Why choose organic?

1. More nutritious and less toxic food.
2. More taste and flavour.
3. Biodiversity, less pollution, good for farmers, control of food safety, better soils, energy efficiency.

Nutrition

More nutrients, less toxins

A French researcher’s review of scientific findings concerning organic products has confirmed the high nutritional quality and safety of food produced using organic practices. The literature review, prepared by Denis Lairon of the University of Aix-Marseille in France, was commissioned by the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA). Lairon notes there are nutritional benefits to organic produce, such as more dry matter, minerals and antioxidant micronutrients than their non-organic counterparts. Meanwhile, studies show organic foods have significantly lower amounts of nitrates and residues of toxic chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides than do non-organic foods.

The Organic Center and professors from the University of Florida Department of Horticulture and Washington State University provides evidence that organic foods contain on average 25% higher concentration of 11 nutrients than their conventional counterparts. The report was based on estimated differences in nutrient levels across 236 comparisons of organically and conventionally grown foods.

Reviewing 41 published studies comparing the nutritional value of organically grown and conventionally grown fruits, vegetables, and grains, certified nutrition specialist Virginia Worthington concluded there were significantly more of several nutrients in organic crops. These included:

• 27% more vitamin C,
• 21.1% more iron,
• 29.3% more magnesium, and
• 13.6% more phosphorus.

In addition, organic products had 15.1% less nitrates than their conventional counterparts. Five servings of organic vegetables provide the recommended daily intake of vitamin C for men and women, while their conventional counterparts do not. The results are consistent with known soil dynamics and plant physiology.

Researchers studying cultivation practices for high-bush blueberries in New Jersey found that blueberry fruit grown organically yielded significantly higher fructose and glucose levels, malic acid, total phenolics, total anthocyanins and antioxidant activity than fruit grown using conventional methods.

Research by chemistry professor Theo Clark and undergraduate students at Truman State University in Missouri found organically grown oranges contained up to 30% more vitamin C than those grown conventionally.

Research led by Alyson Mitchell at the University of California-Davis has shown that levels of flavonoids increase over time in crops grown organically. Study results found that organic tomatoes contain on average 79-97% more quercetin and kaempferol aglycones (beneficial flavonoids) that their conventionally grown counterparts.

Organic fruits and vegetables show significantly higher levels of antioxidants than their conventionally grown counterparts.

See also: Pesticides

Taste

Scientists now know what we eaters have known all along: organic food often tastes better. It makes sense that strawberries taste yummier when raised in harmony with nature, but researchers at Washington State University just proved this as fact in lab taste trials where the organic berries were consistently judged as sweeter.

Eat more seasonably by supporting your local farmers market while also supporting a global organic economy year round. It will make your taste buds happy.

Environment

Buying organic food promotes a less toxic environment for all living things.

Biodiversity

Native plants, birds and hawks return usually after the first season of organic practices; beneficial insects allow for a greater balance, and indigenous animals find these farms a safe haven.

Pollution

Pesticide drift affects non-farm communities with odorless and invisible poisons. Synthetic fertilizer drifting downstream is the main culprit for dead zones in delicate ocean environments. Numerous studies show that pesticides can adversely affect the nervous system, increase the risk of cancer, and decrease fertility.

Farmers

Farms that are certified organic farms have a double economic benefit: they are profitable and they farm in harmony with their surrounding environment. Whether the farm is a 4-acre orchard or a 4,000-acre wheat farm, organic is a beneficial practice that is genuinely family-friendly.

Safety

Organic is the only de facto seal of reassurance against lab-produced additions to our food supply, and the only food term with built in inspections and federal regulatory teeth.

Energy

No matter local or imported, organic has proven to use less energy - on average, about 30 percent less, is beneficial to soil, water and local habitat, and is safer for the people who harvest our food.

Soil

Mono-cropping and chemical fertilizer dependency has taken a toll with a loss of top soil. Add to this an equally disturbing loss of micro nutrients and minerals in fruits and vegetables.