Eating healthily comes with the obvious pros, but cons as well. Healthy foods, such as those produced organically, are more costly for a variety of reasons. First, organic produce requires more hands-on labor, pricey inspections and certifications, larger volumes of natural fertilizers, as well as other farming techniques. These disadvantages can be significant for a small farm especially when comparing their cost structures to multi-billion dollar food enterprises that offer low prices because they pump cheap chemicals and fillers into their foods.
All of these reasons carry merit, but I find the most disturbing is the indirect tax that is placed on organic food producers by having to go through inspections and certifications in order to carry the USDA organic label. A company bringing a new chemical formulation to the food supply does not have any such approval process. This penalizes healthy food producers and consumers. The FDA's certification process is so porous that a company can approve its own food additive by labeling it "generally recognized as safe" or GRAS, basing it off of its own private research.
This is where it gets dicey. The government is easily circumvented because a food producer is able to fund private research to support its new product claim. If the additive comes up safe in the company's own checks, it is automatically ready for use in the food supply. The FDA has no oversight. The company isn't even required to make the government aware of the product's approval. It is a voluntary system. It is not difficult to understand that companies can bring dangerous chemicals to market in very little time (and no research on long-term risks) with little cost. This self-approval process has flooded the grocery store aisles with loads of untested chemicals, ranging from artificial flavors, food coloring, and sugar substitutes.
On the other hand, in order for a farm or food manufacturer to use the government's USDA Organic label, it must pass inspection. The onus and cost is on the organic farmer to prove that his/her product is legitimately organic, which makes sense. My issue with the whole process is the dichotomy. Why are food additives and their chemistry labs not held to the same standard? Why are they allowed to approve their own chemicals? It's absurd. And we are all at risk because of it.
Some may think petitioning the government for change is the best course of action. Pushing legislation is a possibility, however, the process is the way it is because of the powerful food industry and their influence on the government. The only power we have in our hands is how we choose to spend our money.
If we choose healthier foods, like organic and non-GMO products, we boost demand and profitability for the organic industry supplying us. This allows them to spread their costs over greater volume and reduce prices to the consumer. Conversely, less demand for unhealthy processed foods means lower profit for those producers. These companies are certainly not worried about our health. I bet they will be a lot more concerned about declining bank accounts. It's time to set a new course and take back our food supply.
All of these reasons carry merit, but I find the most disturbing is the indirect tax that is placed on organic food producers by having to go through inspections and certifications in order to carry the USDA organic label. A company bringing a new chemical formulation to the food supply does not have any such approval process. This penalizes healthy food producers and consumers. The FDA's certification process is so porous that a company can approve its own food additive by labeling it "generally recognized as safe" or GRAS, basing it off of its own private research.
This is where it gets dicey. The government is easily circumvented because a food producer is able to fund private research to support its new product claim. If the additive comes up safe in the company's own checks, it is automatically ready for use in the food supply. The FDA has no oversight. The company isn't even required to make the government aware of the product's approval. It is a voluntary system. It is not difficult to understand that companies can bring dangerous chemicals to market in very little time (and no research on long-term risks) with little cost. This self-approval process has flooded the grocery store aisles with loads of untested chemicals, ranging from artificial flavors, food coloring, and sugar substitutes.
On the other hand, in order for a farm or food manufacturer to use the government's USDA Organic label, it must pass inspection. The onus and cost is on the organic farmer to prove that his/her product is legitimately organic, which makes sense. My issue with the whole process is the dichotomy. Why are food additives and their chemistry labs not held to the same standard? Why are they allowed to approve their own chemicals? It's absurd. And we are all at risk because of it.
Some may think petitioning the government for change is the best course of action. Pushing legislation is a possibility, however, the process is the way it is because of the powerful food industry and their influence on the government. The only power we have in our hands is how we choose to spend our money.
If we choose healthier foods, like organic and non-GMO products, we boost demand and profitability for the organic industry supplying us. This allows them to spread their costs over greater volume and reduce prices to the consumer. Conversely, less demand for unhealthy processed foods means lower profit for those producers. These companies are certainly not worried about our health. I bet they will be a lot more concerned about declining bank accounts. It's time to set a new course and take back our food supply.
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