Campus Voice Thursday, April 16, 2009
{The Blue Banner}
Organic food stimulates the health, economy While organic food might conjure up images of good wholesome foods, in some situations organic might not be the way to go, either because of minimal health benefits or economic reasons. Perhaps the biggest difference between organic food and regular food is the way farmers produce the food. With regular or conventional farming, fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides are used to grow food, according to a report by the Mayo Clinic titled “Organic Foods: Are They Safer?” Organic farmers use natural fertilizers, crop rotations and hand weeding to produce food. People might want to avoid the chemicals, and can do so by buying organic, but it brings up a dilemma. Nutritionally speaking, no finalized data exists showing organic food to be better for you, according to the Mayo Clinic. Additionally, the Mayo Clinic reports the USDA doesn’t claim organic to be better for you either. “If you get your organic food locally, it’s more likely to have been ripened on the plant and will probably taste better,” said Amy Lanou, assistant professor of health and wellness. “If you get one of the large produce companies in California, for example, and it’s picked two weeks before you eat it, it’s going to taste different.” Lanou further discussed the relationship between produce and nutrients. “On the nutritional end, it matters how live and rich the soil is,” she said. So why does the organic market continue to grow in grocery stores and markets? For one thing, marketers love the term organic. If you imagine eating rich foods while sitting in the green field and under the blue sky the food was made in, then the marketers probably reached you. But just because organics don’t necessarily bring better nutrition doesn’t mean you should cut out organics. Definitely the way organic farmers produce their crops helps the environment. Organic farming preserves the environment while conserving resources, according to the Mayo Clinic. As far as pesticides matter, experts say they contain negligible health risks, according to the Mayo Clinic. But Consumer Reports takes issue with this.
whole-plant food consumption and the issues related to the way foods are grown By Tom McLean are secondary to that,” Lanou said. Staff Writer Clearly, if the Mayo Clinic reports pestjmclean@unca.edu ticides having minimal health risks while Consumer Reports says some fruits and vegetables should always be bought organically, then it’s a cloudy debate even They list several fruits and vegetables the experts can’t agree on, which brings like apples, cherries, spinach and pota- us to buying locally and seasonally. People can often find good deals on toes as produce people should always food by going to tailgate markets when buy organically because even after washfood is in season, according to Lanou. ing, pesticides stick around, according to Also, buying locally helps the local USAD research. economy and also reduces greenhouse However, they don’t say whether or gases. For example, Lanou discussed not these foods are safe to eat. They simbuying apples from Hendersonville rather ply have higher levels of pesticides after washing compared to other fruits and than Washington state because the purchase would be local. vegetables. Buying season“The safe level of pesally reduces the cost ticides is zero,” Lanou of produce because the said. “If there’s somePeople don’t stuff you buy generthing that older individualways need to ally came off a farm or als shouldn’t consume and babies shouldn’t buy organic just out of garden just days consume, then probably ago. This also means because of the adults shouldn’t consume less time from plant to label. Sometimes plate, which means betit either.” So by buying these ter tasting food. the best stuff foods organically, people But meat and dairy comes from will avoid the ill effects remain foods people an area’s local of chemicals. True, but really should try to eat avoiding pesticides costs organically as often as farms. money. possible. On average, buying For one thing, buythe above produce oring organic meat means ganically costs around 50 percent more, you avoid toxins in non-organic feed according to Consumer Reports. If you and the added hormones and antibiotics, want to eat organic, you’ll have to pay a which hinders human immune systems, premium, and such a premium remains a according to Consumer Reports. luxury. They also discuss buying seasonAlso, non-organic dairy cows receive ally and locally, but we’ll get to that in a bovine growth hormones, which get into minute. the milk, according to Lanou. In our current economic situation, most Unlike produce where you can peel people cannot afford to buy organic food. away the skin to avoid pesticides, meat They simply lack the means. And there contains whatever chemicals used doesn’t seem to be much of a push to throughout the body, so people should get organic foods to poor people. When heed this advice. people can’t afford organic produce, they People don’t always need to buy ormust buy the cheaper fruits and vegetaganic just because of the label. Somebles. And no intelligent person would times the best stuff comes from an area’s make the argument of totally avoiding local farms. Of course you can still spend conventional produce if people cannot money on organic food, but the next time buy organic. “A very, very important part of main- you do, think about where it comes from taining health is increasing the fresh, and think about other options.
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Students, staff need an on-campus day care facility By Pamela Stringer News Editor
pdstring@unca.edu
In my STAT 185 class last semester, a woman had to bring her kid to class quite often because of her flaky babysitter. The kid was adorable and quiet, so it was actually a much-welcomed distraction to a boring class. However, it made me wonder why UNC Asheville doesn’t have the facilities to help student mothers. UNCA’s unique atmosphere lends itself to many nontraditional students, some of whom have children. And, on days when Buncombe County Schools close due to snow and the university doesn’t, teachers and students with children in school either cancel or miss class to stay home with them. Or, in some cases, they bore their kids to death by bringing them to class. There are 100 Health and Wellness Promotion students, 190 psychology students, 73 sociology students and 128 students seeking a teacher licensure, according to information from UNCA. More than 400 students seeking to graduate with a major involving mental and physical stimulation. These students and faculty should come together to start a day care program on campus. Not only would it give future teachers hands-on experience working with children and seeing the development process, instead of reading text about it, it would also give other students a chance to observe, make observations and hopefully conclusions on child interaction and behavior. Think of all the research papers that could be written. With economic times as they are right
See KIDS Page 19