5 Reasons why organic food is important

Organic agriculture is important for your health, your children’s health, for farmworkers, and

for the future of our planet. When you consider all the benefits of organic food, you might be more willing to pay more for organic options next time you’re at the grocery store or market.

1. Organic food is needed to feed the world.

The findings of a 2013 report from the United Nations titled, “Wake Up Before It’s Too Late,” say small-scale, organic farming is the only way to sustainably feed the world.

While some people point to GMOs, chemical-intensive farming and monocultures (the practice of growing only one crop in a field at a time) as answers to feeding the world, the findings in this UN report say a shift toward local, small-scale farmers and food systems is actually the only way it can be done without causing irreparable harm to soil, water, and air quality.

2. Organic food has less pesticides exposure.

Most pesticides are highly toxic. Many cause cancer and birth defects. Advocates of their use say the concentrations found in our food are so low as not to cause us harm. But the studies supporting their claims have been done by the companies that make and profit from the sale of these poisons.

Reduced pesticide exposure is especially important for farmworkers and their families, and for children and pregnant women, but consumers of organic food also reduce their risk of pesticide contamination. And the only way to avoid pesticide residues is to switch to organic foods.

Yes, pesticide residues are regulated by the U.S. Food Quality Protection Act, but the tolerance levels assigned for some pesticides pose potential health risks, even though they are considered “allowable.”

Children are particularly at risk to the effects of pesticides because their developing organ systems are more vulnerable, and less able to detoxify toxic chemicals. A groundbreaking study published in 1998 in Environmental Health Perspectives discovered children exposed to pesticides in an agricultural area of Mexico suffered developmental effects, such as impaired stamina, memory, and drawing ability, as well as other problems.

Pesticides also wreak havoc on the environment. Pesticide drift affects non-farming communities with poisons that are odorless and invisible. And synthetic fertilizer drifting downstream is the main cause of dead zones in delicate ocean environments, such as the one in the Gulf of Mexico, which is larger than New Jersey.

3. Organic foods are more nutritious and taste better.

Not only is the production of organic food better for human health and the environment, but science is proving organic food to be more nutritious as well.

A study published by The Organic Center revealed organic food to have significant health benefits over conventional foods: they are higher in antioxidants and are more anti-inflammatory. Other studies prove organic produce to also be lower in nitrates.

Researchers also found organic berries to be consistently more flavorful and sweeter.

4. Organic foods help achieve biodiversity and soil fertility

For achieving biodiversity and reforestation, organic is the way to go. Visit an organic farm, and you see thriving, diverse habitats, with beneficial insects, indigenous animals, and native plants.

Another thing to consider is how monocropping and a dependency on chemical fertilizers takes a toll on the soil. Organic farming increases soil fertility, and is also more drought and flood resistant — a good thing in our world of unstable climates.

5. Organic foods have no GMOs.

At no stage of food production are GMOs allowed. So if you want to avoid GMOs in your food and the food you feed your loved ones, choosing organic is your best option.

http://foodrevolution.org/blog/denmark-organic-country/