85-507: Honest Tea (U.S.) was a bottled organic tea company based in Bethesda, Maryland . It was founded in 1998 by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff , and ultimately sold to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company . The tea brand was discontinued on December 31, 2022. Honest Tea was founded in 1998 by Seth Goldman, a graduate of Harvard and the Yale School of Management who got
170-410: A flower garden that exists for aesthetic purposes. It is a small-scale form of vegetable growing . A vegetable garden typically includes a compost heap , and several plots or divided areas of land, intended to grow one or two types of plant in each plot. Plots may also be divided into rows with an assortment of vegetables grown in the different rows. It is usually located to the rear of a property in
255-405: A physic garden ), among others. A kitchen garden can be created by planting different herbs in pots or containers, with the added benefit of mobility. Although not all herbs thrive in pots or containers, some herbs do better than others. Mint, a fragrant yet invasive herb, is an example of an herb that is advisable to keep in a container or it will take over the whole garden. These are open to
340-510: A potager (from the French jardin potager ) or in Scotland a kailyaird , is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for growing edible plants and often some medicinal plants , especially historically. The plants are grown for domestic use; though some seasonal surpluses are given away or sold, a commercial operation growing
425-554: A healthy lifestyle. When the American Academy of Pediatrics reviewed the literature on organic foods in 2012, they found that "current evidence does not support any meaningful nutritional benefits or deficits from eating organic compared with conventionally grown foods, and there are no well-powered human studies that directly demonstrate health benefits or disease protection as a result of consuming an organic diet." Prevalent use of antibiotics in livestock used in non-organic meat
510-565: A higher micronutrient content overall than conventionally produced foods. Similarly, organic chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than conventional chicken. The authors found no difference in the protein or fat content of organic and conventional raw milk. A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis found that organic meat had comparable or slightly lower levels of saturated fat and monounsaturated fat as conventional meat, but higher levels of both overall and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids . Another meta-analysis published
595-663: A net increase in greenhouse gas emissions as increased overseas land use for production and import of crops would be needed to make up for lower organic yields domestically. There is little scientific evidence of benefit or harm to human health from a diet high in organic food, and conducting any sort of rigorous experiment on the subject is very difficult. A 2012 meta-analysis noted that "there have been no long-term studies of health outcomes of populations consuming predominantly organic versus conventionally produced food controlling for socioeconomic factors; such studies would be expensive to conduct." A 2009 meta-analysis noted that "most of
680-470: A network have been influenced to grow their own vegetables, the community can reach a tipping point , in which a majority of people transition to a new habit; a 2018 study published in Nature claims that with only 25 per cent of a population adopting a behavioral change, a minority perspective was able to overturn the majority. Organic horticulture , or organic gardening, has become increasingly popular for
765-439: A newer review, studies found adverse effects of certain pesticides on children's cognitive development at current levels of exposure. Many pesticides show neurotoxicity in laboratory animal models and some are considered to cause endocrine disruption. As of 2012, the scientific consensus is that while "consumers may choose to buy organic fruit, vegetables and meat because they believe them to be more nutritious than other food....
