西山学苑研究紀要第16号

Organic Products：Towards
a Sustainable and Healthy Future
WU Zijing
I. Introduction
In a recent study of the anticancer potential of vegetables, organic vegetables were found to have better performance in suppressing mutagenic

activityofvariousenvironmental

toxinsthanconventional

vegetables（Crinnion, 2010, p. 9）.The study shows that organic vegetables
are able to suppress the mutagenic action of benzopyrene, a major substance in cigarette smoke that can cause cancer by thirty to fifty sevenpercent when compared to only five to thirty percent produced by non-organic products（Crinnion, p. 9）. Indeed, health is usually among the firstconsiderations that comes up when talking about organic products. The
United States Department of Agriculture（USDA）defines organic foods as
products characterized by the following：grown with extremely low levelof conventional pesticides, fertilizers that do not contain any “synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge,” “bioengineering,” or “ionizing radiation”（http://
afsic.nal.usda.gov/）.

II. Organic products in our economy
In order for products to be organically certified, producers andfarmers need to follow a set of rules carefully and to meet the standards of
the USDA. Due to a general impression that organic products are good for―1―human and environmental health, organic food consumption has become
one of the fastest growing segments of the domestic food market of theUnited States. Data of the USDA shows that the demand for organic products has been growing continuously and that the total sales of organic
foods increased from around $11 billion in 2004 to $28 billion in 2012（Greene,
2013, p. 1-2）
. Health and a sense of responsibility for the environment are
the two major reasons for choosing to buy organic products. But there isalso the complaint about the higher prices of organic products and thequestion about the actual benefits of organic products. Evidence showsthat organic production can bring about more benefits than conventional
products. Thus, consumers should tolerate the higher prices of organic
products since, when compared to conventionally grown products, organic
products can bring health benefits, are good for environmental sustainability, and can benefit the economy.
It is argued by Aertsens et al.（2009）and Tsakiridou et al.（2008）
that price is one of the most important barriers for the consumption of organic products and that more than half of the consumers view the pricesof organic products as too high（as cited in Atanasoaie, 2012, p. 6）. Indeed,
Falguera et al.（2012）display a table showing the average prices of a variety of organic and conventional food products in the United States, whichindicates that organic products are more expensive than their non-organic
counterparts（p. 277）. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations explains some of the reasons that make organic food more expensive. First, the supply of organic food is usually lower than its demand,
which drives up the price； secondly, organic farms require more labor,
which increases the costs of production；third, the handling of organic production is more complex than conventional products, which increases thecosts of processing and transportation （http://www.fao.org/）. Besides―2―

costs generated from the production side increasing the price of organic
products, ethical and environmental concerns of organic production generate additional types of costs, which do not exist in the conventional production process（http://www.fao.org/）. For example, in order to protect
soil quality, organic farms practice crop rotation regardless of financial returns of the crops（http://www.fao.org/）.Even though there are very realreasons why organics often cost more, the higher price of organic foods
can still become a barrier for their purchase.
Aertsens et al. and Tsakiridou et al. seemingly have a valid point.
However, consumers’ willingness to pay depends on the knowledge about
the benefits that can be derived from the products（Atanasoaie, 2012, p. 5）.
This suggests that if consumers cannot distinguish how two products aredifferent, they tend to base their purchasing decisions on the price differences between the two. Many consumers do not know how organics aredifferent from conventional products, and they think the only difference
between the two is that organic products have a fancy organic certified
seal. In other words, when consumers are not aware of the benefits of organic food, they can become unwilling to pay for the higher prices for organic foods. But the unwillingness of people to pay for the higher priced
organic foods can be changed. Atanasoaie states that consumers also careabout the quality of products and environmental benefits（p. 10）. He concludes that the price barrier to the consumption of organic products canbe effectively reduced by informing consumers that organic products canactually generate more benefits than their conventional counterparts（p.
13）. Therefore, higher prices should no longer be a major reason to rejectorganic products when the benefits of organic products are clearly introduced to consumers.

