Why Eat Organic – Does It Really Make A Difference?
The organic philosophy is one of nourishing the soil in a natural way, by putting goodness back into it and encouraging the natural microbes and worms and other life that should be living in healthy soil, as well as avoiding chemical poisons in the form of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Therefore, supporters of organic farming practices say that the benefits of organic produce to consumers is more nutritious produce and absence of harmful chemicals found in commercially grown produce. Of course, organic growing methods also provide many benefits to the environment, which ultimately benefits us too.
But given that it’s often harder and more expensive to find organically grown produce, is it worth the extra effort and cost?
In one of New Zealand’s wine growing regions herbicide use now covers 70% of the soil area. 60% of herbicides have known cancer-causing agents… and that’s just what we know about, what science has had the time and inclination to study and provide proof of. So, even though you may be drinking a glass of red wine every day to prevent heart disease, at the same time you could be putting carcinogens into your body. I’m just using red wine because I recently saw the statistics on herbicide use in wine growing. I could have used any of the many foods that provide health benefits as an example. Once you’ve tallied up the good and bad – is there still a health benefit?
Well, yes. You have to eat after all, and the choices you make will affect your health, for better or worse. Choose well, and you’ll be better off than if you didn’t. But what if you could go one better and instead of taking two steps forward and one step back, you could get rid of the poisons and carcinogens in the foods you eat entirely? What if you ate organic produce, would it really make a difference to your health?
We are dying of cancer, heart disease, a whole slew of diseases brought on by obesity. What we eat is killing us… and the perfect irony is that what we eat can also save us. It’s as simple as that. No need to synthesize and manufacture drugs (with adverse side effects), no need for extreme treatments like radiation therapy. Fruit, vegetables, nuts and grains have the nutrients and chemicals in them that can fight the major diseases that are killing us, help slow the degeneration associated with aging. Yet, as standard practice we poison most of the food we grow with chemicals that will kill us. And we humans think we’re more clever than all the other animals? Yeah right!
Over 400 pesticides are regularly used in commercial farming. While the amount of residue of these pesticides on the food you eat varies with the type of food, non-organic food is often found to have pesticide residue. So yes, if you’re eating non-organic food you’re consuming chemicals whose purpose is to kill something.
Many studies have been done on organic foods, most have found that organic fruit and vegetables have a higher nutritional value. They contain more vitamin C, essential minerals and significantly more antioxidants (cancer-fighting substances). In fact, one study showed that plants produced more flavonoids (compounds that have powerful antioxidant properties) when the plant was subjected to environmental stressors – like a pest attack.
“If an aphid is nibbling on a leaf, the plant produces phenolics to defend itself,” says Alyson Mitchell, Ph.D., a food scientist at the University of California, Davis, and lead author of the paper. “Bitter or harsh phenolics guard the plant against these pests.”
So organic produce is significantly better from both a nutritional standpoint as well as one of reducing the amount of harmful chemicals we ingest. I know it’s not always easy to buy all your food organic. Ask around and look through your local paper, ring your local health food shop and see if anyone is offering an organic produce delivery service.
For every food where you can find an organic replacement you are going to be doing your body good. Keep in mind that you can grow your own sprouts (organically). If you can find organic flours you can replace many different foods by making your own bread, pizza and crackers. Every little bit helps. Remember to wash and scrub your non-organic produce to get as much of the chemical residue off as possible.
The recipes on this site are not going to specify organic ingredients – I’ll leave it up to you to do what you can, and strive to improve as you can, by replacing as much of the food you eat with organically grown food. Of course there’s always the option I’ve taken – to grow your own, organically of course. Even if you are in an apartment or flat, there are still steps you can take – starting with growing your own sprouts. Sprouts are so quick and easy to grow, they don’t take up much space, and they pack so much nutrition there’s really no reason not to grow your own. If you want to progress from there (or you’re not a fan of sprouts) you might want to try growing your own herbs and salad greens using something like the Aero Garden systems, which make it easy to grow in a compact space.
This article got a mention from Going Organic | Life, Laughs & Lemmings.
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People are becoming a lot more aware of what they eat and how their food is produced.
Eating organic when you can is the ideal situation. If not, then you can also brush off the pesticide on hard fruits and veggies or buy those pesticide removers to soak off the bad stuff.
This is a great article and an eye-opener!
Thanks,
Miss Gisele B.
Miss Gisele B.’s last blog post..I’m testing Perfect Skin from Genuine Health to control my acne
That’s very good advice Miss Gisele B., to brush or wash off the pesticide when you can. It’s amazing how many people don’t wash produce before they eat it. I even wash the already pre-washed potatoes I buy! I’ll be putting together a list of foods that are the worst as far as pesticides go.
