offers a wide selection of natural foods, and has something
for everyone's specific dietary concerns, including many
and vegan selections.
"The facts show that organic food has
significant health benefits because it has negligible chemical
residues and pathogens and higher nutritional values when
compared to conventionally-farmed food."
• At least 107 commonly-used pesticide
active ingredients are carcinogenic.
• Protect children who are at greater
risk for pesticide-related health problems than adults.
Millions of children in the US receive up to 35% of their
estimated lifetime dose of some carcinogenic pesticides
by age five through food, contaminated drinking water, household
use, and pesticide drift.
• Protect Water Quality - Pesticide
can contaminate ground water, the primary source of drinking
water for half the US population.
• Protect Our Food - Pesticide residue
remains in the fatty tissues of animals, eventually ending
up in meat and dairy products fed to humans.
• Protect Farm Workers who suffer
from an abundance of toxic exposure and related health problems.
• Prevent Soil Erosion - it's a serious
problem worldwide. Organic practices, including the addition
of compost to soils and the use of cover crop rotations,
can both reduce erosion and improve soil.
• Support a True Economy - Conventional
Farming has hidden costs: billions of dollars in annual
subsidies, pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste
disposal, and environmental damage.
• Pesticides are suspected to be one of the main factors
in the recent disappearance of honey bees.
These bees pollenate many crops, and their disappearance
could have dire consequences
for humanity (read more).
Another main factor may be electromagnetic
radiation pollution, which also adversely impacts our
• Your spending decisions can have a powerful
positive influence on the world. It feels good
to make a choice that has nurturing effects on the land
and the people we love. Go organic!
Organic farmers use less non-renewable natural
resources, protect natural biological activity, create minimal environmental
impact, improve the soil, and, most of all, increase the intrinsic
productivity of the farms.
The Benefits of Organic Food
by André Leu
people purchase organic food because they believe it is healthier
than conventionally grown food. The organic industry is constantly
told that there is no evidence to support these claims. This article
looks at published information that shows that organic food is substantially
healthier than conventional food. Research published in a 2001 study
showed that the current fruit and vegetables in the United
States have about half the vitamin content of their counterparts
The study was based on a comparison of published USDA figures.
A scientific study published in the Journal of Applied
Nutrition in 1993 clearly showed that organic
food is more nutritious than conventional food. Organically
and conventionally grown apples, potatoes, pears, wheat and sweet
corn were purchased over two years in the western suburbs of Chicago,
and then analyzed for mineral content. The organically grown food
was on average 63 percent higher in calcium, 73 percent higher in
iron, 118 percent higher in magnesium, 178 percent higher in molybdenum,
91 percent higher in phosphorus, 125 percent higher in potassium,
and 60 percent higher in zinc. In addition, The organic
food was on average 29 percent lower in mercury than the conventionally
A peer-reviewed scientific article published in the February 2003
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
stated that organically grown corn, strawberries and marionberries
have significantly higher levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants
than conventionally grown foods. Some of these compounds, such as
flavonoids, are phenolic compounds that have potent antioxidant
activities. Many are produced by plants in response to environmental
stresses, such as insects or competing plants. They are protective
compounds that act as a plant's natural defense and also have protective
properties in human and animal health.
The research suggested that pesticides and herbicides disrupt the
production of these protective compounds. Good soil nutrition appears
to increase the levels of these natural compounds that have anti-cancer,
immune-boosting and anti-aging properties. Another peer-reviewed
scientific study, published in the European Journal
of Clinical Nutrition, showed a higher level of a
protective phytonutrients in organic food. Dr. John Paterson and
a team from the University of Strathclyde, U.K., found that organic
vegetable soups contain almost six times as much salicylic acid
as non-organic vegetable soups. Salicylic acid is produced naturally
in plants as a protective compound against stress and disease. It
is responsible for the anti-inflammatory action of aspirin, and
helps combat hardening of the arteries and bowel cancer.
The average level of salicylic acid in 11 brands of organic vegetable
soup on sale in Britain was 117 nanograms per gram, compared with
20 ng/g in 24 types of non-organic soups. The highest concentration
of salicylic acid, 1,040 ng/g, was found in an organic carrot and
coriander soup, while it was not detectable in four conventional
Two comprehensive studies have been published that compared the
differences between organic and conventional foods. Both studies
analyzed around 40 previously published studies. One study was conducted
in the United Kingdom and the other in the United States, each independently
of the other. Both studies came up with similar conclusions that
there is overwhelming evidence that organic food is more
nutritious than conventional food. One of the authors stated,
"On average our research found higher vitamin C, higher mineral
levels and higher phytonutrients—plant compounds which can
be effective against cancer. There's also less water in organic
vegetables, so pound-for-pound you get more carrot for your carrot."
It is no coincidence that consumer demand for food supplements has
grown as the amount of minerals and vitamins has declined in conventionally
farmed food. Many people cannot get the necessary quantity and quality
of nutrition from food grown with synthetic chemicals.
In the recent past there have been a number of media stories claiming
that, because organic foods are grown with manure, they contain
higher levels of dangerous pathogens. On investigation, all of these
stories were proved to be false, and most of the media presenters
apologized publicly for promoting inaccurate and misleading stories.
