Have you thought about what goes into your body on a daily basis? Let’s face it, our air and water supply is polluted. Should we pollute our bodies as well? The United States sprays around two billion pounds of pesticides a year on our crops, and many people are in a constant search for the cheapest eggs, meat and produce they can find, not once stopping to realize that whatever cheap food they are ingesting is, literally within hours, shuttled to organs, tissues and new cells that are being created with polluted material.
What does Organic Mean?
Organic food is grown without the use of toxic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or chemical fertilizers. Before achieving organic certification, fields must be farmed for a minimum of three years under guidelines handed down by the organic committee of that particular state. Farmers operating in this three year period can label their food as “organically grown,” however; there still may be residual pesticides in their soils. Foods labeled “certified organic” are best.
Benefits of Organic Food
Critics of organic food say that the benefits do not outweigh the cost of going organic. Despite this reasoning, research from Copenhagen University suggests that organic food may help prevent cancer because of the high level of nutrient retention found in organic food. Meat products labeled organic also contain a higher protein quality, possess fewer toxins, and have more flavors. Mother Earth is also a proponent of organic farming. From the soil up, organic farming is better for the environment. Many of the pesticides, herbicides and fungicides used in conventional farming have destroyed America’s farmlands, as well as polluted the streams, rivers and lakes. This in turn has detrimental effects on the animal life that depend on Mother Earth for survival.
There are numerous sources of information covering the benefits of organic products. Remember, ultimately an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Visit www.organic.org for more information.
Comments