I realize we have written about the reasons for going organic before, but I think it is important to reinforce them, and what better time than now? Start off the new year knowing the important reasons to go organic. The following is a guest post from Joe Silver.
1. Organic produce was grown without poisons that are meant to kill bugs, called pesticides. If these poisons kill these small living creatures, what do you think they do to your body? The average non-organic apple has 20-30 artificial poisons on its skin, even after rinsing. You deserve the best, so think about avoiding the poisons and go organic!
2. Fresh organic produce contains on average 50% more vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other micro-nutrients than conventionally farmed produce. The science behind this percentage shows that it's good for you.
3. Organic foods guarantee that you can avoid eating genetically modified (GM) food. GM food is created in a laboratory and designed to withstand various forms of pesticides and herbicides. Unfortunately your body doesn't tolerate these geneticaly-modified foods as well as their original counterparts(no surprises here). By buying organic food, you are putting in your vote against the use of GMO's.
4. If you eat dairy or meat products, going organic is essential to safeguarding your family's health. Traditional, non-organic raised dairy cows and farm animals are fed a dangerous cocktail of anti-biotics, growth promoting drugs, anti-parasite drugs and many other medicines on a daily basis, whether they are sick or not. These drugs are passed directly onto the consumers of their dairy produce or meat.
5. Protect our water quality since all of the spraying on non-organic crops will rinse right off the plants and into our water supply. Humans can live without food for some time, but without water, the outlook is bleak in a very short amount of time. Men's bodies consist of about 60% water, where women's bodies consist of about 55% water. Choose organic and rest assure the next time your thirsty and reach for that cold glass of water it will be pure.
6. Organic produce simply tastes so much better. Organic fruit and vegetables are juicy and flavourful, and so many different varieties to try! Just because you are picking organic doesn't mean your selection is limited, most fruit and vegetables have organic versions, with more and more added every day.
7. Organic farms support and nurture our beautiful and diverse wildlife. Over the last thirty years, intensive farming has led to dramatic erosion of the soil, a fall of up to 70% of wild birds in some areas, the destruction of ancient growth forests, and the near extinction of some of the most beautiful species of butterflies, frogs, grass-snakes and wild mammals. Organic farming is a holistic approach to living together with the land and not scalping it raw for bigger and bigger profits.
8. Organic food is not really more expensive than intensively farmed foods, as we pay for conventional foods through our taxes. We spend billions of dollars every year cleaning up the mess that agro-chemicals make to our natural water supply. Go organic for a genuine more cost-effective future.
9. Non-organic farming can seriously damage farm workers' health. There are much higher instances of cancer, respiratory problems and other major diseases in farm workers from non-organic farms. This is particularly true in developing countries, and for agrochemical farms growing cotton, which is by far the most toxic crop. So go organic if you care about other people who labor and sweat to keep our bellies full and our bodies clothed.
10. Lastly, but certainly not leastly, if you simply like the idea of your children and grandchildren being able to visit the countryside and play in the forests and fields just like we did when we were young, go organic for the sake of all of our futures.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Organic gardening is standard fare when you are homesteading. I would like to invite your readers to investigate the advantages of adapting a rural lifestyle if at all possible.
Mike-
January 7th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
My neighbor brought me to this place that ONLY sells organic/all natural pizza place. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!! I've never tasted pizza SO good. The flavors were so so much,I guess you'd say stronger. I'd eat it every day!! LOL! This same neighbor had a totally organic garden.You'll never taste stuff that has so much flavor. It's actually cheaper,I would think,for the "the big wigs" to do organic. They wouldn't have to buy all that crap to grow the crops/food. Makes sense to me,but what do I know,right?
January 8th, 2009 at 3:26 am
You've the points here, Stefanie. Thus, if you want to have a healthier lifestyle, then you should go for organic...
January 8th, 2009 at 4:10 am
Your point #4 just ruined my dinner
January 8th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Organic food really required. I like 9th point of this post. In today's generation reducing uses of organic or natural food. That's reason increase diseases worldwide.
January 8th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
[...] January 8, 2009 by cheaplikeme This morning I came across this guest post on Focus Organic listing 10 reasons to go organic. [...]
January 9th, 2009 at 11:02 am
I agree with going organic, but I think a better way is to go local. Most of the times locally grown produce is organic and less travelled. On top of that, you can get local produce at a lower price that produce found in the grocery store.