It is a requirement of organic certification systems either that
animal manures be composted or that two non-food rotations be grown
on a manured site before it can be used for small crops. In fact,
a UN Food and Agriculture Organization report concluded that the
superior management practices of organic agriculture reduce E. coli
and mycotoxin infections in food: "It can be concluded that
organic farming potentially reduces the risk of E. coli
infection. . . . Two studies reported by Woess found that
aflatoxin M1 levels in organic milk were lower than in conventional
milk. . . . As organically raised livestock are fed greater proportions
of hay, grass and silage, there is reduced opportunity for mycotoxin-contaminated
feed to lead to mycotoxin-contaminated milk." The report further
stated, "Animal feeding practices followed in organic livestock
production also lead to a reduction in contamination of food products
of animal origin."
The use of antibiotics, antimicrobials, and hormones or other growth
promoters is prohibited in organic production. Where animals are
treated with veterinary chemicals, they are not allowed to be sold
as organic. Similarly, the use of synthetic chemicals as preservatives,
colorings, antioxidants, etc., is prohibited in the processing of
organic foods. There is an increasing body of concern about these
synthetic compounds in the diets of humans and animals use for human
Many studies show that most conventionally farmed foods have pesticide
and other chemical residues. Repeated tests show that many of these
foods can carry a cocktail of synthetic poisons. A growing body
of scientific evidence is showing that repeated exposures to cocktails
of small amounts of synthetic chemicals produce a range of adverse
health effects. A recently published study shows that as little
a one-tenth of a part per billion of one commonly used herbicide
can damage reproductive systems. In addition, many scientists believe
these exposures of minute quantities of agricultural chemicals are
very significant for children. A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control found a cocktail of many toxic chemicals in the blood and
urine of most Americans that they tested. Other studies show that
most living organisms carry a cocktail of synthetic/manmade chemicals.
Only now are scientists beginning to understand the detrimental
effects of minute amounts of these artificial toxins.
Peer-reviewed, published research has demonstrated that many of
these types of chemicals are known to disrupt the hormone, nervous
and immune systems. The escalating increase of certain types of
cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, breast, uterine and prostate
cancers are linked to agricultural and other synthetic chemicals.
Similarly, a good body of scientific research also links these chemicals
to dramatic increases in autoimmune diseases such as asthma and
chronic fatigue syndrome, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has gone from
being one of the rarest to one of the fastest growing cancers among
people exposed to agricultural chemicals.
A detailed scientific analysis of organic fruits and vegetables
published in the peer-reviewed journal Food Additives
and Contaminants showed that organic foods have significantly
less pesticide residues than conventionally grown foods.
Most important, scientific studies are beginning to show that eating
organic food results in lower levels of these pervasive chemicals
in humans. A study published in the peer reviewed journal Environmental
Health Perspectives found that children who eat organic
foods have lower levels of one class of agricultural pesticides
in their bodies. The University of Washington researchers who conducted
the study concluded, "The dose estimates suggest that consumption
of organic fruits, vegetables, and juice can reduce children's exposure
levels from above to below the EPA's current guidelines, thereby
shifting exposures from a range of uncertain risk to a range of
negligible risk. Consumption of organic produce appears to provide
a relatively simple way for parents to reduce their children's exposure
to OP pesticides."
The use of soluble chemical fertilizers has resulted in high nitrate
concentrations in many conventionally farmed foods, especially in
fruits and vegetables. Leafy vegetables can have the highest concentrations.
The leaching of these fertilizers has also resulted in high nitrate
levels in some drinking water systems around the world.
High nitrate content in food and drinking water can be converted
to carcinogenic nitrosamines. Nitrates can impair the ability of
the blood to carry oxygen and may pose a risk of methemoglobinemia,
a condition that can occur in infants and adults with a diminished
capability to secrete gastric acid. A rise in the pH in their digestive
system allows bacteria to proliferate, increasing the transformation
of nitrate to nitrite. When this nitrite is absorbed into the bloodstream,
it oxidizes iron in the hemoglobin of red blood cells to form methemoglobin,
which lacks hemoglobin's oxygen-carrying ability. In severe cases
this can be one of the causes of Blue Baby syndrome, however in
most cases the symptoms would be tiredness, lethargy and a general
feeling of being unwell.
The nitrate content of organically grown crops is usually significantly
lower than that of conventionally grown products. The governments
of Germany and France have encouraged conversion to organic farming
in certain areas in a bid to improve water quality, particularly
in relation to its nitrate content.
The FAO states the case very succinctly: "It has been
demonstrated that organically produced foods have lower levels of
pesticide and veterinary drug residues and, in many cases, lower
nitrate contents. Animal feeding practices followed in organic livestock
production also lead to a reduction in contamination of food products
of animal origin." The facts show that organic food
has significant health benefits because it has negligible chemical
residues and pathogens and higher nutritional values when compared
to conventionally farmed food.
Andre Leu has been involved in the organic industry since 1972.
He currently owns a certified organic farm in North Queensland,
Australia. He grows organic tropical fruits from part of the farm,
with the balance being retained as tropical rain forest. Andre is
the Chair of the Organic Federation of Australia, the peak organisation
for the organic industry in Australia.Andre runs workshops on organic
production in Australia and other countries and teaches horticulture
and environment at Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE.
detailed info on organic food
design and maintenance by David Silver