How Are Organic Foods Produced?

Produced in organic farms, these foods are grown under stern supervision and guidelines and are packaged and grown without using any pesticides, man-made fertilizers, preservatives, artificial colorings and other chemicals. Non-organic products are subjected to various chemicals, which are usually not thoroughly studied so that their effects over the consumers’ body can be understood and contemplated. These chemicals may be linked to anything from some types of cancer to food allergies.

Benefits Of Consuming Organic Food

One of the main advantages of consuming organic food is that these food products are not at all subjected to any unreliable substances. Dairy and meat products prepared under organic principles are also free from any form of chemicals. Non-organic agricultural farmers usually subject the livestock to various chemical supplements designed for speeding their weight and growth. Further, cows in the dairies are given chemicals for increasing their milk productivity.

As per the guidelines for organic foods, the livestock is reared without using any antibiotics or growth hormones and are not genetically modified in any way. The benefits of organic foods are that the livestock are given only organic feed which is free from chemicals and supplements.

Another advantage of consuming organic food is its friendliness to the environment. The non-organic foods are treated through chemicals, which are responsible to change the landscape and contaminate the surrounding ground and water supplies. The ground in which organic food is grown experiences no changes. Making commitment towards using organic foods will make you healthy as the benefits of organic foods lie in enjoying natural whole foods free of chemicals.

As the benefits of organic foods are long lasting and varied to the environment, the decision for going organic is responsible and a healthy one.

In several countries, the producers of organic foods need to get an organic certification so that they can advertise their food products as organic. Chemical free food products are not able to cure any existing illness but are believed to reduce the risks of intoxication of the body, thereby leading to lesser health related problems. The market of organic foods has been fast developing, as the customers are becoming increasingly health conscious and aware about the after effects of pesticides and chemical fertilizers used in crops on their health.

Virtually, everyone may agree that organic vegetables, fruits, fish and meats are preferred to non-organic foods grown with insecticides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers. At present, non-organic food growers are allowed to make use of more than 1000 chemicals upon their crops, which may heavily lead to soil erosion because of over-farming to the dangerous toxics running off into drinking water.

So what do you do you live the organic lifestyle or continue on non organic food? Well here are some common concerns about organic food:

What does organic mean anyway?

The term ”Organic” means different things in different countries because it is up to the country to decide what the guidelines and regulations will be. The guidelines that you will see in most countries consist of food that does not contain GMOs, synthetic ingredients, and little to no processing.

What is a GMO?

Genetically Modified Organism. There are many reasons why farmers do this such as injecting genes into a crop so the crop will produce pesticides on its own. Many people are wary of this because they feel it is playing with fire. Genetics tend to be very unforgiving and hard to beat if something goes wrong. Many people do not think it is safe to consume GMOs, and in Europe the regulations on GMOs is extremely tight. Some countries in Europe have banned GMOs in many food areas.

Do organic farmers use pesticides at all?

The regulations on organic farming forbid the use of synthetic pesticides, but if pests do become a problem some organic farmers use natural pesticides.

But don’t pests always become a problem in farming?

Sometimes pests are a problem and sometimes they aren’t. There are things that can be done to get rid of pests that don’t include man made chemicals.. Organic farmers use methods in harmony with nature to prevent pests. An example of this would be to use a bug that doesn’t do any harm to the crop but is a predator to the pests that are becoming a problem. They mainly focus on prevention and on making healthy soil and crops that can be strong enough to use their natural defenses to fight off pests. Barriers of various types are used as well.

But are organic pesticides necessarily safe?

Organic pesticides, or natural pesticides are usually seen as a weakness and an attacking point against organic food. What most don’t know is that organic farmers don’t use them frequently, and if pests get out of control organic farmers must get permission to use a natural/botanical pesticide from the list. Natural pesticides are also attacked by being said to be as harmful as the synthetic ones, but natural pesticides don’t actually linger like synthetic ones do, and therefore don’t have much chance to become absorbed into crops. Most are derived from plants.

But just because something is natural does it mean it is safe?

No. Some natural substances are safe and some aren’t. I hate this question because my friends would always tell me whenever I did a detox or something to ”remember that just because something is natural doesn’t mean it is healthy” as if I was going to go out and smear some cow poop on my face, or I was going to go dig up some poison ivy leaves and use them on my acne or something. I and many people who live organic find this warning to be insulting because we understand that many substances deemed as natural sold on selves are not dangerous in any way and we aren’t going to go out and randomly cook up unknown substances in out kitchens. That is very much not the case. People need to understand that I as well as many organic lovers don’t just buy things without researching it first.

What else can one buy that is organic outside of produce?

Meat, milk, pasta, rice, cheese, spices, juices, chocolate, wine, bread, potato chips, soda, skin care, clothing, pet food, baby food, canned soup, tampons, sanitary napkins, vitamins, supplements, shampoo, cooking oils, condiments, cake mix, brownie mix, sugar, honey, makeup, cleaning products, and the list goes on and on and on. Going organic doesn’t mean you will end up living drastically different from everyone else.

