Summary Of The Organic Fable By Roger Cohen

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In “The Organic Fable” written by Roger Cohen he expresses his distaste for the new organic food craze. There are many points that are discussed about why organic foods are no better than inorganic foods, or at the very least they are overhyped and displayed as something far greater than what they truly are. Cohen’s arguments about organic foods are insufficient in proving that organic foods are as useless as he displays them to be as within his article. He disrespects the audience in which he is trying to convince, and he neglects some of the most important criticisms of inorganic foods. Cohen makes points about how organic foods are no more nutritious than nonorganic, and that inorganic foods are much more efficient in producing food for…show more content…
He never mentions anything about antibiotics being given to the animals that we eat, furthermore about how pesticides used on plants cause various health issues. These are probably the greatest arguments that organic food supporters would use in convincing you to buy organic foods. An article written at Princeton University states “Because the antibiotics we feed animals are similar to those for humans, the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains is a serious public health threat.” Cohen doesn’t mention anything about how bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics, or that in organic meats antibiotics are not used. A study at the University of Washington explains the adverse affects of the use of pesticides on foods by stating “These studies have found that chronic, lower dose exposure is associated with respiratory problems, memory disorders, skin conditions, depression, miscarriage, birth defects, cancer and neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease.” If Cohen wanted to provide his audience with good reasoning as to why they shouldn’t buy organic foods then these are points that he should have mentioned, and refuted in some manner, but instead one of the only benefits of organic foods that he mentions is how it helps the soil. People are much more likely to worry about their own health than the quality of the soil that our plants are growing in because the soil is the farmer’s problem. Cohen does not offer a good rebuttal to the points that an organic food supporter would make and this is incredibly important in writing a convincing

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