This isn't going to be your typical "You should eat organic because it has higher anti-oxidants, helps to fight so and so disease and provides you with all of the essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs" post.
First off, I've never seen an anti-oxidant and (ignorantly) don't know what one is and does. Secondly, the only vitamins that I've ever seen look like Barney Rubble and Fred Flintstone.
I'm also not going to get into the debate of whether eating organic is more healthy for you or not and how great it is for the environment.
The reasons that I eat organic are simple and hopefully ones that you can relate to as well. So here they are:
Organic farming is farming. It has always been around. It's just the way that farming was done for thousands of years and the human population seemed to get by.
Not until the world wars did conventional farming practices, using chemicals, start being employed. For some reason, the traditional farming methods took the name "organic" and this new method became "conventional."
Do You Really Want to Eat Chemicals? Acetochlor, fenamiphos and parathion-methyl. Um, what? Exactly, those are just some of the common used pesticides. There are hundreds and thousands of them.
What are they? What do they do? How are they produced? I can easily answer all three of those questions - I dunno. What I do know is that I really don't want them in my body.
It doesn't seem natural to me. I'll take my chances of dying from acetochlor deficiencies.
I'll just stick with the philosophy of not eating third grade science experiments.
You'll Avoid Frankenfoods. Going along with the avoiding third grade science experiment sentiment, GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are more like high school science experiments. Much more advanced.
Do you really want to eat food that was made in a labrotory? What's wrong with the way that it's been grown for the last thousand years?
Personally, I don't want the guys in white lab coats "making" my food. The food was produced just fine before Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker started to create it.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:35 am
People love to Eat Organic food.As they are getting health conscious.Tt is the boom of organic foods.As to live health any long life one must say NO to pesticides but problem is this that on the field where ever crops are grown with pesticides.It remain in the soil for at least 3 years.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Great post that calls attention to all the chemicals in our food supply. Why would anyone willing put toxins, pesticides and chemicals in their body? Choose organic and be healthy.
Thanks for your information. I enjoy following your blog.
August 18th, 2009 at 10:49 am
so simple and so true
August 18th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Thanks for the comments. To me if you take away all of the studies and things you read, the reasons why just make sense.
People over complicate such simple things.
August 18th, 2009 at 11:27 am
"It's just the way that farming was done for thousands of years and the human population seemed to get by."
Actually, from what I understand malnutrition was pretty common throughout the world, prior to the advent of modern agriculture.
As for chemicals, I'm not entirely comfortable with them, either, but this is worth knowing:
"The number of naturally occurring chemicals present in the food supply-or generated during the processes of growing, harvesting, storage, and preparation-is enormous, probably exceeding one million different chemicals."
(http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/diet/summary.html)
So, it's not like organic foods are chemical-free!
August 18th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Totally agree. I don't eat organic foods because they're healthier for me, I eat them because they're not full of chemicals, pesticides, and hormone altering crap. Good post!
August 18th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
@Chris Thanks for your input. The malnutrition could've been for a variety of reasons. My point was moreso that people lived and lived for thousands of years before modern agriculture.
Also understand that their could be some chemicals in organic foods, I would just like to limit the amount that I'm putting into my body.
Personally, I'm not into studies and reports. They always have a backstory and agenda behind them.
@Chloe Thanks. All these studies and reports touting the benefits are too much for me.
August 18th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Mike Lieberman said:
I totally agree. A great list, complex in its simplicity.
August 18th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Good point about the studies. When they are generalized from specific investigations they don't seem to mean that much and if they are about a general subject it seems more often than not driven by some agenda. Less is more. Simple is better...
August 19th, 2009 at 1:50 am
I agree with you.. it's this kind of simple explanations that make people actually see things clearly and put those chemical materials away from their body. Many people choose to buy inorganic food / vegetables just because it looks good. inorganic vegetables use to have brighter colors and perfect shapes compared to the organic ones and they never think about the chemicals inside those foods, at least that's what i see in my neighborhood.
August 19th, 2009 at 9:51 am
All good reasons. It does seem to take more time and money to go organic completely however, the results are well worth it.
August 19th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Here in Portland, I'm getting involved in NW Rage (resistance against genetic engineering) and friends of family farmers organizations--because like you, I am growing wary of the ways our animals and food are treated!! My posts are usually funny fluff, but I wrote about this topic in my last one, because I want people to become more aware....thanks for your post!
August 19th, 2009 at 9:57 am
@Mouli Thanks. Do my best to keep things simple.
@Pygmy Exactly, who really does studies because they want to find the answer? Who wants to fund those studies?