How can one tell if something is organic?

This pretty much goes across the board from food to skincare. 100% organic is the jackpot, things labeled as organic with the USDA seal are 95% organic, and anything else that claims to be organic but doesn’t have the seal is made with organic ingredients but not necessarily free of synthetic ingredients.

What is the plus side of buying organic meat?

No hormones or antibiotics are injected in meat, and the animals are only allowed to eat organic food and are allowed to roam around freely and live a healthy life.

Are the organic farmers trustworthy or are they just out to make a profit by falsely appealing to people’s health fears?

I can’t see why any organic farmers would cheat the system because it is certainly too much work on their behalf to become legally certified organic and maintain that status. With everything there is always a wolf in sheep clothing, but for the most part organic farmers don’t have a choice but to be legit because the ”man from the health department” makes a visit to them as well.

Why is organic so expensive?

Some things such as apples are produced in high numbers and don’t cost that much to buy organic. Mainly the exotic fruits that are difficult to grow in the area costs more to get. Also organic products have high standards to meet and the costs usually deal with having things managed properly. Lately its been discussed that organic farming doesn’t actually cost any more than conventional.

Why do people eat organic food in the first place?

Many believe there are tremendous health benefits from eating organic food. The low volume of toxins in organic food is attracting all types of people because many are worried that synthetic chemicals may be responsible for the frighteningly high amount of cancer.

How much influence does organic food have in the rest of the world?

In a lot of countries much of the food is automatically organic because those people don’t really use modern practices when it comes to food. In some of these countries there are some conventional foods available as well. China and Japan have a bustling organic industry, which has contributed to some controversy over the quality of their organic food. Europe is probably the most aggressive in terms of their organic food. Their standards can probably be considered tighter than America, so organic food from Europe is probably better in terms of purity. Italy accounts for 1/3 of the organic food in Europe alone, and most Italians consume a considerable amount of organic food on a daily basis.

Britain has a very high demand for organic now, and France alone brought around 300 new skincare lines last year. In countries like Sweden, Norway, and Germany have banned a number of commonly used additives and food dyes already. Scientists in the EU have done multiple studies and will continue to do studies concerning the toxicity of our bodies and the link to cancer.

So in the end the decision to go organic is entirely up to the individuals preferences and beliefs as to whether there are any health benefits from eating organic food.

There is a strong suspicion that chemicals are responsible for making our bodies toxic and are responsible for the current overflow of cancer. Toxins are believed to cause damage to key enzymes, which would lead to multiple health problems. It is also being studied and verified that synthetic chemicals cause disruption of hormone production and function. These findings are responsible for the growing number of people who search for purity when looking for something to put in their stomachs and on their skin. In June 2009 the European Commission’s Communication on Cancer revealed that they have acknowledged that there are too many environmental factors such as food chemicals and chemicals in air and water that need to be addressed in order to prevent cancer.

The European Parliament noted that ” the increasing scientific evidence that certain cancers, such as cancer of the bladder, bone cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, breast cancer and others are caused not only by the effects of chemical substances, radiation, and airborne particles, but also by other environmental factors”. The European Parliament also believes that there are many cancer cases directly related to pesticides. The European scientists in support of reducing human exposure to chemicals are also backed by US experts as well. Several organizations are working to reduce the amount of man made chemicals in food, especially ones that can interfere with hormones. Many of these chemicals are used as food additives as well as ingredients in body care products and cosmetics. Since the skin absorbs around 64% of what is placed on it, skin care has gained everyone’s attention.

In France alone last year alone over 300 new organic skincare lines were introduced to the market, even though the demand for organic skincare is higher in Britain. Though Britain does not live as natural as many other European countries such as Italy and Spain but is surely on its way to catching up. The EU cosmetic industry recently came up with a list of substances that were deemed as unsafe ingredients. Some of those ingredients are still in use in American based cosmetic brands. As far as food is concerned, many dyes and colorings used in food are up for debate as well, but countries such as Norway and Sweden have already banned the use of many common food dyes. The rest of the EU members are also banning more and more food additives that are still in use in America.

Americans and Europeans alike are buying more organic food and organic skincare than ever because they feel that it is a safer option.Organic food regulations are somewhat more strict than regular food due to labeling laws. Anything that hasn’t met the guidelines cannot be labeled organic. Non organic food is made with synthetic pesticides, multiple preservatives,additives, and some produce is genetically modified. Organic items are not allowed to be genetically modified, and most preservatives can’t be used in food or items labeled organic. Things that are labeled 100% organic are well sought after because they virtually have no chemicals or questionable substances in the mix, which is one of the main health benefits of eating organic food. Organic produce has nearly untraceable amounts of pesticides, which makes consumers looking to be healthy very happy.