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3―III. Incentives for consumers to purchase organic
Benefits for health may provide one of the biggest incentives for
consumers to buy organic foods. Higher nutrient content in organic produce is valuable to human health because with the changing lifestyle, people nowadays consume more sugar and non-essential fats which result ininsufficiency of nutrient intake and malnutrition（Johansson et al., 2014, p.
3872）. Such nutrient deficiency may lead to severe diseases and consequence. Johansson et al. point out that more than half of all child mortality
are due to insufficient intake of vitamin A（i.e. carotenoids）,iron, and otherphytochemical compounds such as polyphenols（Johansson et al., p. 3872）.
In order to improve the nutrient intake organic foods can be more effective than conventionally produced foods because organic products containa higher level of numbers of vitamins and minerals that are essential tohuman health.
A 2010 study of Crinnion shows that organic produce have 21%
more iron and 29% more magnesium than their conventional counterpartson average（p. 5）. He also states that higher quantities of ascorbic acid,such as vitamin C, which is an antioxidant, is commonly found in many organic fruits and vegetables than conventionally grown ones （Crinnion,
2010, p. 5）. These data suggest that a small amount of organic foods canprovide sufficient intake of certain nutrients while the same amount of
conventional ones cannot. Furthermore, organically grown vegetables andfruits can provide larger amount of certain nutrients than their conventional counterparts. Polyphenols compounds, which can improve neuronal,
cognitive brain functions, and reduce cancer risk was also found to bemuch higher enriched in a variety of organically grown produce（Crinnion,
pp. 6-7）. Crinnion states that compare to the conventional strawberries,―

4―their organic counterparts are shown to have better performance in blocking the proliferation of colon cancer cells and breast cancer cells（p. 9）.
Overall, organically grown vegetables and fruits can do better than conventionally grown ones on mitigating the health problems that related tonutrients such as vitamin A and polyphenols compounds.
In addition to the benefits from organic vegetables and fruits, organically produced dairy products are also healthier than conventionallyproduced dairy products. It has been found that organic dairy tend to contain higher nutrients than conventional dairy products, especially in termsof Omega-3 fatty acids content（http://www.beyondpesticides.org）. Omega-3 is a significant important nutrient for metabolism and brain development and function；however, since omega-3 cannot be produced by human
body, ingesting omega-3 through consumption of dairy products is one of
the major ways（http://ods.od.nih.gov）. Thus, getting enough amount ofomega-3 is important for human health. Study shows that, the milk that
produced from organically raised animal contains much more health omega-3 than conventional milk（http://www.beyondpesticides.org）. It seems
like that in order to ensure the intake of omega-3, organic dairy is a better
choice than conventional diary. Thus, the nutritional superiority of organic
foods is one of the most important factors to reduce the barrier thatcaused by high price and attract more consumers.
Organic products are healthier than conventional products not
only because organic products provide higher nutritional values, but also
because they contain a significantly lower level of pesticides and harmful
chemicals than their conventional counterparts. Repetto and Baliga（1996）
show that pesticides can reduce the number of white cells in blood andweaken the human immune system（as cited in Naik & Prasad, 2006, p.
12）. Even worse, the organochlorine pesticides can contribute to the devel―5―

opment of cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and reduced male fertility（Shan,
2006, p. 38）. To ensure high yields, it is common for conventional farming
to use a large amount of pesticides. As a result, farmers who are highly
exposed to these pesticides are particularly vulnerable to the risks of cancer（Shan, p. 38）. Thus, organic foods with a extremely low level of pesticides can not only attract consumers who care about their own health but
also those who care about other people’s well-being.
Another health concern that is related to conventional produce ispesticide residue. Germany found 361 pesticide substances in a careful
screening for pesticide residues on foodstuff； more than half of the foodsample was found to have at least one kind of pesticide residue；over 40%of the food sample was found to have pesticide residues that contain morethan one kind of pesticides（Johansson et al., 2014, p. 3878）. Shan（2006）
also pointed out that even a very small amount of pesticide residue can accumulate in the human body and tissues and disrupt the endocrine andthe metabolism of body overtime（p. 38）. In other words, even though theamount of pesticide residue on one conventional piece of fruit or a vegetable is not high enough to cause immediate damage to the human body, theaccumulative consumption of these products with pesticide residues canpost serious health risks to human beings in the long run. Organic produce, by definition, does not use most of the types of conventional pesticide and any form of bioengineering. Experiment data shows that there
are on average 82% of conventional fruits that contain pesticide residue
compared to only 23% of organic produce, and less than 3% of organic
foods are found to have more than one detectable residue compared to
26% of conventional foods（Crinnion, 2010, p. 8）. These data shows that
consumers of organic products do not have to worry too much about being exposed to pesticide residue. Overall, health risks associated with pes―

