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Are you concerned about the health of yourself and your family due to the unnecessary chemicals known to exist in the foods we eat on a daily basis? You should be. There is some scary stuff out there that many people aren’t even aware of.
If you are concerned with the problems that eating non-organic food can cause, you should consider moving your family to eating an entirely organic diet. Sure, there is a slight variance in price and you may spend a bit more money investing in organic food, but nothing is worth risking your family’s lives due to devastating health problems and diseases that these chemicals have been proven to cause.
If you just eat one apple, you could potentially eat more than 25 chemicals, even if you washed the apple like we have all been told to do. The quality standards of food have decreased so drastically over the past few decades so we must be careful what we are putting in our bodies.
The levels of vitamins in our food is nowhere close to what it used to be, and similarly, organic foods have been proven to contain 50% more vitamins, minerals and nutrients than similar food that is produced in a regular manner. Even if you try to eat more fruits and vegetables to account for the deficiencies in today’s mass produced products, you will wind up eating even more chemicals in the meantime!
Because food producers were trying to mass produce food quickly and in the cheapest possible way, chemicals like pesticides and herbicides were created to extend the life of our fruits and vegetables, to make sure animals and insects do not attack them, and to avoid mold from growing on them. These chemicals were created with the best intentions, but have been linked more recently to troubling health problems.
While most people turn to organic food for reasons relating to health, there are many other reasons people should appreciate and support organic farming. There are tons of incredible benefits of eating organic food. For people who are unfamiliar with organic food and the many things it can do to improve your health, here we will go over the top ten reasons we believe that people should eat organic.
Great Taste
Organic food tastes delicious and it makes sense why it does- healthy soil and plants make food that tastes the best. In a number of studies people who have done taste tests almost always choose the wonderful taste of organic food over processed and food tainted by chemicals. Fruits and vegetables taste much more vibrant and strong if they are grown organically which is just another added benefit of the healthy powers of healthy organic foods.
High Standards
Organic foods have to meet extremely high standards to qualify to be called organic. This is why most foods are not organic, because companies don’t want to go through the strict processes required of them to be declared organic. The certification process that foods have to go through is designed to make sure the public is clear that the food was grown in the proper way as well as processed and handled in the ways in which the certification standards recommend.
You want to look for products that say they are organic and certified by the Quality Assurance International standards. If you see this assurance, you can be confident that you are eating the best organic food out there. The QAI standards confirm that the producer and manufacturer follow strict procedures to ensure you are getting the best possible food, free of chemicals that can be damaging to your health.
Soil Erosion
Soil erosion is a huge problem currently, and we as a planet are looking at the biggest erosion problem in the history of the world because of the way that most farmers do their business nowadays, with no regards for the land they are farming. Organic farmers focus a lot of their time and energy in farming in the way that best respects the land. They understand that the soil is basically the foundation of farming and without it we would be unable to farm. So they focus a great deal on protecting the soil through organic farming and are involved in programs to conserve and restore the soil that they find so valuable. This not only earns them a great deal of respect from fans of organic food, but it also is a feel good example for farmers all around the world on how they can be successful and do the right thing at the same time.
Health Benefits of Organic Food
The main reason most people initially begin going organic in their diets is because of health reasons. Whether people have actual health problems or they have simply heard of the many health issues that may possibly come from ingesting chemicals through normal food processing, many individuals are turning to organic foods so they can trust what they are putting in their bodies and what they are feeding their loved ones.
The production of organic food actually reduces the risks of health problems to the general public. Many of the damaging chemicals and pesticides we began using decades ago to protect our food and make it last longer were approved before there was good research showing any problems with it. Since then, a lot of these same chemicals have been linked to cancer and other very serious medical problems. While originally the concerns were just about cancer causing chemicals, now these chemicals have been traced to other terrible medical problems like Alzheimer’s and birth defects.
The EPA now admits that about 60% of weed eliminators, 90% of mold eliminators, and 30% of insect eliminating chemicals may cause cancer. So why are they still being used in our food production? Since organic farms avoid using these chemicals to treat their food, it is much safer overall than regular farming.
Organic foods also do not use antibiotics in animal food which can cause people to become more resistant to fighting disease over time. Additionally, organic farms are much safer for their employees to work at since they aren’t exposed from all of these dangerous pesticides and chemicals. Overall, organic farming is so much safer for everyone involved, it simply cannot be disputed.
Organic Partnership with Wildlife
Organic farms also focus on the entire ecosystem with regards to their farming activities and they understand that we are not the only ones on this planet benefitting from what the ground provides. Organic farmers understand that animals and insects are a normal part of farming. They use specific crops in their farms to serve the needs of wildlife, and they also manage wetlands, ponds, and other animal preserves within their farming activities.
Support for the Farming Community
Organic farms and people committing to buy organic foods are virtually the only support left for the small family, local farmer. Most produce and animal products are produced by a very small number of huge plants and manufacturing locations that hardly even resemble farms, and most small rural farmers are being eliminated because they cannot support themselves financially. While their products are of much higher quality and standards, the focus on mass produced, cheaper produce has almost eliminated the small time farmer.
Purchasing organic produce helps to support the smaller farmers who rely on farming for their incomes, to support the local economy, and to employ local farm workers. Supporting organic farming is support for small business and job creation in your local community.
Water and Organic Food
Because organic farmers do not use the harmful chemicals within their farming, they are not polluting the ground and the water supply. This also supports the soil conservation efforts that were previously mentioned. Because there are no chemicals used in the production of organic foods, there is no potential for harmful chemical runoff and damaging chemicals to impact our water supply. This is healthier for everyone because while our drinking water is generally pasteurized before it goes into the water supply, it does not catch everything, and some of that water is put back into the atmosphere and then rained back down on us. Eliminating the prevalence of these chemicals will make our entire environment even healthier.
Innovation
Organic farmers are on the cutting edge of science as they are focused on finding ways to produce quality foods without the use of the chemicals that are harmful to our health, and the health of the planet. These farmers have used innovative techniques to replace the chemicals that can be so damaging, and do their research using their own funding at their own farms.
We have learned a great deal about the harmful qualities of regular farming through this research. The entire point of the research is to find ways to produce food that is as high quality as food grown on a regular farm without the use of chemicals. This is better for the environment, for people individually, and for the farmers as well.
Strengthening Species of Food
A major problem in environmental science is that we are gradually losing entire species of food. While most people are entirely unaware that this is occurring, it is of great concern in the farming community. Organic farmers take great pride in trying to make sure this problem doesn’t continue by breeding many species to keep them in existence. These farmers are cataloguing every species and retaining seeds for future use and so that they can be reproduced in the event that one of them becomes extinct.
Variety
Every type of food has a healthier alternative now that organic food has been around for a while and because the harmful facts of non-organically produced food have come to light. While there is more education and funding needed to make sure everyone is aware of what they are putting in their bodies and to help farmers continue to be innovative and create products at lower costs, you can get almost anything you want in an organic form. The innovative farmers and scientists who work in the organic food industry have worked to create an alternative for virtually every food you can imagine, one that is healthier and produced the right way.
There are more reasons than the ten highlighted here as to why you should transition your family to an organic diet, but they all come down to health. Organically grown food is healthier for our environment, our planet, our communities and ourselves.
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