850-928: A plot of land made available by local councils or charities, often specified that only edible plants were to be grown. According to Estienne, of the planted crops, turnips required the most room, and planted next to these were coleworts , and a path leading to plots of sorrel , arugula , parsley , spinach , beets , and orach , then separated from the greens another path to the root vegetables, leeks , onions , garlic , carrots , and scallions , and so on for edible flowers and winter potherbs like thyme , sage , lavender , rosemary , hyssop , southern wormwood , savoury , lemon balm , basil , costmary , spikenard , chamomile , and pennyroyal . Marigolds could grow perennially in untilled fields, and their juice and flowers were reputed to have many benefits from soothing eye irritation to relieving tooth pain. Strawberry juice and wine were rumored to have similar benefits for
935-422: A preference for using manure as fertilizer, compared to conventional farming in general. This practice seems to imply an increased risk of microbiological contamination, such as E. coli O157:H7 , from organic food consumption, but reviews have found little evidence that the actual incidence of outbreaks can be positively linked to organic food production. The 2011 Germany E. coli O104:H4 outbreak , however,
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#17328511145541020-444: A separate enclosure some way away from the main house. The Covent Garden area of London got its name as the kitchen garden for Westminster Abbey , though some distance from the abbey itself. In Renaissance times, the kitchen garden was rather close to the house, but by the mid-17th-century many were being moved further away, with a service road leading to the main house. At Versailles a public road needs to be crossed to reach it. In
1105-401: A supplement to their family's diet . Food grown in the back yard consumes little if any fuel for shipping or maintenance, and the grower can be sure of what exactly was used to grow it. The beneficial effects on the sustainability of food as well as in reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to agriculture by growing one’s own food (for example, growing food locally reduces food miles ,
1190-511: A variety of vegetables is more commonly termed a market garden (or a farm ). The kitchen garden is different not only in its history , but also its functional design . It differs from an allotment in that a kitchen garden is on private land attached or very close to the dwelling. It is regarded as essential that the kitchen garden could be quickly accessed by the cook. Historically, most small country gardens were probably mainly or entirely used as kitchen gardens, but in large country houses
1275-464: A wider audience. As demand for organic foods continued to increase, high-volume sales through mass outlets such as supermarkets rapidly replaced the direct farmer connection. Today, many large corporate farms have an organic division. However, for supermarket consumers, food production is not easily observable, and product labeling, like "certified organic", is relied upon. Government regulations and third-party inspectors are looked to for assurance. In
1360-494: Is a key driver of antibiotic resistance . Claims of improved safety of organic food have largely focused on pesticide residues . These concerns are driven by the facts that "(1) acute, massive exposure to pesticides can cause significant adverse health effects; (2) food products have occasionally been contaminated with pesticides, which can result in acute toxicity; and (3) most, if not all, commercially purchased food contains trace amounts of agricultural pesticides." However, as
1445-621: Is considered safe. This view has been echoed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the UK Food Standards Agency . A study published by the National Research Council in 1993 determined that for infants and children, the major source of exposure to pesticides is through diet. A study published in 2006 by Lu et al. measured the levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure in 23 school children before and after replacing their diet with organic food. In this study, it
1530-411: Is different from the scientific use of the term "organic" in chemistry, which refers to a class of molecules that contain carbon , especially those involved in the chemistry of life. This class of molecules includes everything likely to be considered edible, as well as most pesticides and toxins too, therefore the term "organic" and, especially, the term "inorganic" (sometimes wrongly used as a contrast by
1615-513: Is frequently noted in the scientific literature: "What does not follow from this, however, is that chronic exposure to the trace amounts of pesticides found in food results in demonstrable toxicity. This possibility is practically impossible to study and quantify;" therefore firm conclusions about the relative safety of organic foods have been hampered by the difficulty in proper study design and relatively small number of studies directly comparing organic food to conventional food. Additionally,