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ticide can be significantly lowered by consuming organic produce.
In addition to the concern of pesticide residues on foods, the overuse of growth hormones and antibiotics on livestock is another issue that
may cause health risks for human beings. Cummins（1999）argues thatgrowth hormones such as bovine growth hormone in cows, which are prohibited in organic production, can increase the hazards of developing
breast, prostate, and colon cancer（as cited in Shan, 2006, p. 39）. Since theuse of growth hormones can lead to such terrible health issues, it is probably better for consumers to buy the meat of organically raised animals
that are guaranteed to be free of growth hormones. Traditionally raised
animals are usually kept densely in small spaces, it is therefore a common
practice to use a large amount of antibiotics to prevent the outbreak of
disease which can cause the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria（Campbell, 2012, p. 8）. However, David Wallinga states that nearly 70% of
all uses of antibiotics in agriculture are being abused（http://organic-center.org）. Thus, consuming meat products of animals treated with excessive
antibiotics can increase the possibility of developing antibiotic resistance,
which can lead to serious health problems. Data of the Center for Disease
Control shows that over 23 thousand deaths in 2013 were caused by antibiotic resistance （http://organic-center.org/）. On the contrary, animals
raised organically are not fed with forage containing hormones and antibiotics and therefore is less likely to develop resistance to antibiotics（Campbell, p. 8）. Therefore, in order to avoid health risks generated by harmful
chemical substances such as pesticide, growth hormones and antibiotics,
buying organically grown products is a great option.

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IV. Environmental concern & sustainable development
Organic products not only can bring health benefits to consumers, such products can also be a good choice for consumers who careabout the environment because organic farming is good for the environmental sustainability. Compared to conventional farming, which uses many
chemical substances to boost yields, organic farming enhances biodiversity
and is better for agriculture sustainability. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines organic farming as “a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agroecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil
biological activity”（Johansson et al., 2014, p. 3871）. Tuck et al.（2014）reveal that there is an average of 30% increase in species richness in organic
farming compared to conventional farming （p. 746）
. The data suggeststhat the decrease of biodiversity caused by conventional agriculture canbe mitigated by organic farming. The reason biodiversity is important toagricultural sustainability is that species richness can provide essential
ecosystem functions such as pollination and pest control, which can lead toa higher yields（Tuck et al., p. 747）. An experiment on the effects of conversion from conventional to organic farm on the successful pollination of
strawberries shows that after transitioning from conventional farming toorganic farming, the number of pollinators increased rapidly and a higher
proportion of successfully pollinated strawberries was exhibited under organic farming（Andersson et al., 2012, p. 2）.As a result, full pollination will
increase the quantity of strawberries that meet the quality for the market,
which can benefit consumers as well as growers. Overall, the practice oforganic farming can enrich biodiversity and benefit agriculture production
and sustainability.
―8―Not only is organic farming beneficial for biodiversity, it can also
improve water quality. Pollution results from nutrient runoff from the useof fertilizers has become a major threat for water quality（Dimitri et al.,2011, p. 7）. Nitrogen and phosphorous are two major chemicals containedin fertilizers that pollute the water body. Too high of a concentration ofthese two substances in water can result in massive algae blooms which
create hypoxia zones that kill aquatic life（Jeffords, 2011, p. 2）. In otherwords, hypoxia and water pollution resulting from nutrient runoff can impact fisheries and the market supply of fresh fish by reducing the population of fish in water body. Fish that are contaminated by chemicals fromfertilizers can also threaten people’s health. On the other hand, Organic
farming can reduce water pollution resulting from nutrient runoff by using
bio fertilizers. Bio fertilizers can increase the carbon content and microbialactivity of soils to improve the ability of soils to hold more water and become more resistant to erosion（Jeffords, p. 3-4）. As a result, organic farming can effectively address the problem associated with nutrient runoff byimproving soils’ ability to retain more nutrients so that the amount of nutrients go into waters will be reduced.
Just as the pollution can be caused by the use of fertilizers, it canalso be produced by the wide use of pesticides. The total world use of pesticides exceeded 5 billion pounds in 2011, but only 0.1 percent of those actually killed pests； a large amount of the remaining 99.99 percent,however, ended up in the atmosphere（Crinnion, 2010, p. 6）. As a result,these pesticides can pollute waters through precipitation. Rouvalis et al.
（2009）investigated the occurrence of pesticides in rainwater in Western
Greece and found that over half of the rainwater samples collected in rural
areas were contaminated by phosphamidon, an organophosphorus pesticide that is highly dangerous to mammals（p. 832）
. The same toxin, how―9―

