Benefits of Organic Foods

April 4th, 2009 by Marcie

If you have been eating the right amount of fish, meat, fruits and vegetables then you have nothing to worry about. Right? Not really . . . since some of these foods you buy are grown non-organically and most of them are tainted with harmful chemicals. Perhaps you should start switching to organically grown vegetables and begin enjoying the many benefits of organic foods.

Benefits of Organic Foods?

The best explanation comes from the Soil Association, a very strong organization in the United Kingdom who have become very involved in supporting and promoting organic farming. The benefits of eating organic foods are as follows:

1. Organic Foods Are Tops For Taste
Many people buy organic food because they believe food grown organically tastes better than those grown non-organically. This could be because organic fruit and vegetables tend to grow more slowly and have a lower water content, which may contribute to the fuller flavour some people experience. A poll in 2005 showed that quality and taste of food are important to more people than low prices.

2. Organic Foods Are healthy
On average, organic foods contain higher levels of vitamin C and essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium as well as cancer-fighting antioxidants. Of course the vegetables are more nutritious because they have been planted in soil fed with organic fertilizers; therefore the soil has more nutrients to pass on to the vegetables.

Organic milk is naturally higher in Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, Vitamin A (Beta Carotene) and certain other antioxidants than non-organic milk.

3. Organic Foods Have No Nasty Additives
Only 32 of the 290 food additives approved for use across the EU are permitted in organic food. Amongst the additives banned by the Soil Association are hydrogenated fat, aspartame (artificial sweetener) and monosodium glutamate which have been linked to health problems.

4. Organic Farmers Avoid Using Pesticides
The best way of reducing your exposure to potentially harmful pesticides is to eat organically grown food, where their use is avoided. Over 311 pesticides can be routinely used in non organic farming and residues are often present in non-organic food. Over 40% of all non-organic fruit, vegetables and bread tested in 2005 contained pesticides according to the Government’s Pesticide Residues Committee.The results for particular fruit and vegetables were much worse, e.g. chemicals were found in all oranges tested, 90% of bread, 72% of grapes, 95% pears.

5. Organic Foods Are GM-free
Genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are not allowed under organic standards. Over a million tonnes of GM crops are imported to feed non organic livestock that produce much, if not most, of the non organic pork, bacon, milk cheese and other dairy products in our supermarkets.

6. Reliance On Antibiotics Removed
Antibiotic additives routinely added to animal food to speed animal growth are linked with bacterial resistance in humans to the same or closely related antibiotics. Soil Association standards ban the routine use of antibiotics.

7. No Hidden Costs
Compare this with the millions of dollars that tax payers fork out annually to pay for chemicals to be removed from drinking water, mainly as a result of the pesticides used in farming.

8. High standards For Organic Foods
Organic foods comes from trusted sources. All organic farms and food companies are inspected at least once a year. The standards for organic food are laid down in European law.

9. Higher Level Of Animal Welfare Standards(at least in the UK)
No system of farming has higher levels of animal welfare standards than organic farms working to Soil Association standards. Compassion in World Farming believes that the Soil Association’s welfare standards are leaders in the field. (Joyce d’Silva, Director, Compassion in World Farming, UK.)

10. Good For Wildlife And The Environment
Another benefit of eating organic vegetables and food is that you help the environment. Because farmers will use less or no harmful chemicals, organic farming supports more farmland wildlife than non-organic farming. Overall, growing food organically is better for wildlife, causes lower pollution from sprays, produces less carbon dioxide – the main global warming gas – and less dangerous wastes.
(Source: SoilAssociation.org)

One more point which should be included is that the land which organic farmers have worked on can be planted by the next generation because the land that has been cultivated for so long is still fertile

If you go to my backyard composting guide salespage, you can read what I have witnessed regarding the insecticide spray and non organic fertilizers being used by farmers growing vegetables non-organically. Also note what David Suzuki has to say about how much residual insecticides/pesticides can be found on fruit and vegetables sold here in Canada and the US.

(Note: You will get the full details there. I thought it senseless to repeat here what I have already said on this sales page. No need to buy.)

So, as you can see, not only have the majority of the foods you buy been genetically modified, but many farmers have used various techniques, chemicals, and fertilizers to make their vegetables bigger even if they know that these products and fertilizers are dangerous to your health.

So one can conclude that people who switch to regularly eating organically grown vegetables should have a healthier life since according to a recent study, organic foods have 50% more vitamins and minerals than those made from conventional methods.

Additionally, you will probably feel better too since you are getting more nutrients by eating organic foods. Although fertilizers and pesticides have their advantages, they remove essential vitamins and nutrients so you are not getting the required daily allowance that your body needs. In short, you may think you are, but in reality, this isn’t what’s happening.

One thing though when you go to the supermarket, you will notice that the price of organic foods are much more expensive than those conventionally grown.

Should you always buy something if it is cheaper? In the case of food, the answer is “no” because you can’t put a price on the lives of those who eat it.

Surely, you also don’t want to wait until someone you know gets sick to think about the future and start taking advantage of the benefits of eating organic foods.

Eventually, the price of organic foods will go down when more farmers decide to sell these in supermarkets. At this point there is only a small section of organic foods available in the store, but when growing organic foods become an industry standard, things will change.

Until that happens, you can probably plant and grow organic vegetables in your backyard. You just need the supplies, especially the seeds or the fully grown plant, to help you get started.

No magic or anything fancy is used when growing organic foods. You only need fertile soil, sunlight, water and some compost to make it work.

If you do a little bit of research first, you will quickly find out how to take care of your organic vegetable garden. After all, sprinkling water every morning is just one of the many things you have to do to help these grow.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges in growing organic foods is that the US imports a lot of vegetables from countries that are not yet practicing this back-to-the-basics method.

But with a little help and encouragement, they too will come around so everyone both here and in other countries will be able to enjoy the benefits of organic foods.