1700-595: Is pasteurized or raw), the length of time between harvest and analysis, as well as conditions of transport and storage, also affect the chemical composition of a given item of food. Additionally, there is evidence that organic produce is drier than conventionally grown produce; a higher content in any chemical category may be explained by higher concentration rather than in absolute amounts. Many people believe that organic foods have higher content of nutrients and thus are healthier than conventionally produced foods. However, scientists have not been equally convinced that this
1785-547: Is primarily driven by consumer concerns for personal health and the environment, such as the detrimental environmental impacts of pesticides . From the perspective of science and consumers, there is insufficient evidence in the scientific and medical literature to support claims that organic food is either substantially safer or healthier to eat than conventional food. Organic agriculture has higher production costs and lower yields, higher labor costs, and higher consumer prices as compared to conventional farming methods. For
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#17328511145541870-527: Is probable that almost every fruit and vegetable in the supermarket contains natural pesticides that are rodent carcinogens. While studies have shown via chemical analysis, as discussed above, that organically grown fruits and vegetables have significantly lower pesticide residue levels, the significance of this finding on actual health risk reduction is debatable as both conventional foods and organic foods generally have pesticide levels ( maximum residue limits ) well below government established guidelines for what
1955-514: Is prohibited in some jurisdictions (Canada, the UK, and Australia) and is unregulated in others. To be certified organic , products must be grown and manufactured in a manner that adheres to standards set by the country they are sold in: In the United States, there are four different levels or categories for organic labeling: In the U.S., the food label "natural" or "all natural" does not mean that
2040-511: Is the case as the research conducted in the field has not shown consistent results. A 2009 systematic review found that organically produced foodstuffs are not richer in vitamins and minerals than conventionally produced foodstuffs. This systematic review found a lower nitrogen and higher phosphorus content in organic produced compared to conventionally grown foodstuffs. Content of vitamin C, calcium, potassium, total soluble solids, copper, iron, nitrates, manganese, and sodium did not differ between
2125-418: Is ~0.09 mg. Thus, we estimate that 99.99% of the pesticides humans ingest are natural. Despite this enormously greater exposure to natural chemicals, 79% (378 out of 479) of the chemicals tested for carcinogenicity in both rats and mice are synthetic (that is, do not occur naturally). 2) It has often been wrongly assumed that humans have evolved defenses against the natural chemicals in our diet but not against
2210-442: Is ~50%. Therefore, because humans are exposed to so many more natural than synthetic chemicals (by weight and by number), humans are exposed to an enormous background of rodent carcinogens, as defined by high-dose tests on rodents. We have shown that even though only a tiny proportion of natural pesticides in plant foods have been tested, the 29 that are rodent carcinogens among the 57 tested, occur in more than 50 common plant foods. It
2295-406: The "halo" effect are also important motivating factors in the purchase of organic food. In China the increasing demand for organic products of all kinds, and in particular milk, baby food and infant formula, has been "spurred by a series of food scares, the worst being the death of six children who had consumed baby formula laced with melamine " in 2009 and the 2008 Chinese milk scandal , making
2380-411: The back garden or back yard. About a third of adults in the UK and America grow food in private or community kitchen or vegetable gardens. In World War II , many people had a " victory garden " which provided food and thus freed resources for the war effort. With worsening economic conditions and increased interest in organic and sustainable living, many people are turning to vegetable gardening as
2465-627: The nutrient and antinutrient contents of organically and conventionally produced food, the variable nature of food production , shipping, storage, and handling makes it difficult to generalize results. Claims that "organic food tastes better" are generally not supported by tests, but consumers often perceive organic food produce like fruits and vegetables to taste better. The appeal of organic food varies with demographic group and attitudinal characteristics. Several high quality surveys find that income, educational level, physical activity, dietary habits and number of children are associated with
2550-449: The 1970s, interest in organic food grew with the rise of the environmental movement and was also spurred by food-related health scares like the concerns about Alar that arose in the mid-1980s. Organic food production is distinct from private gardening . In the EU, organic farming and organic food are more commonly known as ecological or biological, or in short 'eco' and 'bio'. Currently,
