There’s a lot of hype surrounding organic food. The word organic has been synonymous with a wide range of generalizations; “healthier”, “more expensive”, “a hoax”, “more nutritious”, etc. So, what exactly is organic food?
According to the US Department of Agriculture:
“Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity”.
* Organic fruits and veggies are grown on farms that, by law, do not use genetically modified seeds, pesticides, herbicides, toxic sludge or chemical fertilizers to grow their produce.
* Organic farming does not intentionally leave toxic residue on your food.
* Unlike conventional foods, organic products cannot be irradiated or genetically modified, therefore they do not contain hydrogenated fats, artificial colors, preservatives or have altered DNA.
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| Irradiated = food exposed to high doses of iodizing radiation, which changes the foods chemical makeup. Thus, resulting in foods with altered flavor, color, texture & nutritional value #healthy #lol |
* Animals raised organically are not fed genetically modified crops or given antibiotics.
…But aren’t antibiotics a good thing?
Well, yes in certain medical situations but the inappropriate use/over use of antibiotics creates drug-resistant bacteria, or “superbugs”. This is detrimental to the animal, and therefore the consumer’s health, since their ability to fight disease and illness may be severely threatened. What an animal eats directly affects the quality of its meat, milk, eggs, etc. If they are given growth hormones or fed GMO foods, you are ingesting that as well.
So what’s the difference between organic and conventional food?
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| Left banana = conventional, Right banana = organic |
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Uses artificial chemical fertilizers to feed plants and increase crop yield.
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Uses natural fertilizers, like compost and manure, to naturally improve the soil and feed healthy plants.
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Uses insecticide sprays to kill pests and help decrease plant diseases.
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Uses beneficial insects, birds and traps to reduce pests and disease.
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Uses herbicides to kill weeds.
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Uses crop rotation, hand weeding and mulching to manage weeds.
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Uses antibiotics and medications to kill off disease and growth hormones to increase animal size.
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Uses clean housing for animals, a healthy diet with organic feed and free-range grazing to naturally decrease and prevent disease.
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Here’s a list of reasons why I buy organic:
(1) Reduced exposure to toxic pesticides
Plain and simple, poison is bad.
Basically, conventional crops are sprayed with herbicide (to prevent/kill weeds) and/or insecticide (to prevent/kill insects). Chronic, long term exposure to certain pesticides has created “superweeds” immune to prevention/elimination. Herbicide resistant weeds are mutating to the point where
more and more chemicals are needed on crops.
Fourteen known superweeds in the US have morphed to resist glyphosate (active ingredient in Monsanto’s
Roundup), the
most commonly used herbicide worldwide.
Since superweeds continue to grow, biotech companies have worked to “combat” the issue by creating hybrid herbicide mixtures… which help for a while, but ultimately create more weed resistance. The proposed products mix glyphosate with 2,4-d (oh, just a chemical in Agent Orange.. a toxic gas used during Vietnam #nbd). From 2001-2010 herbicide use increased 26% forcing the agriculture industry to become more reliant on argri-chemicals.
Soo.. why does any of this matter?
PESTICIDE EXPOSURE has been linked to NERVOUS andENDOCRINE SYSTEM DAMAGE as well as IMMUNE DISEASE, CANCER, FERTILITY/METABOLIC PROBLEMS in other animals and HUMANS.
Long term exposure to pesticides linked to:
Organic products are grown without toxic or chemical pesticides, but they are still exposed to polluting chemicals found in rain and water. Which leads me to my next reason…
(2) Better for the environment
Toxic and synthesized fertilizer runoff is a major cause of
water pollution in the U.S. Years of habitual pesticide abuse has built up in our water systems, contaminating everything from rain water to
drinking water. Research has indicated that the herbicide glyphosate is
omnipresent in America. Even the
air we breath is polluted from pesticides via aerial drift. Oh, almost forgot to mention that honey bees are being
wiped out at an exponential rate from pesticide exposure.
(3) Not genetically modified
Genetic engineering alters the DNA of food to create unnatural, yet desirable traits. It’s much like the movie
Splice, where scientists insert genes from one organism into another, creating a hybrid species. GE crops are not naturally produced in nature, but are altered in a lab with genes of other plants, animals, bacteria, etc.
Biotechnology companies claim genetically engineered (GE) crops benefit agriculture, since some crops are manipulated to become herbicide tolerant (herbicides kill the weeds, not crops) or insect resistant. GE foods are new to the human diet and their effects have not been studied long term. The FDA does not require premarket testing or labeling of these foods, so basically, we have unknowingly been science experiments for the past two centuries. Cool.
(4) Avoid hormones and antibiotics in food
Non-organic animals are often injected with synthesized hormones to speed or increase growth. These animals are often kept in confined, dirty spaces where disease runs rampant. Antibiotics are often over-administered to prevent infection. Conventional livestock is fed GE feed so you eat that as well. As I said before, whatever your poultry, meat, pork, etc. has consumed, you will also consume. Yum!
I didn’t write this with intention to scare anyone into eating organic, but to inform and bring awareness to the subject. Most people cling to their assumptions of organic food, but few educate themselves. Until this past year, I was clueless on what I was feeding my body and only cared about the calories and nutritional value of my food. Personally, I eat organic whenever possible but who am I to tell you what or how to eat? That decision is entirely up to you 🙂
If you’d like to do your own research some good info can be found here:
Center For Food and Safety
Organic Information
Organic Consumers
Food and Water Watch
