Learning Biology

Becca Miles

A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill pests. For example, they are used to kill mosquitoes that can transmit potentially deadly diseases like west Nile virus. Pests include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, molluscs, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes, and microbes that compete with humans for food and destroy property. With pesticides there are good qualities and bad qualities and I am going to share these with you.
When using pesticides some good qualities they bring are that pesticides kill herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, avicides, harmful food parasites, and rodenticides that can harm a human’s health. Pesticides can prevent sickness in humans that could be caused by moldy food or diseased produce. Pesticides are used in grocery stores and food storage facilities to manage rodents and insects that infest food such as grain.
Pesticides can present danger to consumers, bystanders, or workers during manufacture, transport, or during and after use. The World Health Organization estimated that each year, 3 million workers in agriculture in the developing world experience severe poisoning from pesticides, about 18,000 of them die. Licensed pesticide applicators that used chlorinated pesticides on more than 100 days in their lifetime were at greater risk of diabetes. Also, another problem is that children are particularly vulnerable to pesticides because their bodies are immature and rapidly growing and their immune system is incapable of handling the toxicity.
In my opinion I believe that pesticides are an important thing to have in our world, although they can be harmful to us, they also take away a good amount of the harm that we could in counter without pesticides. If we did not have pesticides in our world then we could be getting sick from the diseased and moldy bacteria that would be on the fruit and vegetables we eat today.
In conclusion, there are good and bad qualities that deal with pesticides but without them we would be in so much more danger than we are with them. So if you are against pesticides being used in our society, maybe think again, do some more research and realize that pesticides aren’t that bad.

Micky DeChurch

Good vs. Bad Foods

Foods, there are many different kinds, healthy and unhealthy. By living in a place where food is not an issue, we do not eat as much organic food as we should. If you think about it why would you want to grow your own organic healthy food when you could just go down to a fast food restaurant and order a cheeseburger?  This is something you wouldn’t want to do. I’m not sure people realize that you don’t need to grow or produce your own organic healthy food, now company’s are producing foods for you. They are altering unhealthy snacks such as chips and crackers to fit peoples healthy diets. I feel that a healthy life needs a healthy diet.

Healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables are abundant in the United States. The reason people like to eat fruits and vegetables is because they are filling and healthy, although some fruits and vegetables are not very flavorful which might be why most people do not like fruits and vegetables. Something people don’t realize is that a healthy diet is not only eating fruity and vegetables, its eating a variety of food is certain quantities. The food pyramid shows people that there are a wide variety of healthy foods you can eat, its not all just fruits and vegetables. If people start to understand what healthy foods really are, they can widen their diet.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/nyregion/24fast.html

Unhealthy foods, such as ice crème, a lot of oils, butters, and fats. These are just some of the unhealthy foods in the world. Our country is obese, not in a metaphorical way but a literal way. Fast Food Company’s and fast food corporations are putting so much unhealthy food out into the United States that people can resist. Fast food restaurants are the wealthiest restaurants in the United States. Fast food Company’s do not only put food that tastes good in their restaurants but also food that are very unhealthy. Although people are aware of the unhealthiness of fast food places they still require that one of a kind taste. I must say that fast food “food” tastes really good. Fast food can also be good by if you are in a hurry you can get your food in a small amount of time. Fast food is ok once in a while but all the time, that’s not a good thing. Remember 3.8 million people in the United States are over 300 pounds and over 400,000 people are over 400 pounds. So if you think about it, why be one of those statistics, you should eat healthier food and live a long healthy life. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_fast_food

Almost every fruit or vegetable that you consume has been sprayed  by a pesticide at one point or another. The question is, does the pesticide have an effect on your health?

Some simple studies have been done that show that organic foods or foods that have not been exposed to a pesticide are much better tasting and have more vitamins. This makes for a much healthier food. On the other sides of things pesticideds help keep foods from being contaminated by bugs and insects. But did you know that seven of the most toxic chemical compounds known to man are approved to be used as pesticides? Not only do these chemicals kill of unwanted bugs and insects but they are beginning to take a toll on the consumer of the fruit or vegetable. Each individual chemical compound alone will not have a great effect on the human body. But most americans consume more than just one fruit or vegetable type that may have been exposed to different pesticides. This causes problems because the effects happen much more rapidly when there is more than one chemical compound working against the body.

