Why not to choose organic

Why Organic?

Organic is a Guarantee

Your food choices have a lasting effect on your family and shape their eating habits, but shopping can be challenging when were all bombarded with food labels with often misleading claims. How can we know what to trust?

Unlike labels like all natural, Certified Organic is guaranteed by the USDA to be free of sewage sludge, bioengineering (GMOs), ionizing radiation, and most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.

National organic standards also include regulations for organic processed products, including prohibiting artificial preservatives, flavors, and dyes.

Organic is for Health

Studies show that organically grown food has higher amounts of Vitamin C, magnesium, phosphorous, and iron. Organic milk contains far more omega-3 fatty acids than conventional milk.

Certified organic agricultural operations (certified organic farmers) avoid the use of most synthetic pesticides found in conventional agriculture. Chemical pesticides and herbicides have been linked to birth defects, obesity, diabetes, ADHD, and other health problems.

Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that have been given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Synthetic hormones have been linked to premature reproductive development in human females and health problems in livestock.

Each time you choose organic, you are choosing to leave these chemicals off your plate.

Organic is Non-GMO & More

The use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is prohibited in organic production, and organic production supports a food system that values environmental stewardship, public health, animal welfare, transparent labels, and traceability of products without the use of toxic fertilizers or pesticides.

Organic is Food for Little Fingers

All parents are concerned about the health and wellbeing of their family. Children are more vulnerable to exposure to pesticides and herbicides, their bodies absorb toxins more readily than adults do, and their organs are less efficient at clearing those toxins.

Choosing to feed your family organic food reduces your risk of exposure to pesticides, GMOs, antibiotics, and hormones. Organic dairy, fruits, and vegetables provide more nutrients and vitamins for little bodies to grow strong.

Why Should You Choose Organic Food? | What Are The Benefits?

Written by Christopher Tack

Organic Food & Potential Benefits

Organic foods are a consistently growing industry in the health and fitness world (1). Exposure to the potential positives of consuming organic foodstuffs encourages those with a keen interest in both their own health and the environment, to switch to organic. However, are these claims founded in the available science or are these messages just the stuff of alternative lifestyle myths? This article will elaborate on what it means to go organic and the potential benefits.

What Are Organic Foods?

Despite a decade of growing popularity in the organic food world, there remains confusion in what this term means (2) with different interpretations used in various contexts (1). This is confusion we would like to put to bed! Most people would correctly associate this ethos with the avoidance of chemical use in food production, but remain unfamiliar with the organic farming standards and stipulations upon which this ethos is borne (3-5).

Organic food is partially defined as the product of farming which avoids synthetic chemicals as fertiliser, pesticides and growth agents (6). However, it is also based upon the Compendium of UK Organic Standards, which includes the production systems designed and used to produce organic food of high nutritional quality by using management practices which avoid agrochemical inputs and which minimise damage to the environment and wildlife (7). This then extends the avoidance of chemicals to land used for growing crops and the foods/ medicines given to animals being reared for consumption. In the UK this means all farms and production facilities need to meet agreed standards upon which they are inspected before registration and approval as a supplier of organic food (8).

Who Eats Organic Foods?

It is estimated that in Europe sales of organic food will increase 20% per year (8). Whilst recent data is unavailable studies from a decade ago showed that back in 2002 the global market for organic food was estimated to be approximately 16 billion (9). In the UK the organic food market is now considered mainstream rather than a niche market (10).

Generally, organic food consumers are older females with children (3, 11-15) but that even younger consumers show positive attitudes towards organically grown food (16). It is suggested that to some extent younger people are priced out of buying organic by the higher premiums on these foods (1).

It is also found that the choice to consume organic foods is a part of distinct ideology and value system that affects a persons attitudes and beliefs (14). Specifically, values such as altruism (selfless concern for others), ecology (harmony to the environment and sustainability) and spirituality are commonly connected to the organic food ideology (17-20). As such organic food diets often are related to alternative lifestyles, such as environmentalism (15).

A final characteristic of organic food consumers is their elevated belief in their own responsibility to control their health and prevent ill health (18). People who are concerned with exercise and optimal nutrition will be concerned with staying up to date in health-related research (14) and find health to be an essential motive for purchasing organic food (19,21).

