Concept Paper: Eating Organic Food: A safeguard to human health, that is more ethical and beneficial to our environment.

Eating Organic Food:

A safeguard to human health, that is more ethical and beneficial to our environment.

Most people buy organically grown food because they do not want to consume pesticides, additives, antibiotics or GMO’s. There is not a huge difference in the nutrients that are in organic vs. conventionally grown and raised foods, but researchers show lower nitrate levels, higher vitamin C levels and higher selenium levels. People with certain allergies to foods, chemicals or preservatives tend to have less or no more symptoms when they eat only organic.

 Organic foods promotes better care and treatment of animals as well as meat that is free from hormones and antibiotics with no concerns for the effects of long term health, economic and environmental consequences of GM foods. Organic farmers try to emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations   by using physical weed control and green manure. (http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/organic_food).

The word “organic” refers to how farmers grow and process fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meant. Organic farming is useful in preserving water and soil plus it reduces pollution. For animals they are raised without the use of antibiotics or the use of growth hormones. Organic crops are grown in safe soil. The farmers do not use synthetic pesticides, GMO’s, artificial fertilizers or sewage sludge based fertilizers and they process without ionizing radiation or food additives. These practices reduce pollution in our air, conserve the water, reduce soil erosion and increase soil fertility. Our environment benefits from organic processes and small animals and birds also benefit from these conditions.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/organic-food/ART-20043880

Organic produce contains fewer pesticides. Children and fetuses are most vulnerable to pesticides. Their immune systems, bodies, and brains are still developing. Exposure to these pesticides in conventionally agriculture food can cause developmental delays behavioral disorders and motor dysfunction. If conventionally grown produce is peeled it does help but then you will lose the nutrients from the peel. Simply rinsing doesn’t eliminate the pesticides. It’s best to wash and scrub all produce thoroughly to eliminate harmful symptoms of pesticides.

When animals are fed antibiotics it creates drug resistant bacteria. When that happens and someone gets sick from these strains they will be less responsive to antibiotic treatment.  Organic meat, dairy and egg products are from animals that are fed organically and have access to the outdoors. They are kept in conditions that enable natural behavior of animals. They will not be given antibiotics, hormones or medicine unless they are sick, but they can be vaccinated against disease. These organically raised animals tend to be healthier than conventional farm animals. If an organically raised animal gets sick it may spread to a few other animals, but when a factory animal gets sick it spread much faster because they live so close together. That is why these factory animals are fed the antibiotics. The hormones are given to make them grow faster. When humans eat the hormone and antibiotic filled meat those substances transfer to us.  Organic farmers usually don’t have a need to give their animals antibiotics because there systems prevent the animals from getting sick in the first place.

GMOs, or “genetically modified organisms,” are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals. These experimental combinations of genes from different species cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding. Their safety, potential risks, long term health, economic and environmental risks and ethical concerns are still being debated. There has only been short term testing to monitor the outcome on humans and the environment. http://www.helpguide.org/life/organic_foods_pesticides_gmo.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/01220/basic4.htm

Organic food and its processes are more ethical, are beneficial to our health and wellness, are better for our environment and facilitate humane treatment of animals being raised on organic farms.