Not only do organic foods not contain the hazardous chemicals that unorganic fruits and vegetables have, they are much fresher and healthy for the body. They also do not cause the disease’s and death’s that pesticide exposes foods do. Every year millions of pounds of pesticides are used and they kill of animals and deplete the soil making it unfarmable.

So you can see organic foods are a much better source for fruits and vegetables because they do not have long term health affects as the others do. Organic foods also do not destroy ecosystems and deplete fertile farming soil which is needed to grow more foods. The last reason which I believe to be the biggest reason why organic is better, Organic foods do not cause deaths do to chemical compounds.

<ref>http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/whyorganic.htm<ref>

<ref>http://www.ghchealth.com/effects-of-pesticides.html<ref>

Additives that inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast, and molds in foods are known as perservatives. Salt an example of an additive has been used for years to lower the water activity of meats and foods that inhibit the growth of bacterial growth. Adding acids like vinegar lowers the pH levels in food which also helps lower bacterial growth. Additives are used maintain nutritional value, control pH, enhance flavor, and provide color. Some foods additives are antimicrobial agents, antioxidents, artifical colors, artifical flavors, bleaching agents, nutrient additives, and thickening agents. The FDA has to approve all additives before they can use them in foods.

http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/A-Ap/Additives-and-Preservatives.html

http://www.foodsafety.gov/~lrd/foodaddi.html

Additives can be good but they also can be harmful. Additives like sodium nitrate used in hot dogs and luncheon meats contains small amounts of cancer causing chemicals called nitrosamines during cooking. Tests have been done that show that some additives can cause cancer like six artificial food colorings that include blues #1, #2, and #3, green #3, red #3, and yellow #6. Two artificial sweeteners saccharine and acesulfame K, or acesulfame potassium, and potassium bromate in white flour products. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) can cause headaches, nausea, and difficulty breathing for people. Artificial coloring which is another additives has been shown to cause children to become more hyperactive and can worsen asthma. Aspartame an artifical sweetener has been reported that it has cause seizures, headaches, nausea, and mood disturbances.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1671688,00.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/22/health/webmd/main4682996.shtml

Additives can be good in some foods but not all additives are safe. I think that additives should be tested more thoroughly before they are put into the foods we eat. Food additves might help how our food tastes or looks but certain additives are being added like sodium nitrate that can cause cancer. When studies show that these additives are causing side effects as serious as cancer, worsening asthma, seizures, head aches, nausea, and others then they need to stop putting them in foods and find the problem with the additive. Additives are causing people’s health to get worse. Some additives may be safe but for the additives that aren’t safe they should be tested or even stop being used in foods. I think additives are bad because they cause health problems that can not be fixed.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/2008-04-01/Food-Additives-Hyperactivity-ADHD.aspx

http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/101/food-safety/are-additives-bad-for-you.aspx