@Muxin I'm doing some urban gardening and growing my own organic vegetables. it's one of the most rewarding and fulfilling things that I've done. Growing on my fire escape in Manhattan.
@Tek Check my previous post on How To Eat Organic on a Budget
August 19th, 2009 at 11:01 am
The problem is, that we always go for the cheap, easy and fast option, its a bad habit.
August 21st, 2009 at 8:30 am
[...] This isn’t going to be your typical “You should eat organic because it has higher anti-oxidants, helps to fight so and so disease and provides you with all of the essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs” post. The reasons that I eat organic are simple and hopefully ones that you can relate to as well. So here they are. [...]
August 21st, 2009 at 10:50 am
A very well-written and informative article, Mike. If we want to have a more quality life and longer lifespan, then it's time to go for organic foods...
August 21st, 2009 at 4:29 pm
@Kamagraka Agreed 100%. I've become more aware of what and where I spend my time and energies. Things that I used to do all the time, I don't do anymore and do more of the things that I believe to really matter. For me, not watching TV is one of them.
@Wilson Thanks Wilson. My goal was to take out all the complexities and give simple reasons.
August 23rd, 2009 at 9:34 pm
I like the simple common sense in this article. It is something that everyone can agree on. The more complex it is, the more things there are to argue about.
I found a link to this page from a person on Twitter that is a Xango distributor. But the Xango product is conventional or non-organic mangosteen. Many of these companies have a health product that is not organic.
I am a distributor for a product that has only organic ingredients like camu camu fruit, acai, cacao, cinnamon, mango, pineapple, dragons blood and nothing else.
The way to stop people from growing foods with chemicals is to only buy organic. That will send a clear message to those companies looking to make money. This is how we stopped companies from killing dolphins while catching tuna.
August 23rd, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Chris MacDonald said:
The reference to chemicals is to man-made chemicals not ones existing in nature. Everything is technically made of chemicals including you. The tea plant contains over 4,000 chemical compounds.
But there is a big difference between natural occurring and man-made. For example voluntary sex and rape are both sex, but one is legal and the other is a capital crime (one punishable by death).
August 23rd, 2009 at 9:49 pm
@Nutrition We vote everyday with our wallets. That's the only way companies will change.
@Chuck Nicely said.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Nice point of view. We are usually eat some of organic vegetables here in Borneo. I even have my own small organic garden in my back yard, planting Indonesian traditional herbs and vegetables.
Thks for your share.
August 24th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
@Lowongan Growing your own is the best. I'm growing my own for the first time. I find it to be so rewarding (and cheap).
August 26th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I was just at a organic fair and honestly didn't know what all the hoopla was. I asked my sister, what are the advantages of eating organic and her answer was inconclusive. I enjoyed this post because it's just so simple. I appreciate the candor.
August 26th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
@Play Kitchens Exactly. People make it way too complex, so it turns people off. Glad you enjoyed.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:35 am
Mike, now you have made a very solid post because I was confused, somewhere I read that organic foods are better and more nutritional than non-organic ones and also on BBC I read that scientists claim that there's not much difference b/w organic and non-organic foods in terms of nutritions however your other points are great and I think you're right. All the chemicals and artificially created foods can be harmful, it's not that organic foods has more benefits but non-organic ones have more problems.
But I think the way we're growing, population rising and at the rate forests are being cut, I think the future is all for non-organic ones.
Regards
Mel
October 14th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Thanks for the comment Mel. I understand what you are saying, but believe that if we do continue to "farm" and use the pesticides and chemicals the way that we do that there won't be much of a future.
October 17th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
So true Mike,
There was a supposedly unbiased and highly annoy study released in the UK a couple of months ago which stated that organics don't have a higher nutritional value. The Anti-organic movement jumped on this as proof that organics are a waste of money and for the ignorant.
Like you are pointed out there are many reasons why we choose organic and for many higher perceived nutritional value doesn't come into the decision making process.
The fact that organic farming isn't pouring oil derived chemicals onto the earth is reason enough reason for me to choose them.
November 17th, 2009 at 10:44 am
How about just supporting local organic farmers too. It is the best food you can get, period.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:57 pm
If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.
December 13th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Good blog, it’s so SAD (Standard American Diet) what the food industry does, putting profit before health. I see the natural food industry doing the same thing, organic white rice, organic sugar, organic white flour, even organic candy. Just because you don’t add pesticides to crap, it’s still crap.
Mark
December 14th, 2009 at 10:26 am
@Mark Good point and I'm with you on that. In this article, I was talking more about produce than other (processed) foods.