The organic food movement rose out of a complex web of concerns and issues. First, there is the pesticide issue. For decades, large corporate farms had overused pesticides and chemicals on crops, which many argue is unhealthy.
There is also the buy local issue. Unlike many supermarket foods, which may be shipped from miles or even countries away, organic food is often produced locally. This supports local farmers and businesspeople, and conserves energy because there is less fuel wasted in food transport.
While the organic food movement is based on green and moral principles, it should be noted that not all foods are equally sensitive to pesticides and chemicals. Some foods are protected by a peel also.
You want to buy the following products organic if possible:
1. Meat: Corporate farms often feed their livestock antibiotics to prevent disease, to offset crowded conditions in which they are raised. They are also fed chemicals to make them grow larger more quickly, so that it costs less to raise them to the point where they can be slaughtered for meat. The drugs and chemicals that animals are fed don’t disappear when they are killed – often the compounds stay in the meat, and are ingested by humans.
Organic certification not only prevents the livestock farmers from feeding them chemicals and drugs, but also provides some assurance of humane treatment. Animal products marked ‘organic’ come from animals that must be given some outdoor time each day, which is better than no time outside but should not be confused with genuinely humane treatment.
2. Coffee: With coffee, watch for both the organic label and a label marking the product as “Fair trade.” What this means is that the coffee has been grown and harvested without exploited labor. You don’t want to purchase coffee that is inexpensive because the people who harvested it in the country where it was grown were paid a pittance.
3. Some fruit: It is better to buy organic when a type of fruit tends to concentrate the chemicals and pesticides it is exposed to. The Environmental Working Group’s list of foods that have high concentrations of chemicals starts with peaches. Peaches have a very thin skin, which allows chemicals to leach into the edible part of the fruit, and the fruit itself is very soft allowing for deep penetration of chemical compounds.
Other fruits that hold pesticides, and that you may want to purchase organic, are: apples, strawberries, cherries, and grapes. Wine, since it comes from grapes, should also be purchased organic when possible.
In addition to organic products, this author also frequently publishes information regarding the cork bulletin boards and custom dry erase boards.
categories: health,nutrition,food,cooking,shopping,fitness,self help,hobbies,family,parenting,teens,advice,reference,social issues