The debate between organic and nonorganic foods has been raging for years now. The struggle for consumers is deciding whether or not to spend a little extra money to go for organic products over nonorganic products. There are plenty of advantages to switching to organic, which can make the increase in price more palatable.
Organic is more than just a label. Before diving into reasons to go organic, it’s important to define what the term actually entails. Organic, in terms of agriculture and farming, means that the foods are produced without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents. When foods have this label, it also means that the seeds used for farming have not been genetically modified in any way.
Now that organic has been clearly defined, here are some of the ways that going organic benefits your health.
No Chemicals in Your System
The biggest danger of eating nonorganic, mass produced foods is the fact that farmers are not at all regulated in the types nor the amount of chemical fertilizers that they can use. Farmers are thus able to use a lot of the cheapest chemical fertilizer no matter how dangerous it is to people.
The farmers who don’t grow organic are also part of a larger system. They may raise the crops and pick them, but they have no part in the process of delivering the foods to the grocery store. Most of the time, even if the foods are cleaned by the farmer, they are resprayed with chemicals to make them last during the journeys they take around the world to your local grocery store.
You have no idea what chemicals you are eating if you choose to eat nonorganic. A lot of the chemicals are extremely harmful. Big companies like Monsanto are fighting to keep the facts of chemically harmful foods away from the public. There was recently a request from Monsanto for a new trial to allow the extremely harmful chemical herbicide RoundUp to be used again in factor farming.
Organic farmers do not use RoundUp, and thus, the foods they produce present no risk of cancers or other ailments.
More Nutrients Retained by the Food
Organic foods have been proven to retain more of the nutrients given to them via energy from the sun and soil. These nutrients stay in the foods because they are not modified in any way, shape, or form by genetic scientists who think that they know more than nature.
Organic foods may look smaller and less appetizing than their genetically modified companions, but every inch is covered and filled with twice as many nutrients.
Better for the Environment
Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides are killing natural species around the world. If the bugs die, we die, too. These products are helping to cause global warming and make it hard for humans to see a sustainable future. Organic solves this problem through the use of natural fertilizers. These natural elements are already present in the air and in nature.
Organic farming also uses less land and resources than factory farming. The farmers usually grow smaller crops and use techniques like crop rotation. The variety of crops that they plant also help maintain the quality of the land. This makes it extremely sustainable.
It’s important to buy organic, locally grown food. This means that you have the advantage of non-GMO foods that have been grown with minimal fertilizer and pesticides, plus the transportation wasn’t costly or from a far-off distance.
Organic farming is the way of a sustainable future our children can thrive in.