2635-575: The Carcinogenic Potency Project, which is a part of the US EPA 's Distributed Structure-Searchable Toxicity (DSSTox) Database Network, has been systemically testing the carcinogenicity of chemicals, both natural and synthetic, and building a publicly available database of the results for the past ~30 years. Their work attempts to fill in the gaps in our scientific knowledge of the carcinogenicity of all chemicals, both natural and synthetic, as
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2720-531: The Chinese market for organic milk the largest in the world as of 2014. A Pew Research Center survey in 2012 indicated that 41% of Chinese consumers thought of food safety as a very big problem, up by three times from 12% in 2008. A 2020 study on marketing processed organic foods shows that, after much growth in the fresh organic foods sector, consumers have started to buy processed organic foods, which they sometime perceive to be just as healthy or even healthier than
2805-485: The European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan, and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification based on government-defined standards to market food as organic within their borders. In the context of these regulations, foods marketed as organic are produced in a way that complies with organic standards set by national governments and international organic industry trade organizations. In
2890-634: The Honest tea line would allow it to "prioritize production and distribution" of other beverages, particularly in light of ongoing supply-chain issues that have caused Coca-Cola to be unable to meet consumer demand for Gold Peak. Coca-Cola said it plans to continue carrying its line of Honest Kids organic fruit juices. Honest tea is one of approximately 200 brands that Coca-Cola decided to discontinue carrying between 2020 and 2022. Following Coca-Cola’s announcement that it would discontinue Honest Tea products, Honest Tea founders Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff returned to
2975-605: The Land (1940), out of his conception of "the farm as organism", to describe a holistic, ecologically balanced approach to farming—in contrast to what he called chemical farming , which relied on "imported fertility" and "cannot be self-sufficient nor an organic whole". Early soil scientists also described the differences in soil composition when animal manures were used as "organic", because they contain carbon compounds , whereas superphosphates and Haber process nitrogen do not. Their respective use affects humus content of soil. This
3060-464: The National List of synthetic substances allowed for use in organic crop production may be applied to prevent, suppress, or control pests, weeds, or diseases". Several groups have called for organic standards to prohibit nanotechnology on the basis of the precautionary principle in light of unknown risks of nanotechnology. The use of nanotechnology-based products in the production of organic food
3145-408: The UK, by the 19th century, as the breeding of vegetable cultivars greatly increased, a plethora of magazines, societies and competitions in local or county fairs, supported what had become (and remains) a popular form of specialist gardening. Some gardeners concentrated on mere size, leading to monstrous (and largely tasteless) strains of vegetables such as leeks . The new allotments , small pieces of
3230-515: The USDA has noted that organically raised chicken may have lower arsenic levels. Early literature reviews found no significant evidence that levels of arsenic, cadmium or other heavy metals differed significantly between organic and conventional food products. However, a 2014 review found lower concentrations of cadmium, particularly in organically grown grains. Kitchen garden The traditional kitchen garden , vegetable garden , also known as
3315-573: The United States, organic production is managed in accordance with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA) and regulations in Title 7, Part 205 of the Code of Federal Regulations to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. If livestock are involved,
3400-440: The balance of current scientific evidence does not support this view." The evidence of beneficial health effects of organic food consumption is scarce, which has led researchers to call for more long-term studies. In addition, studies that suggest that organic foods may be healthier than conventional foods face significant methodological challenges, such as the correlation between organic food consumption and factors known to promote
3485-545: The bottled tea business alongside celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn with the launch of Just Ice Tea in September 2022. Organic food Organic food , ecological food , or biological food are foods and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming . Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity . Organizations regulating organic products may restrict
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3570-575: The company in 2011. In 2009, Honest Tea US received an unpaid endorsement when The New York Times reported that it was President Barack Obama 's preferred beverage. A separate small company, Springleaf , controls the Honest Tea trademark in Australia . Honest Tea lost an attempt to claim the rights to the phrase in Australia in 2007. In 2015, Annabel Young won her case against Coca-Cola in Australia as
