Eating Organic
What is organic food?
Before we evolved into a ‘developed’ society, our methods of farming were quite different than those employed today. There were no fertilizers to ‘improve’ the quality of food or pesticides to prevent infestations by various pests. The mechanized cultivation of crops was yet to be introduced – with irradiation of food yields being an inconceivable notion.
The food that was produced then and the organic food of today are not much different. Though in organic farming and rearing, mechanization of the processes is welcomed whole-heartedly, only natural products are used to help the growth of the plants and the nurturing of the animals. Organic produce is considered to be industrial waste free and also free from any form of human contamination. In the case of livestock, antibiotics and growth hormones are often shunned as well.
Even in the case of processed organic food, either all or most of the ingredients are organic. Where the select few ingredients have to be non-organic, they are made to go through stringent tests to ensure the highest quality control.
Is it more beneficial?
It has been more than a decade since organic food first hit the markets in a large organized manner, and yet the debate still rages on. Do the benefits of organic food overpower the viability issues over conventional farming? Will it affect the environment positively in the long run? How can we maximize the nutrient benefits of organic food?
Though there are many questions that are yet to be answered, it has become quite clear that going organic is definitely the healthier option. With research showing that organic food contains 50% more vitamins and minerals on an average, it is no wonder that many people are choosing the organic variants over the intensively farmed ones. What is also a decisive factor is the residue of pesticides and other chemicals on intensively farmed produce. Most vegetables and fruits have been proven to contain unhealthy amounts of leftovers from these chemicals even after begin washed at home.
As for dairy and meat lovers, organic food seems to make all the more sense since the intensively reared livestock are often treated with strong anti-biotics and growth hormones. These are transferred onto us as consumers.
Environmental impact
The impact of organic farming on the environment is not an easy thing to measure. In the smaller units, the organic farms have clearly been shown to be more eco-friendly. With the doing away of chemicals in farming, the soil and water around the farms remain pollution free from the farming activities. Also, it has been suggested through some research that organic environments can sustain a larger spectrum of ecosystems.
However, many agricultural scientists argue that in making organic farming as yield-productive as conventional farming, we would end up doing more harm to the environment than good.
All this being said, going organic is not necessarily the right choice. A lot of the intensively produced food products barely differ from their organic counterparts when it comes to their positive or negative effect on our health. A lot of other organic foods do not have sufficient benefits over conventional products to justify the extra money. Keeping this in mind, it is always a good idea to further research a specific food group before deciding on what you are going to choose – organic or non-organic.
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