Is Organic really better?
One of the first responses I get when I tell people I eat organic is “Is it really worth it? My parents and grandparents never ate organic growing up and they are healthy- so why should I?”
While it may be true our parents and grandparents didn’t grow up needing to prioritize organic, the same is not true for us today. Many things have changed in the food industry over the course of the past 100 years, and the quality of food is not what it used to be. With the introduction of GMOs, pesticides, and herbicides, the farming industry as we once knew no longer exists.
What is Organic food?
To be labeled as organic, produce must be grown without synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms. Animals raised for meat must be fed 100 percent organic feed and be raised with access to the outdoors all year long. Animals such as cows must be fed at least 30 percent of their diet from a pasture.
Additionally, foods that are prepared or canned must be made with at least 95 percent organic ingredients in order to be labeled organic. Those with at least 70 percent organic ingredients will use the label “made with organic ingredients” and foods made with 100 percent organic ingredients will display this percentage on their labels.
While organic food may still contain small amounts of an organic pesticide or fertilizer, these methods are often used on a way smaller scale and in conjunction with other less invasive preventative measures such as insect traps, careful selection of disease-resistant varieties of certain crops, and the use of predator insects and beneficial microorganisms to help control pests that may damage certain crops.
Organic produce is FAR from perfect, but when debating between organic and conventional, I would still choose organic every time.
What are pesticides?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest. Though often misunderstood to refer only to insecticides, the term pesticide also applies to herbicides, fungicides, and various other substances used to control pests.
Conventionally grown produce requires the use of these pesticides, which were designed to kill insects and other pests. While one would hope these residues no longer remain on the fruits and vegetables we eat, we now know that these toxic chemicals remain on the food we eat and make their way into the body. While many claim these pesticides do not actually cause harm to the body, research has now shown us that these substances are far from the harmless substances we claimed them to be.
These chemicals have been linked to cancers and other ailments. Researchers link chemical pesticides found in food and water, especially atrazine and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), with insulin resistance in rodents and increased Body Mass Index with children. A large body of evidence has also shown pesticides to be neuro-toxic and carcinogenic for those who eat them. In fact, a study done in the journal Neurotoxicology found that chronic exposure to some common pesticides significantly increased the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
In summary, pesticides are not something you want to be messing around with. While you might not notice any short term effects from them, the research is there showing that toxic substances do effective the body in a negative way.
So what now?
I can just hear you thinking “But organic costs so much more money.” While organic can cost more in some cases, I firmly believe the cost increase is worth it! For many of us, switching to organic comes down to reprioritizing our spending realizing that the increase in cost in food might very well lead to a decrease in medical bills in the future. If buying everything organic still just seems like to much, I highly recommend checking out the Environmental Working Group. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) ranks the fruits and vegetables that are most contaminated with pesticide residue and least contaminated with pesticide residue and these lists are known as the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen.” In addition to checking out these lists, eating seasonally and shopping the sales can also drastically cut costs!
Why Local Trumps Organic
While I primarily shop organic due to convenience and accessibility, I firmly believe that shopping local and getting involved with something like a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is even better than organic! Most of the produce sold at large supermarket chains is grown hundreds – if not thousands – of miles away, in places like California, Florida and Mexico so by the time it reaches the store shelf, and then your fridge, a lot of the nutrients have been lost.
While eating seasonally can drastically help with this (even when purchasing at a store), there is nothing better than getting to know a local farmer, asking questions, and buying produce straight from a farm.
To note, getting an organic certification for a farm can be an expensive and lengthy process. If buying from a local farm, it is not as important to get organic if you are asking questions and finding out about the farm’s specific practices. In many cases, the practices they are using will even trump organic standards!
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