Vegetables and most other items from shopping lists (that don't have an organic food background) are grown in soil that is generally sprayed with herbicides and pesticides. To stop insects from feasting on flourishing fruits, these chemicals are sprayed again on the seeds once they start sprouting, unlike natural organic food that never comes in contact with such chemicals.
Apart from this, to withstand the long journeys to the supermarket, most produce is waxed to increase the shelf life. This also protects the produce against the many hands that handle it and prevent any potential damage to the produce while in transit. Apart from those with organic food backgrounds, the colors of conventionally cultivated fruits and vegetables are also enhanced while placing them on the shelves for sale. This is done to keep up with the romanticizing norm of considering that colorful produce is healthier produce. It is essential to consider all these before enjoying a plate full of colorful fruits or a bowl of stew with stir-fried bright veggies which are nothing but a blend of chemicals.
Buying natural organic food from organic food stores is the solution to these issues as it can enable consumers to gain extra nutrients while avoiding nasty chemicals and poisons. Since natural organic food doesn’t have any chemicals it also helps to reduce pollution. Organic food stores use organic farming methods to guarantee that the natural organic food produced is authentic and worth the certification and price. Eating natural organic food can immensely benefit consumers and improve their health. To convince consumers to switch to natural organic foods from organic food stores, here are the top 10 reasons to feed your family natural organic food.
Supporting Organic food Stores and Organic Farmers
If consumers chose at least one natural organic food item out of every 10 food items purchased, about 25,800 square miles of degraded soils would be converted into highly productive cropland (according to The Organic Center). American tax dollars subsidize billions of dollars every year. This helps by favoring conventional agribusiness. When consumers purchase natural organic foods from organic food stores, they invest in the farmers of the organic food stores and their farms that care about the sustainability of the soil for future generations and nurturing the ecosystem.
Natural Organic Food is more Nutritious
Since the soil is managed by sustainable practices, the soil of natural organic food farms is full of nutrients which results in the production of nutrient-rich crops. There are many studies that have been conducted to prove this and have found that natural organic foods like organic fruits, organic vegetables, and organic grains have a higher content of nutrients compared to conventional chemically produced fruits, vegetables, and grains. Even organic milk contains almost double the level of healthy Omega-3 fats compared to regular milk.
No more GMOs
GMOs have been known to contaminate the food supply gene pool. Unlike those with organic food backgrounds, these have long-term negative effects on the health of the environment and humans. They have increased the use of herbicides and most GM crops produced in recent times are herbicide tolerant. These thus contain the toxin residues which are ingested by humans and animals that can cause hormone disruption, infertility, defects/complications during birth, and even cancer. To avoid all this organic farming strictly prohibits the use of genetically modified organisms or GMOs.
Avoiding Hormones and Antibiotics
Meat and dairy products tend to generally have some levels of growth hormones, drugs, and other antibiotics. Most drugs fed to animals are for nontherapeutic reasons. These may be to induce growth or artificially increase the production of milk or meat (by using growth and sex hormones). Since organic food background ensures the elimination of an artificial or chemical substance, these practices are also prohibited strictly in organic farming thereby reducing any negative impacts on health.
Prohibiting Pesticides
Pesticides such as glyphosate and organophosphate will not be found in products with organic food backgrounds. These pesticides can also cause issues like autism, cancer, allergies, etc. Unlike chemical conventional methods, farms that produce products with an organic food background employ sophisticated crop rotation and other techniques to keep pests away while introducing soil organisms that benefit the produce and enhance their growth.
Avoiding Biosolids
Organic food background also demands the prohibition of biosolids. These are nothing but sewage sludge that consists of toxins, steroids, heavy metals ad other substances that are harmful to the human body. These may pose a risk to health and severities may even include damage to kidneys, disturbance in the regulation of hormones, weakening of the immune system, or sometimes even cancer.
Approvals and Certifications
Any produce with an organic food background is cultivated hundred percent naturally. This ensures that nothing synthetic is used such as pesticides, growth hormones or GMO’s or drugs. To assure these, every natural organic food shelved in organic food stores has a USDA Organic seal. This guarantees that no artificial preservatives, colors, ingredients, flavors, enhancers, or GMOs were used during the growth or manufacturing of the product. For an organic food store with an organic food background to obtain this seal, it must have been free (for the past 3 years) from prohibited substances and must pass yearly inspections.
Saving Energy and Reducing Pollution
If one in 10 purchased products were from an organic food background, billions of barrels of imported oil can be eliminated. Organic farms also have 30% fewer emissions of greenhouse gases. This is not just saving energy and resources but also saving the environment. The conventional methods of farming use synthetic components such as pesticides and insecticides which rai into the soil and water causing pollution and other hazards to the environment. Organic farming practices ensure responsible soil management and help preserve the ecosystem and biodiversity.
Preserving the Ecosystem and Environment
The organic food background highlights the necessity of being in harmony with nature and the ecosystem. It encourages the natural cycles and the processes involved in the natural cultivation of crops. This involves the coexistence of the flora and the fauna by encouraging wildlife, birds, insects, and other organisms to carry out their natural duties at their own pace. Since there are no chemicals involved to keep them away, they ensure healthy crop growth along with healthy soil rotation. This thereby ensures that the organic farm stores get their produce from healthier farmlands.
Better Taste Quality
And finally, the most important one is that natural organic food tastes better. It has been scientifically proven that organic foods have a more intense flavor due to the presence of higher levels of antioxidants and lower crop yields. Due to low crop yields, there is more availability of Nitrogen to the crops which enhances both the nutritional quality and the taste. Another reason is that natural organic food is harvested when it ripens, unlike the conventional methods in which chemicals like ethylene are gassed to quickly ripen the fruits. It's worth the wait as the natural ripening benefits consumer health and allows the natural flavor to enhance and develop to its best form.
Thus it is worth a thought as natural organic food can provide peace of mind by being a solution to all these concerns just at the expense of a couple of extra dollars.