3655-471: The distance food travels, and therefore reduces the greenhouse gas emissions associated with that travel ) can be increased through social contagion , the process through which behaviour, emotions, or conditions spread spontaneously through a group or network . A 2019 study found evidence that the spread of vegetable gardens in urban space displays was the result of neighbors seeing vegetable gardens near them and deciding to grow their own. Once enough people in
3740-696: The early days of the organic movement as a result of publications like the 1943 book The Living Soil and Farming and Gardening for Health or Disease (1945). In the industrial era, organic gardening reached a modest level of popularity in the United States in the 1950s. In the 1960s, environmentalists and the counterculture championed organic food, but it was only in the 1970s that a national marketplace for organic foods developed. Early consumers interested in organic food would look for non-chemically treated, non-use of unapproved pesticides, fresh or minimally processed food. They mostly had to buy directly from growers. Later, "Know your farmer, know your food" became
3825-559: The evidence in the medical literature. Likewise, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has stated their official position that "whether organic foods carry a lower risk of cancer because they are less likely to be contaminated by compounds that might cause cancer is largely unknown." Reviews have noted that the risks from microbiological sources or natural toxins are likely to be much more significant than short term or chronic risks from pesticide residues. Organic farming has
3910-556: The eyes, and, according to Estienne, the berries themselves had "no neede of greate toile or tilling". Modern researchers continue to study whether reduced tillage improves weed control and yield for strawberry plants. Other plants found in the kitchen garden: asparagus , artichoke , sow thistle , endive , chicory , watercress , scallions , chives , parsnips , purslane , smallage , tarragon , borage , bugloss , radishes , rapeseed , skirret , poppy , mustard , cucumbers and gourds . Citrus and melons could be part of
3995-433: The fatty acid composition of breast milk and implied possible health benefits for infants from the consumption of different amounts of conjugated linoleic acids from breast milk." In addition, as discussed above, difficulties in accurately and meaningfully measuring chemical differences between organic and conventional food make it difficult to extrapolate health recommendations based solely on chemical analysis. According to
4080-479: The food was produced and processed organically. From an environmental perspective, fertilizing , overproduction and the use of pesticides in conventional farming has caused, and is causing, enormous damage worldwide to local ecosystems , soil health , biodiversity, groundwater and drinking water supplies, and sometimes farmers' health and fertility . Organic farming typically reduces some environmental impact relative to conventional farming, but
4165-452: The garden archaeologist. The hedge, Estienne says, can be planted with red and white gooseberry bushes, medlar and olive trees , woodbine , whitethorn, wild apples, brambles, and eglantiness . Lattices were woven from willow branches and every year renewed, unless made with juniper poles that had been reinforced with charred oak . In the Middle Ages , the kitchen garden was often
4250-405: The garden has been extended, the new areas mostly not planted with vegetables). This striking scheme has been highly effective in turning the gardens into a tourist attraction, but is in no way historically authentic. A vegetable garden (also known as a vegetable patch or vegetable plot ) is a garden that exists to grow vegetables and other plants useful for human consumption, in contrast to
4335-429: The gardens have a large "Temple Greenhouse", an orangery in the form of a Roman Temple . A symbol of American self-sufficiency and the colonial homestead , practical kitchen gardens were the center of home life in early America. In Europe, especially Britain, the difficulties in food supply during World War II resulted in a huge, if temporary, upsurge in growing vegetables in small gardens, with much encouragement from
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#17328511145544420-401: The government Ministry of Food . In modern gardening, there has been interest in integrating the growing of food plants within a mainly ornamental garden; fruit trees and cooking herbs are the simplest and most popular expression of this. In large country house gardens, the walls also served to hide the kitchen garden, as "a place of base labour ... from the more polite areas", which included
4505-602: The home with very little maintenance. Potagers can disguise their function of providing for a home in a wide array of forms—from the cottage garden to the formality of a knot garden . The owner of one of the Loire chateaux in France, the Château de Villandry decided many decades ago, to recreate a French formal garden with an elaborate geometrical scheme of beds surrounded by low hedges, but planted with kitchen garden plants (more recently
4590-441: The idea to found a beverage company while he was at business school. There were two key ideas behind the company: to bring beverages to market that were organic and not as heavily sweetened, and to conduct the business using fair trade principles. Goldman and one of his Yale professors, Barry Nalebuff, conceived the idea for the company and raised $ 500,000 in startup funds from friends and family. The first order for Honest Tea
