By Ashley Oliver
York College students and health professionals, respectively, debate whether the benefits of eating organic food over processed food outweigh the cost.
Organic food is not grown with chemicals, pesticides, growth hormones, or fertilizers. Processed foods, however, are chemically altered.
“The nutrients inside foods are usually preserved, whether they’re organic or not,” said chair of the biology department at York, Margaret MacNeil, in an interview.
Health professionals believe consumers should be concerned about health risks regarding their choice of organic foods over processed foods.
Pharmaceutical representative, Gary Garnett says, “They put artificial flavors and chemicals to preserve processed foods that are proven to be carcinogenic. That’s where the health risks come in.”
Lystra Woolford, president of the Nurse’s Association at Interfaith Medical Hospital in Brooklyn said processed foods are detrimental if consumed over a long period of time.
“People don’t realize that the hormones added to food cause young girls to develop prematurely. It can also cause health risks in later years,” said Woolford in an interview. She continued, “I see people come in with Pop Tarts and McDonalds to the emergency room and I wonder if they know they’re slowly taking away years from their life.”
However, some health professionals believe consumers’ unwillingness to research for an inexpensive organic market is a contributing factor of the financial debate.
“If people really want to eat healthy foods, they will,” said a member of Park Slope Food Coop, Jay Cheled, in a phone interview. “Coops are non-for-profit organizations. Therefore, we’re not making money off of people. Costumers know exactly where their food is coming from, and know if it is minimally treated because of the labeling. Almost all our food is organic, but our labels do not lie!”
Consumers of food also expressed cynicism of food labeling.
In an interview, Lisa Suarez, 22, a junior chemistry major at York said, “One time my friends and I tested out a product that said they’re GMO free, but the results turned out positive! It’s frustrating to know that [food companies] lie. So that’s why I won’t spend too much money on food because you can't know if it’s truly organic or not."
While The Food and Drug Administration denied an interview upon request, their website states, "[false] labeling can be deemed by the FDA to be in violation of the law if it proves deceptive to the customers.”
Some students believe that processed foods do not pose any health risks.
“I buy processed foods for myself and children,” said Aliena Wright, a 33-year old junior political science major, in an interview. “It’s too expensive in the city. I have to pay the rent, feed my kids, and live my life. I know organic food is supposedly better, but clearly processed is not that bad because I’m still alive. It all breaks down to sugar anyway.”
22- year old senior political science major, Shavon Richards noted that processed foods are equally as healthy as organic foods.
“Not only am I a student, but I live in expensive New York. If I see an organic food for ten dollars and unprocessed food for five dollars, there’s no way I’ll buy the more expensive food. If they want us to eat healthy, they should lower the price,” said Richards in an interview.
In a survey of thirty York students, 80% said they ate processed foods. 54% out of that 80% bought processed foods to save money. The latter said they ate organic foods to support the famers and prevent health risks.
“Processed foods have become the standard because of preservation,” said senior computer- tech major, Jayson Jones, in an interview. “It’s messed up that human beings who actually have to eat food have messed up the way food is grown just to save money. As a consumer, I want the price of organic food to be less, but the farmers also need to make a fair profit.”
MacNeil, of York’s biology department, suggested that consumers on a budget be wary of the fruits and vegetables they ingest.
She said, “No foods are completely chemical free, but some foods are more susceptible to pesticides. It doesn’t really matter if you buy processed fruits like oranges because not much harm is done to the nutrients inside the orange. But strawberries can be hard to remove [chemicals] because you’re eating the whole thing."
MacNeil advised eating frozen foods. “They’re cheap and since they’re frozen, it retains the nutrients.
WATCH VIDEO ON WHAT HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND YORK STUDENTS HAVE TO SAY!
President of Interfaith Hospital's Nurses Association, Lystra Woolford, and York sophomore, Malik Campbell express their views on organic and processed foods.
VIDEO FILMED AND PRODUCED BY ASHLEY OLIVER
VIDEO FILMED AND PRODUCED BY ASHLEY OLIVER