Why Organic?

Why Organic?

As I was strolling through my neighborhood Walbaum’s supermarket, I was surprised to find some organic produce. Many who know me are aware that my wife and I are avid organic consumers. We usually do our food shopping at a Whole Foods Market or get our food fresh from a farm. I happened to be in Walbaums buying some garbage bags and was curious to see what types of produce they carried. All my life, as far as I could remember, Walbaums always had the worst tasting produce and was one of the many reasons why I did not enjoy fruits and vegetables growing up. As I walked down the familiar aisle, I sawmany of the same conventional produce from the past, but was happily surprised to see a few organic fruits such as apples and pears and vegetables such as cauliflower, celery, bean sprouts, and spinach. Although the vegetables were of the pre-packaged variety, it is still nonetheless a huge improvement for my neighborhood. Let me remind you, my town of Howard Beach, New York still has some very die-hard, “I still have some points”, Weight Watchers followers, who still believe that eating less, regardless of quality, is the way to lose weight. Although this sudden appearance of organics in my neighborhood is great, I was quickly reminded of how people are unaware of the benefits of buying them. The shelves with the organic produce were neatly organized as if just stocked. But as I looked around, the shelves with their conventional counterparts looked as if there was a major sale going on. Basically, it appeared to me that no one was buying the organic stuff. As a Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach, I’ve heard just about every excuse not to buy organics, such as “It’s too expensive”, or “There’s really no difference”, or one of my favorites “The pesticides on the produce can be washed off and they won’t kill you anyway”.

“It’s too expensive” If you look at the actual cost of organic vs. conventional produce there really is not that much of a difference. Although organic does cost more, most people can afford it. The same people who complain of the prices are the same ones who go out to eat frequently and have the big house and nice cars. For those who aren’t as well off, end up spending their money on other processed foods that cost much more than organic produce. There really is no excuse. I always tell my clients that something as simple as buying organic will save them money in the long run, because it is an investment in their health.

“There’s really no difference” The British Soil Association (www.soilassociation.org) did a review of the research demonstrating that organic produce contained increased levels of nutrients as compared to conventional produce. There are up to 40-50% more nutritional content in organics. This shows that the synthetic chemicals sprayed onto the conventional produce has some effect on the quality of the produce. The real proof is to actually take an organic piece of fruit and a conventional counterpart and just compare for yourself. Try to pick samples that are equally ripe. The majority of people who do this can taste the difference immediately. To give you another example of proof that there is a difference, my wife’s family is from a small town in South America where the farmers were too poor to buy the synthetic pesticides or fertilizers that bigger farms use in the United States. When they taste an organic piece of fruit it reminds them of when they were back in Peru.

“The pesticides on the produce can be washed off and they won’t kill you anyway” Although some of the chemical residues can be washed off with non-toxic produce cleaners, the damage has already been done. The synthetic chemicals do permeate the produce and this can obviously not be washed away. The FDA approved many pesticides before research linked them to chemicals that cause cancer and other diseases. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers about 60% of herbicides, 90% of fungicides, and 30% of insecticides to be carcinogenic (www.hgof.ns.ca/index2.php?function=whyHGOF). Why would the government allow this, you ask? The same reason they allowed the very popular arthritis drug Vioxx to be put out in the market. If companies have the money and funded short-term studies showing no serious fatalities, the FDA will pretty much allow a drug to be put in the market. Time is money and long-term studies take too much time.

Still not convinced? Here’s my top ten reasons for buying organic food:

10. Supports the small farmer Big Business and conventional farming has put an estimated 650,000 family-operated farms out of business in the past decade.

9. Supports a true economy Organic food may appear to be more expensive than conventional food, but when you factor in the hidden costs of conventional farming such as pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal, and environmental damage, it is really not that expensive.

8. Practical way of avoiding genetically modified foods (GMO) The very fact a food is organic means it is not genetically altered. GMOs are Man’s way of trying to be God. Our bodies were not meant to live on the junk.

7. Protects water quality After all those chemicals are sprayed onto the thousands of farms, where do you think it goes?

6. Prevents soil erosion Without healthy soil, we can not grow healthy foods. Conventional farming literally kills the soil.

5. Healthy cattle, healthy humans Animals that are fed organic feed and are free-range are not subjected to drugs such as antibiotics, hormones, or other medications. There has never been a case of an organic animal contracting Mad Cow Disease. Let’s face it, Mad Cow is related to the improper nurturing of the animals.

4. Higher nutritional content As stated above, there is about 40-50% more nutrients in organics than conventional produce.

3. Tastes better The proof is in the food. Try it for youself.

2. Less toxic to your body The chemicals in conventional produce have to be detoxified by your body and presents an extra physiological load.

1. Easiest thing you can do to improve your health This is related to reason #2 above. You are what you eat. Any food you put into your mouth will be a part of you body’s cellular structure tomorrow. Eat crap, be crap.