 Organic Food By, Jeff Lee

What is organic food?  Organic meat is natural meat, that is, meat that does not contain added chemicals or pesticides. To meet the standards United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) for organic meat, the animals must have no added hormones, antibiotics, genetically modified organisms, and preservatives. The animals must be able to graze on pastures and are not allowed animal by product feed. USDA must also approve of a safety inspection. To meet the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York standards an animal must be,

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Claim  My claim is that more people need to be informed about organic foods in order to make an informed decision about whether or not to eat organic food. If people are not informed then they have no reason to purchase organic foods, which tend to be more expensive and less available.

Survey By completing the following questions, you are also granting consent for this information to be used as part of a research project that I am completing for a course at the University of Denver. Your participation is completely voluntary. The information you provide may be used in a project and may be published online and/or in print, but your identity will remain anonymous. While profile information you volunteer in this survey may be included in my writing project (i.e. your age, sex, class standing, etc.), your name and identity will NOT be used or reported. If at any time you do not want to answer a question, or do not want to complete the questionnaire, you do not have to.  Survey  1. How often do you eat organic food?  Never Almost NeverSometimesAlmost AlwaysAlways  2. How healthy do you believe organic food to be?  Unhealthy Somewhat unhealthyHealthyVery Healthy  3. About what percent of your daily food consumption is organic foods?  Don’t know0-25%25-50%50-75%75-100%  4. Organic food consumption greatly impacts the environment.  Strongly DisagreeDisagreeDon’t KnowAgreeStrongly Agree  5. Do you think that organic food consumption helps sustainability?  YesNo

Continue  6.) Animals are treated the same at conventional farms and organic farms.  True False  7.) The only difference between organic farming and conventional farming is that the farmers cannot put chemicals into the animals if they are an organic farm.  TrueFalse  8.) I purchase organic meat for personal heath reasons.  Disagree NeutralAgreeDo not eat organic meat  9.) I do eat organic meat.  NeverOccasionallyAlways  10.) I eat organic meat because the animals are treated better.  DisagreeNeutral agree Do not eat organic meat

Graphs from Surveys

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 From the surveys I concluded that people have an understanding that organic food is healthier and better for you but they still do not understand why.

Motivation  People who purchase at least one organic product consistently tend to purchase other organic products as well.  Educational level of consumers plays a large role in whether or not someone chooses organic meat over conventional meat.  Organic food is healthier.  Some people are allergic to the chemicals.  The long term effect of the chemicals used in conventional foods is unknown.  Ethical reasons play a role. How the animals are treated.

Reasons Not To Purchase  Organic foods are usually more expensive.  Most people are not completely informed about what organic foods really are. This results in having no reason for purchasing organic foods if you do not know exactly how it differs from what they are already eating (conventional foods).

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Work Cited  Aertsens, Joris, Wim Verbeke, Koen Mondelaers, and Guido Van Huylenbroeck. "Personal Determinants of Organic Food Consumption: A Review." British Food Journal (2009): Web. 18 Apr  Monier, Sylvette, Daniel Hassan, Véronique Nichèle, and Michel Simioni. "Organic Food Consumption Patterns." Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization 7.2 (2009): n. pag. Web. 18 Apr  "Organic Meat." Organic Facts. RuralTech Services, Web. 18 Apr  Schee, Roddy, and Doug Moss. "Why People Aren't Buying into Organic Food Products." Scientific American Global RSS. Nature America, Inc., 28 June Web. 14 Apr  Winter, Carl K., and Sarah F. Davis. "Organic Foods." Journal of Food Science 71.9 (2006): R Web. 19 Apr