Why Choose Organic Foods?

We have now established what organic food is, and whom may be currently the main consumers of these foodstuffs. However, what about for those of us who usually purchase non-organic foods but are interested in improving our health and using diet (alongside exercise) to prevent against disease. Read on, as I break down the main reasons why you should be choosing to go organic.

Reason #1 Organic = Healthy

As suggested a large majority of the available research shows that the primary reason people choose to buy organic food is for their health (21-23). Some studies even show that consumers find organic food is more nutritious (5,24).

Whilst studies do not specifically indicate that ALL organic food is better than standard food, there are certainly some apparent benefits. For example, in Italian organic buffalo milk and mozzarella cheese, higher levels of health-promoting compounds such as alpha-linoleic acid, conjugated linoleic acid, vitamin E and beta-carotene (25) are found (compared to non-organic versions). This is supported by a different study from Denmark which shows that 7 out of 10 samples of organic milk had higher levels of vitamin E, and also a higher rate of beta-carotene (26). Additionally, the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to monounsaturated fatty acids in organic milk was higher, with a lower ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFAs (27).

Alongside these improvements in the products of organically reared animals, benefits have also been found in organically grown crops. For example, organically produced vegetables have more vitamin C (8), as well as lower rates of nitrates (28). These results have been reproduced by other authors (29). There seems across studies a trend for higher nutrient levels in organic crops, particularly in potatoes and leafy vegetables (30). There is also evidence that whilst protein content in organic legumes and cereals, the protein provided is of a better quality with more essential amino acids available (30).

Reason #2- Organic = No chemicals

Another reason people choose organic foods over conventional foods is to avoid chemicals used in non-organic food production (24,31-32). Specifically, the use of synthetic pesticides is a concern due to its association with unknown effects on health (33). Obviously, the strict regulations of organic farming aim to prevent the potential hazards posed by exposure to such chemicals (6).

The presence of pesticide residues in organic and conventional products have been examined, with conventional foods having a higher rate (34-35). The negative effects of which have also been postulated. For example, male organic food consumers have been shown to have a higher sperm count than those consuming regular food (36-37). Further studies have examined further and shown that pesticide exposure is associated with reproductive impairments and male infertility (38-39).

Reason #3- Organic = Safe

As an extension of Reason #2 we can investigate further how organic foods can prevent other issues of danger for consumers. The main issues spoken about commonly are large scale farming crises such as the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and foot and mouth disease events which occurred in Europe a few years ago. These issues are related to conventional livestock production methods where animals are fed animal flour (waste animal meat and bone), and in the organic farm environment these risks are removed as only organic food is provided to the animals.

Regulation of farming practices can prevent the dangers of food irradiation and genetic modification, leaving organic food a very tempting option for many consumers.

Reason #4- Organic = Quality

Unfortunately, a large amount of the research which compares the quality of organic foods vs regular foods is flawed by methodological issues in the experiments undertaken (6). However, as suggested previously data does indicate higher levels of nutrient contents in organically grown crops (41-42), which may be due to dilution of nutrient content is conventional crops which have a higher water content (29,34).

Additionally, in organic pig farms the removal of synthetic amino acid supplements from the pigs diets, shows a greater amount of intramuscular fat in the animals, which is deemed a very positive aspect of eating quality in the meat (43). Indicating that both organically grown crops and organically reared animal meats may show greater food quality characteristics compared to normal products.

Reason #5- Organic = Tasty

Whilst in no ways conclusive, there is some evidence that organic foods show a difference in taste compared to conventional products; with taste being an important criteria for organic food consumers to consider (13-14,16). In one study where a blind taste test was set up, a group of subjects were asked to compare the taste of organic orange juice and non-organic orange juice (44). Incredibly, the across the board participants found that the organic orange juice tasted better than its conventional counterpart, perhaps indicating that organic foods are not only more nutritious but also tastier than their rivals.

Take Home Message

There you have it, organic foods which are such a focus for the health and nutritional market seem to be more than just a dietary myth. Organic foods are not only healthybut also are better for the environment and just as good if not better than conventional foods when it comes to quality and taste. Additionally, consumption of organic food products reduces your risks of exposure to chemicals and disease, further benefiting your health. Many reasons why going organic may be the best thing for you.

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