While some people still worry about having enough to eat, America has developed a national obsession with eating just the right thing. Eating healthier has become the mantra for many Americans, and a lot of people think that means buying more organic food. Organic foods have been proven to contain a higher percentage of nutrients, have no pesticide residue, generally taste better and have positive benefits on the environment. So why don’t more people eat organic?
Many Americans feel eating organic is too expensive and do not have the extra money to spare. Lack of time leads many people to the drive-thru lane and fast food is more conventional and convenient. Generally, fast food meals are higher in calories, sodium and fat, and often lacking in important vitamins and minerals. In order to improve
When choosing to support organically grown foods, you are also helping to support your local farmer and the environment. Intensive farming methods erode the soil while organic farming and agriculture practices help the environment. Organic foods put less strain on the environment than do conventionally produced foods. Eliminating pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals means those compounds aren't going into the groundwater, or into the lungs of farm workers. Instead of using synthetic chemical fertilizer, organic farmers use a combination of composting or farm-made non-synthetic organic fertilizer. When eating organic is combined with eating locally produced food whenever possible, your carbon footprint is reduced because your food did not have to travel very far to get to you. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reminds everybody that “natural composting, or biological decomposition, began with the first plants on earth and has been going on ever since.” Helping to save our environment is one of the most compelling reasons that organic food should be promoted widely.
Organic food is becoming more readily available to the masses. It seems that Wal-Mart is already turning green in regards to the benefits of eating organically. Experts in the food industry are saying, “Wal-Mart could possibly become the nation’s largest seller of organic products, surpassing Whole Foods, because of two reasons: its 2,000 supercenters and its lower prices” (DiCamillo). Since Wal-Mart is carrying organically grown foods, it will soon be available to the tens of millions of Americans who now cannot afford it. What about all natural food-on-the-go?
For the average American on-the-go, O’Natural’s, the first organic fast food restaurant, has a pretty simple concept: Provide people with food that’s 100% food. O’Natural’s claims their restaurant provides “delicious, quick, natural and organic foods, to keep up with your (and our) busy families, and to provide a comfy getaway from the rat race” (Druchniak). Kyle Shadix, managing partner for Culinary Nutrition Consultants states, “’Organic food is not the Atkins Diet. It’s not just another fly-by-night trend. There is a huge difference in flavor. People in
Don’t forget the feel-good factor. One of the greatest advantages of organic foods is that buying and eating them is real, guilt-free pleasure, which is more than one can say for the average supermarket shop. Organic food is pure food; nothing more, nothing less. Forget hydrogenated fats, artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives. None of the additives lurking in processed and fast foods are permitted in organic foods. There are no residual antibiotics or growth hormones in organic meat, no pesticides in organic milk, and no hidden starches in organic baby food. If you want a diet based on natural food that hasn’t been tampered with, think organic. According to the USDA:
Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.
Before a product can be labeled ‘organic,’ a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the
rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. (Gold)
It is a good feeling to know that you are helping the environment; you’re feeding your family on good, pure food that tastes better than processed food; and you are also supporting your local farmers. On so many levels, the inherent and indubitable benefits of organic food and organic agricultural practices actually beg to be promoted and marketed across the globe as we move forward into the 21st Century. By eating organic food, you are choosing a path to optimum health.
How many of the fruits and vegetables were you able to make out in the photo above?
Please feel free to contact me or comment on organic farming and agriculture. My citations are available in MLA format below.
Thanks for listening!
('._.)Works Cited:
DiCamillo, Kara. “Wal-Mart is Going Organic.” Treehugger – Business and Politics on the Web. May 2006.
Druchniak, Carmelle. “O’Naturals is First Maine Restaurant Certified as an Environmental Leader.” O’Naturals Press Release News Online
Organic Materials. Sept. 2007.
1 comment:
unfortunately the usda is so lax on "organic" labeling that a lot of products, fruits, vegetables, meat and makeup slide under this label....better to support your local farmers or grow your own and read labels carefully...check out organicconsumers.org
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