I choose to buy and eat organic foods based on countless of studies showing them to be safer and nutritionally healthier than conventionally grown foods. A recent review of 41 published studies by certified nutrition specialist by Virginia Worthington, found that the nutritional value of organically grown fruits, vegetables, and grains had significantly more nutrients than conventional foods.
These included:
27% more vitamin C
21.1% more iron
29.3% more magnesium
13.6% more phosphorus.
In addition, organic products had 15.1% less nitrates than their conventional counterparts. Virginia also noted that five servings of organic vegetables (lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes and cabbage) provided the recommended daily intake of vitamin C for men and women, while their conventional counterparts did not. She said the results are consistent with known soil dynamics and plant physiology.
My Top Five Reasons
1. Plant-based organic foods, especially raw or non-processed, have higher levels of vitamins and minerals. A study conducted by Charles M. Benbrook, Xin Zhao, Jaime Yáñez, Neal Davies and Preston Andrews confirmed organic plant-based foods are, on average, more nutritious.
2. Organic foods are produced without the use of Generically Modified Organisms (GMO’s). These genetically modified foods are laboratory-made, using technology that is totally different from natural breeding methods, and pose different risks from non-GM crops.
3. Organic foods are safe and free from the use of toxic pesticides, antibiotics, and growth hormones. More than 400 chemical pesticides are routinely used in conventional farming and residues remain on non-organic food even after washing.
4. Organic foods and farming are climate-friendly. When farming organically, the use of fossil fuel is far less. Twenty-four billion pounds of chemical fertilizers applied on non-organic farms in the U.S. every year not only pollute our drinking water and create enormous dead zones in the oceans; but also release enormous amounts of nitrous oxide, a super potent, climate-destabilizing greenhouse gas.
5. Organic animals aren’t given drugs. Organic farming standards prohibit the use of antibiotics, growth hormones and genetically modified vaccines in farm animals. Hormone-laced beef and dairy consumption is correlated with increased rates of breast, testis and prostate cancers.
I highly recommend eating organically. Just based on the research that’s out their, organic is the way to go. Eat organic because the food is nutritiously healthier and safer for the environment.
Socrates said, “The only good is knowledge, the only evil is ignorance”
Resources:
Fruit and Soil Quality of Organic and Conventional Strawberry Agroecosystems – Abstract
Organic Trade Assiciation – Food Safety
New York Times Article – USDA to Start Program to Support…
“Nutritional Quality of Organic Versus Conventional Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains,” by Virginia Worthington
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