Critical Attributes of the Organic Food Industry

• Nutrition Labeling
• Farming
• Health Benefits
• Environment Benefits
• Community Benefits

Essential Questions

• What are the regulations on labeling? (informational)
• What is the definition of organic? (informational)
• How does buying from local farms effect our community? (procedural)
• What chemical contents are used in the growing of non-organic food? (informational)
• Where are our local farms located? (informational)
• what are the pros and cons of buying organic food?) (procedural)

Description of Critical Attributes on the Organic food Industry

Labeling: Nutrition Labeling includes all significant information from product labels, including the ingredient list, nutrition label, claims, as well as food safety and other statements about the product. This is an important aspect of the purchasing of food products, because the consumer must be aware of what they are buying. There is an ongoing debate about the expectations of what should be listed on the nutrition label. Some believe that genetically modified organisms(GMOs) should be marked on the nutrition label.`` Currently, it is not the law to have to mark GMOs on the label.

Farming: There are many different ways to farm the same produce. some farms use large amounts of pesticide while others don't. Some farm mass produce their product and shit them all over the country. Other farms may be local and not go through the same processes that

Health Benefits: Organically grown food has higher cancer-fighting chemicals compared to conventionally grown food. The fruits and veggies grown organically have higher amounts of antioxidants. Organic food is not prepared with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and those chemicals can affect our bodies.

Environmental Benefits: Organic agriculture enhances soil structures, conserves water, lessens climate change, and ensures sustained biodiversity. Through its holistic nature, organic farming integrates wild biodiversity, agro-biodiversity and soil conservation, and takes low-intensity farming one step further by eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which is not only an improvement for human health (food quality) and agrobiodiversity, but also for the associated off farm biotic communities.

Community benefits: Local farmers are far more concerned and responsible for the land they cultivate. Large industrial operations pollute their communities with pesticides while local farmers live on or near their farms and care about taking care of the environment in which they live. Local farms also guarantee the preservation of large amounts of green space in the community. Local farms also help with their local economy by providing jobs, and supporting local small businesses by purchasing goods in their communities. Large industrial farms employ few workers for how big their operation is while buy supplies most often outside the community. Local farms supply their community with safe, fresh sustainably grown foods and keeping the connection between consumers, their food, and the land it was grown on.

Getting Into It

We plan to go to Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury MA. We would like to go and help out for a day if they allow us to, and really get into how their organic farm works. The farm produces all organic products, and is a contributor to Flatbread Company in Amesbury with their local and organic products. In the winder they do have hot-houses so that they are still capable of farming and producing fresh food. Their apple orchard is awesome in the fall and they set up hay rides, corn mazes, and open it for visitors to pick. Rachel has sent them an E-mail asking if and when we will be able to help out and visit, but we have not heard back yet.

Cider Hill Farm:

http://www.ciderhill.com/index.htm

Cider Hill Farm
Amesbury, Massachusetts
978-388-5525

Email Link