The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that foods labeled organic

美國農業部規定擁有有機食品標籤的農產品

must be grown without synthetic fertilizers,

必須要不使用合成肥料

and be free from Genetically Modified Organisms.

且不是基因改造食品

Meats must be from animals raised without anti-biotics or growth hormones and with access to the outdoors.

而肉類，則必須要避免施打抗生素，且讓動物們能到室外活動

Its fans say organic foods have greater nutritional benefits and can even help fight cancer.

支持有機食品的人認為有機食品較營養，且可以抗癌

That's why they sometimes spend nearly twice as much for an organic product compared to a non-organic one.

這就是為什麼他們願意付雙倍的價格購買有機食品

But are organics really healthier? And are they really worth the money?

但有機食品真的比較健康嗎？真的值這麼多錢嗎？

Here's the Situation…

情況是這樣的：

Concerns about the growing use of pesticides and use of antibiotics in animal feed

由於對於殺蟲劑和抗生素使用的恐慌

prompted some consumers to look for so-called organic food.

讓許多消費者開始改吃有機食品

In 1990, Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act to develop national standards,

在1990年，美國國會通過有機食品生產法案，將它提高至國家層級

and organic products became more common.

於是有機食品越來越常見

Mainstream grocery chains started their own lines of organic food,

主流的食品雜貨店開始了自己的有機食品生產線

and larger food companies began acquiring smaller health food companies to get in on the action.

而大型的食品公司開始收購小型的健康食品公司，使其加入生產有機食品的行列

Now, from the big boxes to the small specialty stores,

現在，從零售商到小型特色食品店

three-quarters of U.S. grocers sell organics foods.

四分之三的美國雜貨商都有賣有機食品

Here's the Argument…

而爭論在此：

Proponents say that organic produce has more nutrients, including antioxidants and vitamins,

支持者認為有機食品比起一般食品

than conventionally grown fruits and vegetables.

有更多的營養，包含抗氧化劑和維生素

They also suggest eating organic limits exposure to toxic chemicals that may lead to certain cancers.

他們也認為吃有機食品可以減少吃進化學物質的機會，進而減少癌症發生的機率

But while eating organic does reduce your exposure to pesticides,

雖然吃有機食品可以減少食入殺蟲劑的機會

there's no evidence that the trace amounts in food are a danger.

但也沒有證據說一般食物中的殺蟲劑殘量會危害生命

Scientific surveys haven't found that organic foods are much more nutritious.

科學證據也還沒證實有機食品更有營養

And, just because food is organic, it doesn't mean that it's good for you.

且就算是有機食品，也不代表因此對身體比較好

It may be nearly as high in sugar, sodium or other unhealthy ingredients

它的含糖量、含鹽量以及不健康的成分

as non-organic products.

或許跟一般食品差不多高

Yet more farms are going organic to feed the appetite for pure foods.

但是越來越多農場跟上潮流開始有機食品的種植，因為人們想要吃到單純的食物

With Big supermarket chains like Kroger selling more organic products,

大型的食物供應鏈，例如克羅格，販賣越來越多有機食品

and Amazon's determination to drive down prices at Whole Foods,

亞馬遜希望讓全食超市的食物價格越來越便宜

organic foods should only increase in popularity, healthy or not.

看來有機食品會越來越熱門—無論它們是否真的健康