Pseudoscience - Organic Food

957 Words4 Pages
Pseudoscience - Organic Food Take this into consideration: You are at your local supermarket. On one hand, you have a conventionally grown orange. On the other, you have one that's organic. Both oranges are round, solid and orange. Both provide vitamins and calcium, and both are free of fat, sodium and cholesterol. They are basically identical from one another, but which one do you choose? I'm sure at one point, people didn't know organic food even existed since it was only found in health food stores. But nowadays, it has become a popular feature at almost every supermarket. Does that mean organic foods are healthier than conventionally grown foods? Is it more nutritious? Why is it more expensive? Supposedly, organic foods are grown without chemicals that can harm the land, water and human health, which in turn is better for one's health and environment. We don't exactly know this for sure and that is why as consumers, we need to get the facts and evidence straight before we shop. Pseudoscience, like organic food, appeals to many audience due to the fact that their claims sound rational and sensible, when in fact is actually implausible and lacks scientific evidence and reasoning. The reason why people believe in pseudosciences like organic food is because it is said to lead towards a healthier life and environment, but there's no valid evidence that proves this is true. These misconceptions can effect the choices we make so as consumers, we need to be alert for "red flags" in order to avoid such fallacies. In "Here Be Dragons, An Introduction to Critical Thinking", Brian Dunning helps us distinguish and understand the dangers of pseudoscience by explaining the "red flags" to look out for. They include: appeal to authority, ancient wisdom, confirmation bias, confusion of correlation with causation, red herrings, proof by verbosity, mystical

More about Pseudoscience - Organic Food

Open Document