Organic Food: Why The Fuss
Whether you have been eating organic for years, or are just getting started, we would like to share the basics with you.
As proven through the growth of organic chains and the organic section at your local grocery store, this is not a standard five year health trend. According to the USDA, retail sales of organic food rose from $3.6 billion in 1997 to $21.1 billion in 2008 and we mean it when we say that this is just the beginning. Organic eating has become a lifestyle for millions of people and has accelerated to a point where the entire industry faces supply shortages.
Why are people willing to pay more for organic foods?
So why is the popularity of these foods booming despite higher cost? Organic certification by the USDA requires that farmers follow strict guidelines during every step of agriculture production to reduce pollution as well as improve soil and water quality. That explains the higher cost, but people are not paying organic premiums solely for their benefits to the environment. A great deal of the demand for these products hinges on the fact that organic farming relies “on ecologically based practices such as cultural and biological pest management, exclusion of all synthetic chemicals, antibiotics, and hormones in crop and livestock production.” This means no more chemicals in our food or our environment. It also holds true for foods with multiple inputs. For example a box of organic cereal would have the vast majority or all of its ingredients produced in this way.
Just how dangerous are farming chemicals?
Note the hazmat suit in this video…
That’s right, people are finally demanding foods that lack unpronounceable ingredients and chemicals. The general population is quickly realizing the benefits of foods produced the way nature intended. So whether you want to clean up the environment, eat food that has not been subject to synthetic chemicals or some combination of the two, consider reading deeper into these issues or heck, just try some.
More information pertaining to organic food can be found here:
Organic Labeling and Marketing: Who can I trust?…article
EPA Site for Information on Organic Food…website
Is Organic Food Better for You?…article
Organic vs Natural…article
Food Additives to Avoid…article
Resources:
Carolyn Dimitri, and Lydia Oberholtzer
Economic Information Bulletin No. (EIB-58) 33 pp, September 2009
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB58/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255
Photo by ciao_yvon
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