Gabby Kaufman

Period 7

3/13/09

By the year 2015, it is expected that about 26 cities worldwide will boast a population of 10 million or more.  To feed a city of this immense size, at least 6000 tons of food will have to be imported each and every day. However, many cities are turning to an alternative food source known as urban agriculture.  Urban agriculture is technically defined as the process of cultivating, growing, and distributing food in a city, but that’s a lot more to it than the simple technicalities.
First and foremost, there are various benefits of practicing urban agriculture.  For one, it increases food security.  Food security is basically ensuring that citizens have access to food that is fresh and safe, locally.  Furthermore, this provides more affordable food, which is linked with urban poverty.  Urban agriculture includes the production, processing, marketing, and packaging of the food grown.  All of these processes create job opportunities, positively impacting the city positively.  Within the city, urban agriculture strengthens the community bond as citizens work together on this unconventional farm.  Perhaps most importantly, urban agriculture converts what would otherwise be considered waste to an important resource.  Disposing of all solid waste can account for up to 50% of a Municipality budget.  Urban agricultural farmers eagerly find use for organic waste as fertilizer and animal feed due to the lack of access of and high prices of normal farm supplies.  Also, the management of waste water is a growing problem.  On the contrary, water scarcity and the prices of water are rising.  Although these are mainly growing problems in developing countries, it can still be resolved by reusing the water for urban agricultural purposes.  The simple presence of plants in urban areas can have an effect on growing air pollution worldwide.  Urban agricultural practices support methods that decrease the use of pesticides.  Lastly, producing food locally eliminates the needs for preservatives, since the foods do not need to travel over a long distance.
http://www.ruaf.org/node/47
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_agriculture
There are also some downfalls to the practice of urban agriculture.  Forwardly, it can get expensive to have access to resources that are simply not convenient in a city.  This can cause either neglect to the process or the substitution of lower quality materials, eventually resulting in a lower quality result.  Also, although the reuse of waste is theoretically beneficial, there are potential health risks.  Most noticeably in waste water, urban farmers have increasingly began to use water that is either treated or untreated, sometimes from local polluted bodies of water, for irrigation and nutrients.  Again, the treatment of wastes to convert them to acceptable use can be time consuming and expensive.  Perhaps the most significant barrier to farming in an urban area is soil contamination.  Even if soil is acceptable, testing it can be, once again, costly and time consuming.  Unused, contaminated, urban soil plots are known as brownfields.  There are many soil recovery treatments and techniques for brownfields;  but most are of questionable practicality for urban farmers.  Overall, most cons of urban farming are due to expense and/or time consumption.
http://mse-research.mcgill.ca/envr401_2002/brownfields/summary.html
Personally, I support the growth of urban agriculture.  Although there are a few downfalls, they are solved by time and money.  There are no obstacles of urban agriculture that, like anything, cannot be easily overcome with effort.  With the growing population of the world, I think it is crucial that we find and practice a practical, effective, safe, alternative food source, which is exactly what urban agriculture is.  The growth of urban agriculture signifies the growth of health-conscious citizens and access to organic foods in an unlikely area.  The benefits of urban agriculture are prominent and much outweigh the cons.  Most importantly, I think that urban access to safe and healthy foods should be a priority in the areas where farming is possible.  In a struggling economy, it is a business that guarantees jobs:  people never stop needing food.  Socially, it establishes a connected community, within the city.  800 million people are involved with urban agriculture worldwide, creating a common bond despite distance. To conclude, urban agriculture is a growing practice and cannot be ignored.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/urbanag.htm

Kyrie Kerr

Period 7

3/13/09

Why go Organic?

Many of the foods that people consume today contain unhealthy chemicals and artificial ingredients. These chemicals can’t be good for humans to consume, so why do companies put them in our foods? Companies put these chemicals in our foods because they know that people want something that looks good and tastes good. Most people don’t care about what’s in their food, they just want something that looks and tastes good. These chemicals are not good for us though. These chemicals can cause many health problems. Artificial colorings and preservatives are now thought to be a cause of hyperactivity in kids. We don’t really know everything that goes into the foods we eat. Artificial colorings and preservatives are not found not just in candy but in a wide variety of breakfast cereals soft drinks and other processed foods, as well as in vitamins, toothpaste and over-the-counter medications. When you buy organic food, you make it and know everything that goes into it.

Why would you want to be eating artificial ingredients and chemicals when you can be eating healthy foods? Most people don’t want to take the time to prepare organic healthy foods, or they think they cost too much money. Yes organic food does cost more money than the regular food that they are used to eating, but there are more health benefits to organic food. Another reason people don’t want to go organic is that they say that organic food is hard to find in most grocery stores. It is harder to find than the regular foods that they are used to eating, but more and more grocery stores are getting more organic products. Some people aren’t aware of the chemicals in foods.

So, how can we avoid these chemicals? The simple way is to eat organic foods. You could cut out junk food, go for foods that say preservative free or no added preservatives. Try cooking at home instead of eating at restaurants or getting fast food. Also you could eat a well balanced diet instead of just eating one thing all the time.

However, some chemicals in the foods (such as additives) are good because they can keep the foods fresh for a longer period of time. Nutrients such as water, fats, vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, and minerals trace elements found naturally in food. These are necessary for maintaining life, bone tissue growth and repair, and keeping you in good health. Some excess nutrients and/or deficiencies can lead to serious medical conditions. Nutrients are permitted to be added to some foods to add nutrients that may have lost through processing, to improve the shelf life of some foods, where research supports an increased level of a nutrient for a specific health benefit, to make those foods that are considered to be substitutes for a primary food similar in nutritional content, and to reduce the risk of nutrient deficiencies in some groups of people.

