This writing challenge is based from an article Organic Foods Have Same Nutritional Value in Listen to News : dateline September 4, 2012

Discussion Question: Do you choose organic food over non-organic food at the grocery store? Which types of food are you most careful about buying?

I believed in order to answer the discussion question, first we really need to fully understand the meaning of 'organic'. In this term, 'organic' means the way that agricultural products are farmed and processed. In order for any food to be termed as 'organic' specific requirements must be met and maintained. Farmers must ensure that organic crops be grown in safe soil, have no modifications, and remain separate from conventional crops. The most important thing is that farmers should not be using synthetic pesticides, bio-engineered genes, petroleum-based fertilizers or sewage sludge-based fertilizers. Source : Helpguide.org

Having determined the meaning of 'organic' in this term, in a perfect world, buying organic foods seem to be the best and easiest choice to make. Various studies have shown that 'organic' food has more health benefits as compared to non-organic food. 

Generally, it goes without saying that organic foods are more expensive than non-organic foods. This is because of various reasons. One of the reasons is due to the fact that post-harvest handling of organic food of which farmers must ensure the separation of conventional food and organic food. Another factor is the issue of marketing and distribution chain for organic foods which is relatively inefficient and higher costs due to its small volumes of products. 

At the end of the day, though in terms of health benefits, organic foods may be the best choice, but the expensive prices of such products is the deciding factor of whether I will buy organic foods in my grocery stores. In addition, the less offering of organic foods also playing major role in steering me to buy non-organic food.

Other factor that greatly affect my decision on buying certain products is my religious belief. Selecting products that are 'Halal' at the end of the day is the deciding factor in nearly everything I am buying at the store. Halal means that the products are prepared in accordance to Islamic rules, either the ingredients or preparation of the products.

Considering that halal products are the defining factor in my decision to buy certain types of food, normally I most careful when buying all types of foods, whether they are fresh produces or packet products. 

As a conclusion, my decision to buy certain kind of foods is not only based on whether they are relatively cheap, readily available, but also observing my belief. At the moment, where I am living, organic food is relatively more expensive, and not readily available. Thus, non-organic food is the better choice hands down. 

 

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Comments

  • Hi Expector Smith, yes, we should be careful with what we eat. I'm hopeful that the Government over here will take more concerted effort in controlling the usage of non-permissible products that go to into producing and packing our food 

  • We should be careful about what we eat. Thankfully, our government is keeping an eye on what its people eat - it's trying to make sure its people are eating healthily, which means no tolerance in food safety.

  • Eric Maestretti, lets ramble together. LOL. I hope your dream to open up that nice restaurant will comes true.

  • I honestly don't mean to spam out the site..Seriously, this is the only place that I'll shop here. In fact, I won't. Just look up Raley's. I also travel to a natural foods co-op (many miles from my home) when searching for the best ingredients..Food and it's purity are very important to this amateur chef..I someday dream of starting a restraunt with only locally grown and organic products. There's a need for it here in California. My own rambling often gets out of hand at times. 

  • No worries Eric Maestretti. It means my writing is not up to a certain standard and my points maybe lost somewhere between my ramblings. LOL. I do hope that one day, over here, we too can have more choices. 

  • I'm sorry I didn't get the entire point of the story Noas. We Americans have so many choices when chosing our own food. Anything labeled "organic" here in the U.S. must undergo strict testing standards by the Food And Drug Administration..Sorry, I should have been more sensitive to that fact. All countries's testing methods are not the same. My bad mah friend.

  • My friend sewar, yes, nowadays the modern diseases such cancer and heart attack are more too common. Whether people want to admit it or not, one of the contributing factor is the food that we eat especially the processed food and fast food.

  • Hi Eric Maestretti, you're right. But sometimes the choices offered are very limited, and we have to make a balanced decision. But I'm sure sooner or later, with more demand and concerted effort from Government and people, organic food is a norm, rather than a luxury.

  • Holy mackerel! Asif Ali, Zindani., that's a bit hard to swallow. :-P, though I know it's a fact. LOL. Yes, you are right. It's back to basic. Once I read somewhere that you should not eat things that your grandparents or great grandparents did not recognise or able to name it. In other words, we should not eat unrecognisable processed foods. 

  • AH_TK. Ameen! :-P

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