You see an organic apple and a conventional apple in the store and they look the exact same, only the organic one is more expensive. I can see why you’d buy the conventional one. But let me give you some info! 🍏
The literal definition of organic is “of, relating to, or obtained from living things” but what the heck does that mean and why does it make it better? When it comes to food, organic is the way to go. According to www.onlyorganic.org,
Simply stated, organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones.
That sounds nice, doesn’t it? But you might still be wondering why any of those things mentioned above are even bad to begin with.
- Pesticides keep bugs off, so why are they bad? Oh, they are bad indeed. According to www.nature.com, “After countless studies, pesticides have been linked to cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, ADHD, and even birth defects. Pesticides also have the potential to harm the nervous system, the reproductive system, and the endocrine system.” … “Although one piece of fruit with pesticides won’t kill you, if they build up in your body, they can be potentially detrimental to your health and should be avoided as much as possible.” Not to mention they are horrible for the environment. The situation is similar with fertilizers.
- Genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Read the blog post my husband wrote about GMOs and why they are harmful.
- Antibiotics and growth hormones in animals and dairy. I don’t know about you, but the thought of eating hormones and antibiotics grosses me out. Some places in Europe don’t even allow them in meat, but us “lucky people” in the US are constantly exposed to them in conventional meat and dairy. Basically, animals are pumped with antibiotics unnecessarily to prevent sickness, but it really just leads to more antibiotic resistance. Animals are also injected with growth hormones so they will grow at abnormally fast rates and therefore more meat and dairy can be produced. I’ve heard of chickens that can’t even walk because they develop too rapidly and are too heavy for their legs. So sad! Those hormones are then transferred to us when we eat those products and having messed up hormones in your body can lead to tons of problems. So if you buy organic meat and dairy, chances are the animals are treated more humanely as well. 🐄
You are what you eat. So eat organic! It may be more expensive at the store, but your medical bills will be cheaper in the long run. 👍
There is SO much more info out there, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I urge you to do some research. Learn more at http://www.onlyorganic.org.