As you can from my information listed above, organic food is better for people to eat. People should try to avoid these chemicals in foods as much as they can even though some are ok for you to consume. It is worth spending a little more time and money for the organic foods to know that you won’t be putting harmful chemicals into your body. Therefore, eating organic is the best choice to living a healthy life.

Why organic foods are better

<ref>http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/2008-04-01/Food-Additives-Hyperactivity-ADHD.aspx<ref>

<ref> http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/toxins-secret-chemicals-in-our-food.html<ref>

<ref> http://www.deliciousorganics.com/controversies/healthy101.htm<ref>

<ref> http://www.deliciousorganics.com/controversies/chemicals.htm<ref>

Why some chemicals are good

<ref>http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/chemicals-nutrients-additives-and-toxins/<ref>

Do you ever wonder why Americans are so overweight? The answer is one of the number one choice restaurants in America, fast food. There are many reasons why this food is so bad for you which are stated in the paragraphs below.
To begin with, fast food is one of the main causes of type 2 diabetes (obesity). It is unhealthy, greasy, and full of sodium and preservatives. It is high in calories and fat. One fast food meal is almost equal to the amount of calories the average person needs to consume in one day!
Some more reasons why fast food is so bad for you are because of what it contains. The hamburgers are filled with growth hormones, the lettuce is sprayed with pesticides, and the soft drinks are full of refined sugar. The color and the taste of the food have been artificially enhanced by manufactured chemicals. It is believed that fast food can trigger changes that are similar to full blown addiction.
Last but not least, believe it or not there are some pros to fast food. Fast food is constant. When the last time you went to McDonalds and a big Mac was not available on their menu? This food is convenient especially when you are on the go. Fast food is cheep and “fast”. Even though you can get it when you are in a hurry and it doesn’t cost much money does not mean that it is the right choice.
Hence, fast food is ok sometimes but it is not a good thing for your body. It is not good because of all the preservatives, growth hormones, pesticides, etc. Although it is convenient and cheap, it really can cause harm to your body. Instead of choosing fast food, choose healthy food!
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3601/is_n42_v44/ai_20805385

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080125193156AARnf1V

http://ezinearticles.com/?Overboard—Fast-Food-and-Obesity&id=357337

There are around 960,000 people in the United States that claim farming as their main job and there are around 2 million farms in our country. Are small farms healthier than big farms? I believe that the smaller farms can manage the chemicals and health around the farm easier because they do not have as many animals to care for. In the next few paragraphs I am going to tell you why I think small farms are better and sometimes why they can be bad.

Small farms have a planned schedule; therefore, the work is done more efficiently. With not as many animals the farmers can become much closer to the animals and the animals are much more controlled and taken care of.  For instance the chickens will live in their henhouse and they can go wherever they like around the farm. The animals will be able to eat what they want and mostly they eat worms and other things growing from the ground that help them to get the right nutrients. The best food comes from the animals from small farms.  Small farms are more efficient when it comes to scheduling and caring for the animals. http://www.energybulletin.net/node/45124

The food will taste better from small farms than from big farms because of the undivided attention to the animals.  When you buy food from stores look for ones from small farms because they are fresh and in season. The more food you get from local places the richer and sweeter the food will taste.  If you buy it from a specific farmer you will be able to ask them how it was grown and what was added to it?  When you go to a store make sure what you buy.

Small farms are more environmental friendly.  They do not use chemicals because they do not want to harm their families on the land. The farmers at small farms do not need to use as much fuel to transport things around the farm The small farm farmers tend to not plow every inch of the land they have because they realize that there are animals living in their environment around the farm. Small farms can be blamed if something is wrong with the food so they have to be very careful. Big farms do not even have to worry about being careful because they can always get out of trouble.

