Top Ten Reasons to Buy Organic Foods -
1. Keep chemicals off your plate
Rather than use pesticides, organic farmers use insects or alternative
substances that are efficiently broken down and are harmless, both to the
environment and the consumer. The other bonus is that these methods do not
pollute the drinking water supplies, threaten wildlife, farmers, or
consumers.
2. Significantly Higher Trace Elements
There are significantly higher amounts of trace elements found in
organically grown foods. These trace elements are important to optimal
health.
3. They are Certified
Certified organic produce guarantees that the products have been grown and
handled according to strict procedures.
4. Organic Farmers Strive to Preserve Diversity
The loss of a large variety of species is of serious environmental
concern. Organic farmers have been collecting and preserving seeds, and
growing unusual varieties of vegetables and fruits for decades.
5. Tastes Great
The soils used to grow organic foods are well-balanced and yield strong,
healthy plants which taste better. Organic oranges and organic vine riped
tomatoes, for example, are sweet and juicy
6. Save Energy
Organic farming is still based on manual labor, such as hand weeding,
green manure, and crop covers instead of synthetic fertilizers to support
soil. Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry. A
lot of this energy is used in producing these synthetic fertilizers that
organic farmers do not use.
7. Protect Farm Workers
A National Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides
had six times more risk than non-farmers of developing cancer. Field
workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in the state of
California. Farm worker health is also a serious problem in developing
countries as well. An estimated one million people are poisoned annually
by pesticides.
8. Help Small Farmers
It has been estimated that the U.S has lost more than 650,000 family farms
in the past decade. Organic farming could be one of the few survival
tactics left for family farmers.
9. Harmony in Nature
A healthy ecosystem requires a balance and organic agriculture respects
this balance. Wildlife is an essential part of a holistic farm. The
balance includes forage crops in rotation, retaining fence rows, wetlands,
and other natural areas.
10. More Sex, Better Sex!
According to the book, /Living Healthy in a Toxic World/ organic farmer
and others who eat foods grown without pesticides have "an unexpectedly
high sperm density," in spite of having sex more frequently. Men in this
study who consumed organic food, in fact, had twice the sperm count of
those who didn't!
Reference: New Pioneer Co-op On line
http://soli.inav.net/~newpi/organic.html
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Whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon
a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of
mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than a whole race
of politicians put together" - King of Brobdingnog, Gulliver's Travels
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