Skip to content

DA3. Organic Food

Statement

Please read the reading materials from Chapter 7 of the Corporate Social Responsibility textbook that you find in the reading assignment.

Based on what you have learned in this unit, answer the following questions:

  • Does this chapter increase or decrease your motivation to consume organic food products? Explain why.
  • What is a more important motivation—in your view—for consuming organic food (and explaining why):
    • a) that it is better for your health,
    • b) that it is better for the environment and farm workers?
  • Let us say that, instead of a hospital as our case study example, we used the example of a wealthy private school for K–12 students. Would the argument be stronger or weaker for adopting organic food in the cafeteria of the school? Why?

Answer

Chapter 7, Organic Food: Health Benefit or Marketing Ploy? (Jimenez & Pulos, 2016), discusses the organic food industry, it states that the market for organic food has grown rapidly in the past few decades causing an organic food boom. It also mentions that the industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry, presents arguments for and against the consumption of organic food, and examines a case study where a hospital should switch all its food to organic resources.

The chapter has decreased my motivation to consume organic food, as it referenced resources mentioning no significant health benefits worth the price difference; while organic food is slightly better for health, the difference does not convince me to switch. As for the environment, using fewer pesticides and chemicals is better; however, using natural fertilizers (e.g. manure) can produce phenols (W Sadej, Żołnowski, & Marczuk, 2016) that can be harmful to the environment; the same phenols are also found in conventional food, although at higher levels.

As per the previous argument, there are no significant health benefits to consuming organic food over conventional food; therefore, I believe that the benefits for the environment and farm workers are more important. To the environment, organic farming uses fewer pesticides and chemicals, which is reflected in the soil and water quality; but the greatest effect is on farm workers, as they benefit from the price difference and the increase in crop yield, but their exposure to the harmful chemicals is a concern.

(Jimenez & Pulos, 2016) argues that in the case study of the hospital, it is not profitable to switch to organic food due to the high cost which is better used in different areas keeping in mind the short-term stays of patients. However, for the wealthy private school, the reasoning is different. The kids’ bodies are still developing, and they stay in school most of the time, so the food that they consume in school is crucial; the school can add the extra cost to the tuition fees, and the wealthy parents would not mind; plus, the school can use the organic food as a marketing tool to attract more students. Therefore, the argument is stronger for adopting organic food in the cafeteria of the school.

To conclude, the chapter demonstrated that there are no significant health or environmental benefits to consuming organic food over conventional food; however, the chapter explained the popularity of organic food due to a successful marketing strategy. Speaking broadly, the increasing population needs more food, and the organic food industry can not meet the demand due to the pressure on the land and the lower yield of organic farming. Therefore, conventional food is more sustainable, but organic food should be persuaded when possible, such as in the case of the wealthy private school.

References

  • Jimenez, G. C., & Pulos, E. (2016). Good Corporation, Bad Corporation: Corporate Social Responsibility in the Global Economy. Open SUNY Textbooks. Retrieved from: https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/good-corporation-bad-corporation. Chapter 7: Organic Food: Health Benefit or Marketing Ploy?
  • W Sadej, Andrzej Cezary Żołnowski, & Marczuk, O. (2016). Content of phenolic compounds in soils originating from two long-term fertilization experiments. Archives of Environmental Protection, 42(4), 104–113. https://doi.org/10.1515/aep-2016-0047

‌