Table of Contents
Introduction
Have you wondered about what organic food is? Is it really important for your well being? What about our environment? Organic food is the food produced without any chemical formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics or pesticides. Organic food is well known for its high price, this is a dilemma for organic farmers all of this came with long process of agricultural improvements, more agricultural add in its work, consumer education, with a profitable growing market and a high demand for more diversification of Organic food.
Benefits for a Health
- Nutrients. Studies prove evidence of a significant increase in certain types of flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties. Which helps in preventing diseases such as: cancer, heart and lung diseases.
- Omega-3 fatty acids. The use of grass and alfalfa for cattle, result in generally higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, a kind of fat that is more heart healthier than other fats. These higher omega-3 fatty acids are found in organic meats, dairy and eggs, thus preventing diseases such as: bad cholesterol, strokes, high blood pressure.
- Pesticide residue. Compared with conventionally grown produce, organically grown produce has lower detectable levels of pesticide residue. Organic produce may have residue because of pesticides approved for organic farming or because of airborne pesticides from conventional farms.
- In regard to chronic diseases, the number of studies is limited. In the Nutrient Study, organic food consumers (occasional and regular), as compared to non-consumers, exhibited a lower incidence of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia (in both males and females), and cardiovascular disease (in men) but more frequently declared a history of cancer. Inherent in cross-sectional studies, reverse causation cannot be excluded; for example, a cancer diagnosis by itself may lead to positive dietary changes
Benefits for the Environment
- Organic offers water protection, air protection because pesticides and chemicals sprayed (used in regular agriculture) on plants contaminate the soil, water supply, and air. Sometimes these harmful pesticides stick around for decades (maybe longer).
- The use of synthetic chemicals also discourages smart farming practices such as cover crops and crop rotation, and may cause other harmful environmental problems like erosion.
- Organic agriculture reduces carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and slow climate change.
- Organic protects our soil, environment and animals.
- Bacteria. Meats produced conventionally may have a higher occurrence of bacteria resistant to antibiotic treatment. The overall risk of bacterial contamination of organic foods is the same as conventional foods.
- Protects our oceans, reducing algae bloom which is jeopardizing the habitat of all species living on it.
Counterpart
- Business dependence on seasonality.
- High costs of staff salaries, maintenance of equipment, purchase of organic products for agriculture.
- Return on investment risks
- Organic food is a little more expensive
- Organic Food needs to be consumed in a very short period of time otherwise you are wasting money.
Conclusion
Life is about the choices we are make every day and organic food is one of those choices, if we consider we are what we eating, and our health depends on it, reducing chemicals, hormones from cows, synthetic chemicals we are reducing at the same time the chance to have illness like cancer, lung, kidneys and dementia, the best investment in our health is our food, so choose wisely.
References
- Chait, J. (2019, November 20). How Organic Farming Benefits the Environment. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/environmental-benefits-of-organic-farming-2538317
- McEvoy, M., Pamela, Kreb, M., Wallace, M., G, P., K, A., … Bj. (2019, March 13). Organic 101: What the USDA Organic Label Means. Retrieved from https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means
- FAQ. (N.d.). Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oa-faq6/en/
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