We buy a lot of organic food (!!!$$$!!!) for a few reasons. I'm often asked why I would spend twice as much on food which appears the same as other veggies in the market.
1. Avoiding Pesticides. These are not good for little bodies! Reproductive effects, brain and nervous system effects, cancer, and increased risks of some cancers (particularly leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and neuroblastoma) and birth defects are all linked to pesticides. But they're still touted as "safe"
2. We don't want to eat genetically modified foods. Some organic foods have even been found to have GMO ingrediants. They haven't undergone adequate safety testing. The same people who passed laws allowing genetically modified foods work for Monsanto, and the whole system for regulating these plants is corrupt to the core. Peru recently put a 10 year ban on the sale of genetically modified foods, and, unlike the Americas, European GMO's must be labelled "genetically modified" so that consumers can make informed decisions. They also recently... uhm? Created? Cows that produce human breastmilk. This genetically modified.. disaster is supposed to be fed to infants.
More info on GMOs.
More info on GMOs.
3. We use what we don't eat for our vermicompost. Nothing is ever wasted.
4. It's much healthier. One French study analyzed twelve foods, and concluded that organic is ahead in terms of both nutritional quality and micronutrients. In organic food one finds more micronutrients essential for good health: vitamins A, C, E, vitamins of the B group, and other elements such as zinc and minerals such as calcium. These findings, coupled with health concerns linked to pesticides, antibiotics, nitrates and additives occurring in non-organic foods, suggests increased government support for organic production could have significant health benefits in addition to the environmental benefits already proven.
5. We don't want to support Monsanto. This is the company who produces the e coli-poop marketed under the name "aspartame" and is the leading producer of herbicides, pesticides, and genetically modified foods. They also produced the banned PCB and Agent Orange (used in the vietnam war and laced with highly carcinogenic dioxin. They were the first to patent a living organism (genetically modified seeds) and have sued a number of Canadian and American farmers for patent infringement when seed or pesticide is blown with the wind from neighbors crops and tested as Monsanto seed. The farmers usually couldn't afford to pay legal fees, and end up losing everything. Damned if they do, damned if they don't. Just google Monsanto, and you'll find tons of information.
6. We don't currently have enough space to plant enough vegetables feed our family throughout the year. This is actually the main reason I'm going back to school right now. I want to be able to provide for my family as best I can. With my own animals, and food that I worked hard for.
There's one thing I never understood about organic food.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it a smaller size?
The organic food we used to grow without pesticides (and with seed that has not been tampered with) used to grow to monstrous sizes. The stuff in the store is so tiny. :( it worries me.
I'm pretty sure it just comes down to different varieties. I bought a pack of heirloom tomatoes yesterday, and there were greens, reds, yellows, and all different sizes.
ReplyDelete