie. fair trade sales will drop while organic foods will continue to be popular
 * - "Mr. Blischok conducted a survey of 1,000 consumers in the first half of the year and found that nearly two-thirds said they were cutting back on nonessential groceries and nearly half said they were buying fewer organic products because they were too expensive."

[|O Brother, Where Artificial Thou?]
 * Certain artificial additives can be legally used or put onto "organic" foods
 * in 2005, they wanted to legalize an additional 38 synthetic substances
 * this raises the question of WHAT IS ORGANIC? How many artificial chemicals can still count as organic?

[|Are Organic Foods healthier?]
 * studies are unconclusive to whether organic foods are safer or more nutritious than non-organic
 * "Organic foods now constitute more than 2% of all food sales, and sales of organic foods in the United States surpassed $13.8 billion in 2005"
 * Organic foods have:
 * less pesticides = fewer pesticide residues (but could cause the "production of naturally occurring toxins if organic crops are subject to increased pest pressures from insects, weeds, or plant diseases")

[|For Three Years, Every Bite Organic]
 * it's possible to live a organic life too!
 * Three years later, he says he has more energy and wakes up earlier. As a pediatrician regularly exposed to sick children, he was accustomed to several illnesses a year. Now, he says, he is rarely ill. His urine is a brighter yellow, a sign that he is ingesting more vitamins and nutrients.
 * Organic farmers don’t use conventional methods to fertilize the soil, control weeds and pests, or prevent disease in livestock.
 * growing methods made no difference in the nutrients in the crops or the levels of nutrients retained by rats that ate them BUT in another study, organic foods do contain more of certain nutrients — almost twice as many, in the case of organic tomatoes
 * organic food usually costs twice as much
 * “It’s surprising to me how few people know that organic means without [|pesticides], [|antibiotics] or hormones,” he said. “In stores or restaurants around the country, I would ask, ‘Do you have anything organic?’ Half the time they would say, ‘Do you mean [|vegetarian]?’ ”