Why Eat Organic?

There is no better motivator to purchase and consume wholly or predominantly organic food than the old adage, “You are what you eat.”

Most people really don’t know where their food comes from. They purchase items at the supermarket without regard to where the food was grown, under what conditions it was grown and how it got to their market. Many people don’t understand that the vast majority of the food they purchase and consume is controlled by a very few, very large multinational corporations, whose main objective is profit to shareholders, rather than food safety or sustainability.

In fact, a United Nations team of international scientists issued a sobering report in 2005 titled “The Millenium Report.” In it, they predict that unless we stop the rampant pollution and degradation of Earth’s soil, air and water, our ability to feed the planet’s people will cease by the year 2050! Think about that for a minute. This is not some hocus-pocus prediction by a bunch of alarmists. This is a fact-based world-wide study by respected scientists who warn that the current practices of those very multinational corporations are going to backfire on them, and on us, as consumers, to the point where there may be no sustainable natural resources left.

Did you know that much of the “fresh” produce that you purchase is not really fresh at all? It comes from far-away countries that, because of their climates, can grow certain products year round, regardless of season, and is then packaged and shipped sometimes thousands of miles to your store. By the time it reaches you, it has been handled many times, and therefore, has had many opportunities for bacterial contamination. In order to survive the trip, the produce is often picked when it is unripe and then “gassed” after transport to hasten ripening. Oranges with a greenish tint are “spray painted” orange. Other fruits are injected with dyes to approximate the color you expect to see in a “ripe” piece of fruit. Vegetables and apples are “waxed” to give a glossy sheen to the outside skins and to retard spoiling. (This renders the skin essentially inedible, as it is nearly impossible to wash the wax off.) Many of your favorite food items, produce and meats alike, are, in reality, laden with chemicals, pesticides, parasites and harmful bacteria.

And that, in a nutshell, is one good reason to eat organic! There are many other reasons. A truly organic farm believes in and practices good stewardship of the earth that sustains it. Crops are diverse, rotated and appropriate to the climate and season. Soil is conserved and enriched for future growth. Harmful chemicals and pesticides are not used. Pests and diseases are prevented and controlled by natural methods. Precious resources, like water, are protected and conserved. Farm waste is not toxic and is therefore mostly recycled, composted and reused. Land is not contaminated. Animals are treated humanely and cared for with respect to their natural habits, being allowed to graze, roam, and live with a measure of dignity. They are fed an appropriate diet that does not contain ground up bits of their own species, or antibiotics.

Moreover, an important tenet of organic farming is that the people who tend the farm should be paid a fair wage and work in clean and safe environment that is free from chemical contamination. The organic farm believes in local food for local people. In other words, a food is freshest if it was grown nearby and not transported hundreds or thousands of miles. Fossil fuels are not wasted in that transportation, thereby saving yet another resource. If a community is fed locally, it will tend to care about its local environment. After all, the food it eats comes from neighboring soil and water, and that inspires the community to care about the quality of “their” soil and water. Local production and distribution of food is supported by organic markets, farmer’s markets and “CSA’s”.

“CSA” stands for Community Supported Agriculture and participation is a wonderful way to support your neighborhood farm. CSA’s sell “shares” of farm grown food to the community in advance of production and finance their crops this way, knowing how much demand there will be, how much to plant and so on. When the crop comes in, shareholders are treated to the finest organic, freshest food available, sometimes within mere hours of being picked. There are many other ways to support organic farmers and the important work they do to keep our food, and our planet, healthy and safe, and out of the hands of huge companies whose financial interests are not compatible with resource sustainability.

But the most important, and most effective, thing to do is to put your money where your mouth is…literally! Every dollar you spend supporting organic farmers and the businesses that sell their wares is a vote to uphold organic principles and practices. Your patronization of the folks that work hard to bring you this option is vital to their continued success and ability to flourish amidst the giant conglomerates that threaten to take over all food production.

Now, more than ever, you must make a reasoned and conscientious choice to do the right thing. Decide that whenever and wherever possible, you will buy only local, organic food. And don’t forget to teach your children about the importance of what goes into their mouths and why they should eat organic food. The very future of the resources we take for granted, and they will need to live on, may depend on it.

Return to Home Page from Eat Organic