5 Benefits of Eating Organic Foods

1. 5 Benefits of Eating Organic Foods

2. Eating organically isn’t a food trend, it’s a food movement. The term “organic” means simply growing crops without bioengineered genes (i.e. GMOs) sewage sludge-based fertilizers, petroleum-based fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. This definition alone has caused more and more people to navigate towards organic foods. However, there’s more to the story than this, even though it’s simple. Basically, people are “going organic” because organic food is beneficial for your health and the environment.

3. Contains Fewer Pesticides Herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and chemical or synthetic fertilizers are widely used in conventional agriculture. These chemicals can leave behind harmful residue that may be impossible to wash off or remove and is harmful to human beings. On the other hand, organic food and organic tea are grown with natural fertilizers (compost and manure), pests are controlled using natural pesticides and other methods (traps, insects and birds) and weeds are controlled through hand-weeding, tilling, mulching and crop rotation.

4. Fresher and Contain More Nutrients Organic foods don’t contain any preservatives, making them fresher and tastier. Additionally, they often contain more nutrients than conventionally-grown foods, including antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids. Organic meat and dairy are also richer in certain nutrients than their non-organic counterparts. Besides that, once the preservatives and chemicals are stripped away, people with food allergies can tolerate foods they once were allergic to.

5. Organic Farming is Eco-Friendly Growing crops organically is simply better for the environment. Organic farming conserves water, reduces pollution, requires less energy, decreases soil erosion and increases soil fertility. Plus, growing food without chemicals is healthier for animals who might feed on the crops as well.

6. GMO-Free Genetically Engineered (GE) foods or Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are plants whose DNA have been unnaturally altered. This means plant and animal DNA is altered in a way that can’t occur in nature or through crossbreeding. Simply put, it’s a mutation that’s present in many of the foods that people consume, which doesn’t sound appetizing or healthy. These GMOs are introduced to make food insecticide and pesticide-resistant. However, you don’t have to worry about this with organic food, as organic growth doesn’t require the use of insecticides or pesticides, thus no GMOs.

7. No Antibiotics in Organic Meat and Dairy “Going organic” doesn’t mean giving up meat and dairy, as there are many organic farms that produce meat and dairy products. Organically-raised animals aren’t fed animal byproducts or given growth hormones and antibiotics. Antibiotics and growth hormones can produce antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria and animal byproducts can cause mad cow disease (BSE). These things are incredibly harmful to human beings.

8. However, organically-raised livestock is given GMO and hormone-free feed and unlimited access to this feed, which is only housed outside. Disease in this livestock is prevented with natural methods, including a healthy diet, rotational grazing and clean housing.