Definitely, let’s go for organic start from simple own sprouts. I do support your article.
Thanks for sharing.
Nassorn’s last blog post..Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Thank you! Sprouts are definitely the way to start with grow-your-own-organically, and the bonus is that they will taste better than you could ever buy in a store. They’ll be cheaper too.
great idea organic but the pricing makes it difficult for those on lower incomes
Yes, unfortunately it is too often the case that organic products cost more and it’s one thing that has always bothered me (I’m on a low income now, and that’s often been the case for me too so I sympathize). The argument that “it’s worth it because organic is better for you” doesn’t hold up in this case. If you can afford it, great, buy it because it’s worth the extra cost. But if you can’t afford it, the price is going to prevent you from having the option to go organic, and this is something I’ve always had an issue with. For me personally at the moment there are 2 barriers to eating organic, one being the price and the other is the availability of organic produce in my area.
I’ve been lucky enough to have found and been able to buy a 2 acre smallholding, where we are working towards a sustainable, organic lifestyle. But until now I have tried to grow my own herbs and vegies, even when I lived in apartments. It helps if you have a small veranda, but even if you don’t you can still grow salad greens and herbs on a windowsill. Growing your own sprouts are also a great way to easily and cheaply get organic greens that are packed with nutrition. I’ll be writing a series of articles on do-it-yourself sprouting soon.
In some areas there are Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs in place where you can get a box of seasonal organic vegetables delivered weekly or fortnightly for a set fee. These can be more economical than buying directly from shops. Also look for ‘farmer’s markets’ which usually happen on weekends, not everything at the farmer’s market will be organically grown but if there are organic growers in your area there is a good chance they sell at the farmer’s markets. Since the farmers themselves will often be the ones selling it’s easy to ask and find out exactly how they have grown the produce. Organic means putting nutrients back into the soil in an organic way, but there is something called sustainable agriculture which doesn’t use the composting and mulching of organic methods, but they don’t use the poisonous chemical sprays. Even if you find someone selling produce that hasn’t been sprayed it’s going to be far healthier than commercial (sprayed) produce.
I am SO glad people are finally catching on to the organic movement. My parents came here from Hungary and my brother and I have been lucky enough to grow up on organic gardening. SO much of what we ate and still eat comes right from the garden. My dad, at 72, still tills up the garden every year with his 1961 tough as nails tiller. We put all of our leaves from the fall in the composter my dad built, then mulch them up and rake them into the soil, along with a little organic cow manure. We have been known in the neighborhood for our produce for years so I may have to look into getting involved with our local farmers markets. We love to do it, so why not spread it to others in the form of pesticide free food. I take care of my mom and dad, so I want the best for them as they have always been good to me, make that great. I am currently switching all their foods to organic. I personally have lost 7 pounds in 3 weeks, my mom is not sleeping all day like she used to and has more energy than I’ve seen in her in a long time. I am convinced that eating organically has helped in these areas and will continue our journey. Wishing you all good luck in your organic endeavors! Isabella8271 NJ
Wow, thank you so much telling your story Isabella! What a great testimonial for organic foods. That’s so cool that your parents raised you on organic vegies, they really gave you the best possible start in life.
I don’t think many parents realize the damage they are doing to their children by feeding them non-organic food, and the other processed junk they feed them. It’s great to hear that eating all organic is helping your parents health, as well as yours. I live in a rural area, surrounded by commercial farmers who regularly spray pesticides and herbicides. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that of my immediate neighbors (who I know a bit better than some of the other people in the area) ALL their children have asthma, they have to use inhalers and during certain times of the year have serious attacks. All the parents have auto-immune disorders ranging from hay-fever, to psoriasis and in the worst case a multitude of serious auto-immune disorders with names I don’t remember – all except for one parent who doesn’t have any auto-immune disorders that I know of but has a rare blood condition. Asthma among the children here is a very common problem.
It’s a great idea to bring your extra produce to the farmer’s markets! More and more people are starting to buy their produce at farmer’s markets and it’s the next best thing to growing it yourself.
I hope your family’s health continues to improve. A book I’d really recommend is Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body’s Natural Ability to Heal Itself by Dr Alejandro Junger, if you have a chance to get it (I found it at my local library), it’s well worth reading to find out how to assist the body in healing itself. He recommends organic food, and buying produce at farmer’s markets. There’s a lot more to his program than that, but I’m finding the book absolutely fascinating… I’m reading it right now, and it’s gone on my wishlist, I want to own my own copy it’s that good. I think it should be mandatory reading for everyone.
Thank you so much for this information. I will reserve it at my local library. Your site is awesome and I will definitely be forwarding your information to all my green thumbs in my contact list. Thanks again!