January 9th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
There are reports out everyday that show that many of the synthetic products are carcinogens. Going natural is just common sense. The problem it is getting hard to find organic products.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:39 am
As an agriculturalist, I appreciate those who farm organically to service the demand of those who prefer organic foods. Both the producer and the consumer are winners when they can share such a level of confidence with each other.
However, as a traditional farmer I'm continually dissapointed that so many within the organic movement portray it not as simple preference but the only morally-responsible choice that can be made, often making claims (like some of those mentioned in your list) with no real scientific basis that are intended to scare people from traditional products.
In the interest of time, I'll only directly respond to one of your "reasons"...#4. This is so far from reality I can't even laugh at it. Not only would the milk from dairy cows be discarded before it ever was pumped into the processing facility (milk is tested several times between farm and jug and any trace of antibiotic gets it dumped), but any farmer or rancher who tried to administer this type of regimen would go broke within a week. Livestock receive periodic vaccinations and are given anti-biotics only when necessary to fight against illness. Farmers and ranchers follow FDA-mandated guidelines for administering any type of drug or supplement, as well as FDA-mandated milk and meat withholding periods. To do otherwise would jeopardize both our animals and our consumers, which would quickly destroy our businesses from both ends.
By the way, I'll respond to #10 as well. Several generations of kids in my family have been playing in the fields and forests on our farm over the last 100+ years, and my son sure seems to be having the same fun I had 25 years ago.
As I said in the beginning, I have nothing against anyone who chooses to purchase or act as an advocate for organic food. Just keep the disingenuous, unfounded, nonsensical rhetoric about traditional methods to a minimum, if you don't mind.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:27 am
pays to live green said:
I totally agree that going local should be the priority for anybody looking to lessen their impact on the world.
I have been buying vegetables and meat locally for over 2 years now and not only is the food generally of a better quality than supermarkets it is also comparable in cost.
I think too many big organisations have jumped on the organic bandwagon and we are starting to lose sightof the the whole point of it: Is organic lettuce from Spain really the best option?
January 16th, 2009 at 8:34 am
I would agree with all your points on general terms. The issue of the external costs associated with non-organic foods via subsidies and the environmental clean-up costs are points most people, unfortunatley don't consider at the check-out line.
On a grand scale, the only problem is that organic farmin does not scale up for populations in the millions or billions of people.
It would require social, economic and cultural changes in many societies, if they were to attempt to promote organic food for the majority of their population.
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Thanks for emphasizing the value of avoiding genetically modified (GM) food in your 10 reasons for going organic. It is unbelievable how these products are brought to market with little or no research as to their potential health risks.
And by introducing them into agricultural fields there is the very real danger that if something does turn out to be environmentally harmful, it may be very difficult, or impossible, to remove from the environment.
June 17th, 2009 at 3:07 am
I'm quite not sure if those so-called oganic vegetable and fruit I bought is truely organic or not, it all depends on the conscience of the seller. I live in China, where food safety problem is one after another.
June 19th, 2009 at 6:13 am
Unfortunately "Organic" has become a trend and not a way of being. People adopt it but really do they understand why is it useful. The same thing happens with "Bio". Can anyone tell the differences between Bio and Organic?
Thanks
July 8th, 2009 at 9:49 am
I'm a big beleiver in organic, despite the fact that it often seems like we're being taxed not to be poisoned through our food!
One development however I am very concerned about and that's the impact of high tech greenhouse farming. In Spain for instance, the intensive cultivation of foods is great for consumers around the EU however it's wrecking havoc with local environments.
Another scenario, being extensively trialled in Japan is that of suspending plants in the air in a greenhouse. The greenhouse is then sprayed with water infused with minerals. Because the environment within the greenhouse is controlled no pesticides or fungicides are needed and hence these "soil-less" plants can be labelled organic.
In both cases it's clear the word organic is no longer the soulful, life-loving term we associate with naturally grown foods free from genocide.
For my part, I've added 5 fruit trees and 3 fruit bushes to my garden since moving to this house a couple of years ago and I have to say come harvest time you can't beat homegrown! I just let the apple trees do their thing all year long, give them a splash of water if it gets very hot and that's pretty much it. Suprising how easy it is to eat organic, support a greater biodiversity and get some more trees working on that greenhouse effect!