organic food related to chemistry
Answers
Answer:
organic certification restricts the use of many chemical pesticides and fertilizers. And yes: organic farmers try to minimize the use of even organic-approved pesticides and fertilizers. ... Reducing toxic residues in food and the environment is an important goal of organic farming.
Explanation:
Organic Food
Organic food, defined by how it cannot be made rather than how it can be made, must be produced without the use of sewer-sludge fertilizers, most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, genetic engineering (biotechnology), growth hormones, irradiation and antibiotics. "Organic" does not mean "natural." There is no legal definition as to what constitutes a "natural" food. However, the food industry uses the term "natural" to indicate that a food has been minimally processed and is preservative-free.
India started the 'Green Revolution' in the 1960s. During this time, the amount of food that could be grown in every acre of land increased manifold through the use of pesticides and fertilizers. However, these have many dangerous side-effects. Chemical pesticides not only kill harmful insects like weevils and borers, but also beneficial insects like butterflies and bees. Many plants depend on these insects for their pollination and seed dispersal. These pesticides do not break down, but accumulate in the plants. This can lead to a dangerous build up that causes harmful health effects in people who eat these foods. Fertilizers have a similar effect. They were originally used to provide nutrients to crop plants that were not present in enough quantities in the soil. However, over time fertilizers lead to the quality of the soil becoming worse, till it is unable to support agriculture.
Organic food differs from conventionally produced food simply in the way it is grown, handled and processed. A recently published report indicates that organic food is less likely to contain pesticide residues than conventional food (13 percent of organic produce samples versus 71 percent of conventional produce samples contained a pesticide residue when long-banned persistent pesticides were excluded). Yet, according to the National Research Council, the traces of pesticides left on conventionally grown products are unlikely to cause an increased cancer risk. Also, if fruits and vegetables are properly washed, most of the chemicals can be removed.
A 2014 meta-analysis of 343 studies, found that organically grown crops had higher concentrations of antioxidants, containing 17% more antioxidants overall compared to conventionally grown crops. Concentrations of phenolic acids, flavanones, stilbenes, flavones, flavonols, and anthocyanins were particularly elevated, with flavanones being 69% higher.
A 2012 survey of the scientific literature reported ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), beta-carotene (a precursor for Vitamin A), and alpha stock phenol (a form of Vitamin E) content; milk studies reported on beta-carotene and alpha stock pistol levels in organic food.
Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non biological components of foods. It is similar to biochemistry in its main components such as carbohydrates, lipids, and protein, but it also includes areas such as water, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, food additives, flavors, and colors. This discipline also encompasses how products change under certain food processing techniques and ways either to enhance or to prevent them from happening.
Basic food chemistry deals with the organic molecules. Organic molecules are nothing but the chemicals of life, compounds that are composed of more than one type of element. Organic molecules are found in, and are produced by living organisms. The feature that distinguishes an organic molecule from inorganic molecule is that the organic molecules contain carbon-hydrogen bonds whereas the inorganic molecules do not.
The four major classes of organic molecules include carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates molecules contain carbon hydrates in a ratio of one carbon molecule to one water molecule (CH^2O).
There are different types of carbohydrates as well. This includes
Polysaccharides
The word saccharide is another word for carbohydrate, because it can be preceded with a prefix that indicates the size of the molecule (mono-, di-, tri- poly-).
Monosaccharides are the simplest form of molecules as they contain single sugars and have just one molecule. Disaccharides are double sugars and are a combination of two . Polysaccharides are polymers and are composed of several sugars. They can be same monomer (many of same ) or mixture of monomers.
Proteins
Proteins are polymers, and their building blocks are amino acids. Each amino acid contains