4675-422: The included articles did not study direct human health outcomes. In ten of the included studies (83%), a primary outcome was the change in antioxidant activity. Antioxidant status and activity are useful biomarkers but do not directly equate to a health outcome. Of the remaining two articles, one recorded proxy-reported measures of atopic manifestations as its primary health outcome, whereas the other article examined
4760-531: The kitchen garden also, if the conditions of soil and climate were such as to support their growth. In some modern gardens, edible plants and especially herbs are planted alongside ornamental plants. Fruit trees are one of the most common ways of doing this. The goal is to make the function of providing food aesthetically pleasing. Plants are chosen as much for their functionality as for their color and form. Many are trained to grow upward. A well-designed potager can provide food as well as cut flowers and herbs for
4845-412: The kitchen garden was a segregated area, normally rectangular and enclosed by a wall or hedge, walls being useful for training fruit trees as well as offering shelter from wind. Such large examples very often included greenhouses and furnace-heated hothouses for more tender delicacies, and also flowers for display in the house; an orangery was the ultimate type. In large houses, the kitchen garden
4930-498: The kitchen garden, especially if they knew they had an interest. In the gardens of Versailles , the enormous potager area, not contiguous with the main gardens, had a wall that was thick enough for visitors to accompany the king in walking along the top for a better view, as on castle battlements. The French doctor and printer, Charles Estienne , wrote in detail about the 16th century kitchen garden in Maison Rustique ; his book
5015-579: The level of organic food consumption. USA research has found that women, young adults, liberals, and college graduates were significantly more likely to buy organic food regularly when compared to men, older age groups, people of different political affiliations, and less educated individuals. Income level and race/ethnicity did not appear to affect interest in organic foods in this same study. Furthermore, individuals who are only moderately-religious were more likely to purchase organic foods than individuals who were less religious or highly-religious. Additionally,
5100-894: The livestock must be reared with regular access to pasture and without the routine use of antibiotics or growth hormones . Processed organic food usually contains only organic ingredients. If non-organic ingredients are present, at least a certain percentage of the food's total plant and animal ingredients must be organic (95% in the United States, Canada, and Australia). Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives , and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening , food irradiation , solvents such as hexane , and genetically modified ingredients. Pesticides are allowed as long as they are not synthetic. However, under US federal organic standards, if pests and weeds are not controllable through management practices, nor via organic pesticides and herbicides, "a substance included on
5185-636: The modern home gardener. The herb garden is often a separate space in the garden, devoted to growing a specific group of plants known as herbs. These gardens may be informal patches of plants, or they may be carefully designed, even to the point of arranging and clipping the plants to form specific patterns, as in a knot garden . Herb gardens may be purely functional or they may include a blend of functional and ornamental plants. The herbs are usually used to flavour food in cooking, though they may also be used in other ways, such as discouraging pests, providing pleasant scents, or serving medicinal purposes (such as
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#17328511145545270-495: The motto of a new initiative instituted by the USDA in September 2009. Personal definitions of what constituted "organic" were developed through firsthand experience: by talking to farmers, seeing farm conditions, and farming activities. Small farms grew vegetables (and raised livestock) using organic farming practices, with or without certification, and the individual consumer monitored. Small specialty health food stores and co-operatives were instrumental to bringing organic food to
5355-719: The non-organic version – depending on the marketing message. There is no good evidence that organic food tastes better than its non-organic counterparts. There is evidence that some organic fruit is drier than conventionally grown fruit; a slightly drier fruit may also have a more intense flavor due to the higher concentration of flavoring substances. Some foods which are picked when unripe, such as bananas, are cooled to prevent ripening while they are shipped to market, and then are induced to ripen quickly by exposing them to propylene or ethylene , chemicals produced by plants to induce their own ripening; as flavor and texture changes during ripening, this process may affect those qualities of