ever, was only shown active in 13% of samples collected in urban areas（Rouvalis et al., p. 832）. It seems that the difference noted by Rouvalis etal. can be explained by the extensive presence of agricultural activities inrural areas. When the large amount of toxic pesticides used in agriculture
enter the atmosphere and return back to the ground through precipitation, they pollute both the surface water and groundwater and pose healthrisks to animals and humans. Organic farming, on the other hand, prohibits the use of most harmful pesticides and thus minimizes water pollution
caused by toxic rainfalls. By improving nutrient retention in soils and reducing pesticide emissions, organic farming can protect the aquatic ecosystem. Informing consumers, who care about the environment, the benefits
that organic farming brings to biodiversity and water quality can improvetheir willingness to pay for higher prices for organic foods.
Just as there is compensation for the higher prices of organic
products in the form of environmental benefits, so also is there compensation for the higher prices in the form of economic advantages. The continuous growth of organic food market also brings vitality to the economy
since it is more profitable and creates more jobs. Aulová and Frýdlová（2012）investigated the economic performance of a number of organic andconventional farms in the Czech Republic from 2006 to 2010 and foundthat organic farms selected had considerably better performance of economic value added（EVA）, the estimate of the profit of a firm, with increasing earnings before interest and tax（p. 9）. Such results show thatorganic farming can be more profitable than conventional farming. Many
dairy farmers in Vermont also admitted that converting to organic farming saved them from going out of business（O’Hara & Parsons, 2013, p.
6118）. O’Hara and Parsons examined the economic impacts of organic andconventional farms and found that with a hypothetical $5 million sales rev―

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enue, organic farms in both Minnesota and Vermont can generate greater
output, gross state product, and labor income than conventional farms（pp.
6123-6124）. Argilés and Brown（2010）also compared the economic performance of organic farming with conventional farming in Spain and foundsimilar results indicating that organic farming has higher output and profit（p. 77）.
Not only is organic farming more profitable, it also generates
more employment. In terms of costs, Argilés and Brown（2010）point out
that organic farming has significantly higher labor costs, almost 18% of total costs compared to 4.8% of conventional farming（p. 80）. This is because
organic farming requires more workers to perform tasks such as planting
cover crops and attracting birds to substitute for pesticides（Dimitri, 2011, p.
5）. Therefore, the higher profitability of organic farming and its ability toprovide more employment opportunities make organic farming more attractive. Since economic development and employment are closely related
to the well-being of every individual in society, people who want to makea contribution to a healthy economy are likely to support the organic foodmarket. These two studies suggest that not only is organic farming more
profitable, it also generates more employment.

V. Conclusion
In conclusion, the increasing popularity of organic produce islargely a result of consumers’ concerns about health and the environment.
On the one hand, people want environmentally friendly products withminimum chemical substance residues to avoid potential health risks； onthe other hand, many are scared away by the high price of organic foods.
The price barrier to the consumption of organic foods, however, can be ef―

11 ―fectively reduced by informing people the benefits of organically produced
products over conventionally grown products. Organically produced products are healthier than conventional foods because they contain more nutrients and significantly less harmful chemical substances. Organic farming
is considered more environmentally friendly since it enhances biodiversity
and increases water quality. Moreover, organic farming makes greater
contribution to the economy by generating more output and employment
opportunities than conventional farming.
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