Small farms can sometimes be dirtier and less efficient then big farms.  Big farms can produce a lot more food then the small ones. This helps out our country because we eat so much. If we all relied on little farms out in the country it would cost a lot of gas money for delivery and pickup.  Big farms can be clean and not use pesticides. The animals are often cleaner at them but overall the methods used for gathering food are often rushed with many mistakes. This is where the problems come in. The big farms may produce more food but what is added to it? They have many workers that may not all get along and disagree on many things. Since, people may disagree they might not do a job the same way which could often hurt the animals production or cause unneeded things to be added to the food. Small farms are sometimes bad because they do not have enough workers but they care more for the animals and the land.     http://itrs.scu.edu/kwarner/envs161smallfarms.pdf and http://bioversitylibrary.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/444/

I believe small farms are better because they can manage the chemicals and have more care for the animals. Big farms take up to much room, plow too much land, add to many chemicals to food, and do not care about the environment. I hope you take a stand with me on this, because it is a very important issue!

Do You Know What You’re Eating?

Calena Spearing

Pd. 7

March 12, 2009

According to the food and Drug Administration (FDA) an additive to them is any substance directly added to food that affects that food’s characteristics. So otherwise additives are not foods themselves. Americans do not realize some of the dangers of additives. They don’t even intake on what foods they are in, all they might read about is how many calories are in that food or what the fat content is. Additives can be helpful when it comes to making the self life longer, but did you know that they can be very harmful? Some can make you have allergic reactions, which in return can harm you badly or even worse death.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_additive

Lets start out with the negative effects about using additives. There are many additives that can harm you or have side effects. For example the additive Aspartame can be allergic or can even cause migraine headaches, which we all know are not pleasant. This additive is used as a low calorie sweetener, and i commonly found in beverages, puddings, yogurt, chewing gum, and sold as Nutrasweet, Spoonful and Equal. However, this additive should not be a big scare factor, but one that might be is Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) or Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT). These additives are inconclusive or in large doses that may cause tumors in lab animals. BHA is used in foods high in fats and oils such as butter, also in meats, cereals, baked goods, snack foods, dehydrated potatoes, and chewing gum. On the other hand BHT is found in cereals, shortening, and foods found high in fats and oils. These are foods that most Americans use everyday and they don’t even think about it as causing tumors.
*http://www.cnn.com/FOOD/resources/food.for.thought/additives/table.html

Even though the negative factors can be scary, the positive factors also have to be taken into consideration. Without additives, a lot of the foods would be green with mold before they even go to the stores. Also salt would clump, peanut butter would separate, and marshmallows would be as hard as rocks. They are also good because sometimes instead of chemical additives added they use vitamins and minerals to make foods more nutritious. Additives do things such as improve the taste of foods, keep them from drying out, and help us from getting food poisoning. Henceforth, these are the reasons that additives can be positive or helpful.
*http://www.thefreelibrary.com/PROS+AND+CONS+OF+FOOD+ADDITIVES-a079515236

You have to be really careful where the food you purchase comes from. Some foods are organically grown while others are conventionally grown. There is a big difference between the two. Convention farmers will apply chemical fertilizers to promote their plant growth, while organic farmers will apply natural fertilizers such as manure or compost, to feed the soil and plants. Also, conventional farmers will spray insecticides to reduce pests and disease, use chemical herbicides to manage weeds,and give animals antibiotics, growth hormones, and medications to prevent disease and spur growth. On the other hand organic farmers will use beneficial insects and birds, mating disruption or traps to reduce pests and disease, rotate crops, till, hand weed or mulch to manage their weeds, and the will give animals organic feed and allow them access to the outdoors. They will also use preventive measures such as rotational grazing, a balanced diet and clean housing to help minimize disease. Which one do you think is better?
*http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255

From the information that i collected my thoughts on this subject is that additives are a bad choice. I believe this because its not right to make animals suffer to make the shelf time last longer. Why would you add additives to animals if you now that they can not only give them tumors but humans also? Not only do additives affect animals they also affect humans. Researchers have found a definite link between additives and temper problems. Also, people should be concerned about about allergic reactions such as asthma or rashes. I would rather eat organic food than have a rash caused from additives.
*http://www.ivanfraser.com/articles/health/sics.html

In conclusion, additives can be helpful but also harmful at the same time. So next time you go to the store make sure you think of all the possible additives that could be found in that food. Not only will the harmful additives affect us now they can also affect us later on, so we have to be extra cautious about this subject.
*http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm

Other resources:
*http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-453431/The-proof-food-additives-ARE-bad-feared.html
*http://www.thesite.org/healthandwellbeing/fitnessanddiet/food/foodadditives
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6979976.stm