5440-548: The often very extensive fruit gardens and orchards. The gardeners were often, depending on the season, the number of guests, and the whim of the owner, expected to keep out of the main "best garden" during the fairly predictable parts of the day when the family and guests were likely to be walking in the garden, and the kitchen garden provided somewhere for them to occupy themselves at these times. Mostly, visitors were probably not expected to venture inside without leave. But some owners, from Louis XIV downwards, liked to show guests
5525-667: The original brand name holder, retaining the Honest Tea brand. In 2021, Coca-Cola introduced Honest Yerba Mate. Yerba mate is a traditional beverage in South America, brewed from leaves and stems of the yerba mate plant. On May 23, 2022, Coca-Cola announced it would stop carrying Honest tea beverages as of December 31, 2022. Coca-Cola decided it would only carry two brands of tea, Gold Peak Tea and Peace Tea , because they are "best positioned to meet consumer preferences for high-quality brewed teas with different levels of sweetness and flavor". Coca-Cola expected that discontinuing
5610-408: The popular press) as they apply to organic chemistry is an equivocation fallacy when applied to farming, the production of food, and to foodstuffs themselves. Properly used in this agricultural science context, "organic" refers to the methods grown and processed, not necessarily the chemical composition of the food. Ideas that organic food could be healthier and better for the environment originated in
5695-816: The produce of kitchen gardens may actually be organic, selling food with an organic label is regulated by governmental food safety authorities, such as the National Organic Program of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the European Commission (EC). From an environmental perspective, fertilizing , overproduction , and the use of pesticides in conventional farming may negatively affect ecosystems , soil health , biodiversity , groundwater , and drinking water supplies. These environmental and health issues are intended to be minimized or avoided in organic farming. Demand for organic foods
5780-413: The products' health-giving properties and higher nutritional value. These beliefs are promoted by the organic food industry, and have fueled increased demand for organic food despite higher prices and difficulty in confirming these claimed benefits scientifically. Organic labels also stimulate the consumer to view the product as having more positive nutritional value. Psychological effects such as
5865-443: The public tends to view chemicals as only synthetic and to think of synthetic chemicals as toxic despite the fact that every natural chemical is also toxic at some dose. The daily average exposure of Americans to burnt material in the diet is ~2000 mg, and exposure to natural pesticides (the chemicals that plants produce to defend themselves) is ~1500 mg. In comparison, the total daily exposure to all synthetic pesticide residues combined
5950-510: The pursuit of organic foods was positively associated with valuing vegetarian/ vegan food options, "natural" food options, and USA-made food options. Organic food may also be more appealing to people who follow other restricted diets. One study found that individuals who adhered to vegan, vegetarian, or pescetarian diet patterns incorporated substantially more organic foods in their diets when compared to omnivores . The most important reason for purchasing organic foods seems to be beliefs about
6035-435: The same as non-organically produced meat. However, the same paper noted that a shift from conventional to organic practices would likely be beneficial for long-term efficiency and ecosystem services, and probably improve soil over time. A 2019 life-cycle assessment study found that converting the total agricultural sector (both crop and livestock production) for England and Wales to organic farming methods would result in
6120-508: The same year found no significant differences in levels of saturated and monounsaturated fat between organic and conventional milk, but significantly higher levels of overall and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in organic milk than in conventional milk. The amount of nitrogen content in certain vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables and tubers , has been found to be lower when grown organically as compared to conventionally. When evaluating environmental toxins such as heavy metals ,
6205-502: The scale of reduction can be difficult to quantify and varies depending on farming methods. In some cases, reducing food waste and dietary changes might provide greater benefits. A 2020 study at the Technical University of Munich found that the greenhouse gas emissions of organically farmed plant-based food were lower than conventionally-farmed plant-based food. The greenhouse gas costs of organically produced meat were approximately
6290-565: The scientists conducting the Project described in the journal, Science , in 1992: Toxicological examination of synthetic chemicals, without similar examination of chemicals that occur naturally, has resulted in an imbalance in both the data on and the perception of chemical carcinogens . Three points that we have discussed indicate that comparisons should be made with natural as well as synthetic chemicals. 1) The vast proportion of chemicals that humans are exposed to occur naturally. Nevertheless,
6375-507: The synthetic chemicals. However, defenses that animals have evolved are mostly general rather than specific for particular chemicals; moreover, defenses are generally inducible and therefore protect well from low doses of both synthetic and natural chemicals. 3) Because the toxicology of natural and synthetic chemicals is similar, one expects (and finds) a similar positivity rate for carcinogenicity among synthetic and natural chemicals. The positivity rate among chemicals tested in rats and mice
6460-416: The treated fruit. With respect to chemical differences in the composition of organically grown food compared with conventionally grown food, studies have examined differences in nutrients , antinutrients , and pesticide residues. These studies generally suffer from confounding variables, and are difficult to generalize due to differences in the tests that were done, the methods of testing, and because
6545-818: The two categories. A 2012 survey of the scientific literature did not find significant differences in the vitamin content of organic and conventional plant or animal products, and found that results varied from study to study. Produce studies reported on ascorbic acid ( vitamin C ) (31 studies), beta-carotene (a precursor for vitamin A ) (12 studies), and alpha-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E ) (5 studies) content; milk studies reported on beta-carotene (4 studies) and alpha-tocopherol levels (4 studies). Few studies examined vitamin content in meats, but these found no difference in beta-carotene in beef, alpha-tocopherol in pork or beef, or vitamin A (retinol) in beef. The authors analyzed 11 other nutrients reported in studies of produce. A 2011 literature review found that organic foods had
6630-483: The use of certain pesticides and fertilizers in the farming methods used to produce such products. Organic foods are typically not processed using irradiation , industrial solvents, or synthetic food additives . In the 21st century, the European Union , the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification to market their food as organic . Although
6715-402: The vagaries of agriculture affect the chemical composition of food; these variables include variations in weather (season to season as well as place to place); crop treatments (fertilizer, pesticide, etc.); soil composition; the cultivar used, and in the case of meat and dairy products, the parallel variables in animal production. Treatment of the foodstuffs after initial gathering (whether milk
6800-403: The vast majority of its history, agriculture can be described as having been organic; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new products, generally deemed not organic, introduced into food production. The organic farming movement arose in the 1940s in response to the industrialization of agriculture. In 1939, Lord Northbourne coined the term organic farming in his book Look to
6885-483: Was blamed on organically farmed fenugreek sprouts. There is a widespread public belief that organic food is safer, more nutritious, and better tasting than conventional food, which has largely contributed to the development of an organic food culture . Consumers purchase organic foods for different reasons, including concerns about the effects of conventional farming practices on the environment, human health, and animal welfare. While there may be some differences in
6970-541: Was found that levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure dropped from negligible levels to undetectable levels when the children switched to an organic diet, the authors presented this reduction as a significant reduction in risk. The conclusions presented in Lu et al. were criticized in the literature as a case of bad scientific communication. More specifically, claims related to pesticide residue of increased risk of infertility or lower sperm counts have not been supported by
7055-402: Was from Fresh Fields, an East Coast natural grocery chain that was later acquired by Whole Foods Market . Honest Tea was available on Independence Air flights. By 2006, Honest Tea had revenue of $ 13.5 million and was selling about 1.5 million cases a year. The Coca-Cola Company purchased a 40-percent stake of the U.S. company at $ 43 million in 2008. It bought the rest of
7140-431: Was largely compiled from classical authors. This practical garden was to be separated from the pleasure gardens, enclosed by a thick hedge or wall. Estienne viewed hedges as more resilient, cost effective and were easier to repair and maintain, but at least in later periods, walls seem to have been more usual; some were hot walls , with a central cavity gently heated by furnaces. Certainly walls leave more traces behind for
7225-506: Was typically placed diagonally to the rear and side of the house, not impeding the views from the front and rear facades, but still quick to access. In some cases, hardy flowers for cutting were grown outside there, rather than in the flower garden . A large country house hardly expected to buy any vegetables, herbs or fruit, and the surplus was often distributed as presents; the walled example at Croome Court in England covers seven acres, and
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