Why We Should All Eat More Organic Food
Organic Food is More Nutritious
- Organic foods, especially raw or non-processed, contain higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins C, D and E, health-promoting polyphenols, cancer-fighting antioxidants, flavonoids that help ward off heart disease, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals.
- On average, organic is 25% more nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals than products derived from industrial agriculture. Since on the average, organic food's shelf price is only 20% higher than chemical food, this makes it actually cheaper, gram for gram, than chemical food, even ignoring the astronomical hidden costs (damage to health, climate, environment, and government subsidies) of industrial food production. Learn more...
- Levels of antioxidants in milk from organic cattle are between 50% and 80% higher than normal milk. Organic wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have between 20% and 40% more nutrients than non-organic foods. Learn more...
- Organic food contains qualitatively higher levels of essential minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium), that are severely depleted in chemical foods grown on pesticide and nitrate fertilizer-abused soil. UK and US government statistics indicate that levels of trace minerals in (non-organic) fruit and vegetables fell by up to 76% between 1940 and 1991.
Organic Food is Pure Food, Free of Chemical Additives
- Organic food doesn't contain food additives, flavor enhancers (like MSG), artificial sweeteners (like aspartame and high-fructose corn syrup), contaminants (like mercury) or preservatives (like sodium nitrate), that can cause health problems.
- Eating organic has the potential to lower the incidence of autism, learning disorders, diabetes, cancer, coronary heart disease, allergies, osteoporosis, migraines, dementia, and hyperactivity.
Organic Food Is Safer
- Organic food doesn't contain pesticides. More than 400 chemical pesticides are routinely used in conventional farming and residues remain on non-organic food even after washing. Children are especially vulnerable to pesticide exposure. One class of pesticides, endocrine disruptors, may be responsible for early puberty and breast cancer. Pesticides are linked to asthma and cancer.
- Organic food isn't genetically modified. Under organic standards, genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are prohibited.
- Organic animals aren't given drugs. Organic farming standards prohibit the use of antibiotics, growth hormones and genetically modified vaccines in farm animals. Hormone-laced beef and dairy consumption is correlated with increased rates of breast, testis and prostate cancers.
- Organic animals aren't fed slaughterhouse waste, blood, or manure. Eating organic reduces the risks of CJD, the human version of mad cow disease, as well as Alzheimer's.
- Organic animals aren't fed arsenic.
- Organic animals aren't fed byproducts of corn ethanol production (which increases the rate of E. coli contamination).
- Organic crops aren't fertilized with toxic sewage sludge or coal waste, or irrigated with E. coli contaminated sewage water.
- Organic food isn't irradiated. Cats fed a diet of irradiated food got multiple sclerosis within 3-4 months.
- Organic food contains less illness-inducing bacteria. Organic chicken is free of salmonella and has a reduced incidence of campylobacter.
- Organic dairy has environmental benefits: Shades of Green: Quantifying the Benefits of Organic Dairy Production
Organic Food On a Budget
When comparing prices in the grocery aisles, the organic version of particular items is often 20% on the average more expensive, but if you make a pledge to eat more organic, you'll likely save money overall by eating out at restaurants less often, packing your lunch, and cooking from scratch. Learn more.
Essays on Organics
Approaching the Collapse: Don't Panic, Go Organic by Ronnie Cummins
Local and Organic Food and Farming: The Gold Standard by Will Allen, Ronnie Cummins & Kate Duesterberg
Latest Organic News
- 05/23/13 - How to Grow Your Own Organic Food in Small Spaces
- 05/23/13 - The 2013 Farm Bill: What to Know, What to Do
- 05/22/13 - You Need Phosphorous to Live-and We're Running Out
- 05/21/13 - Vilsack Promises to Grow U.S. Organic Industry
- 05/20/13 - Organic Food Industry Gains Clout On Capitol Hill, Causing Tensions Within Congress
- 05/20/13 - Hijacked Organic, Limited Local, Faulty Fair Trade
- 05/20/13 - Consumer Alert: 'Natural' Skin Care Labels Often Mean Little or Nothing
- 05/20/13 - Farm Bill Fiasco: What Next for the Food Movement?
- 05/15/13 - Research Reveals Previously Unknown Pathway by which Glyphosate Wrecks Health
- 05/14/13 - OCA Calls On NOP To Get Carageenan Out Of Organics
- 05/09/13 - Tell the National Organic Program: Get Gut-Wrenching Carageenan Out of Organic!
- 05/08/13 - Are You Being Scammed by the Whole Foods 'Fresh' Bar?
- 05/07/13 - Doubts Surface About Safety of Common Food Additive, Carrageenan
- 05/07/13 - Update - Help Us Find the Top Ten ‘Right-to-Know’ Grocers!
- 05/04/13 - Food Fraud: What Are You Really Eating?
- 05/01/13 - Save the Birds and Bees: Don't Let the EPA Approve Another Toxic Insecticide
- 04/30/13 - Michael Pollan: Americans Cook Less Than Ever, But Love Watching It on TV
- 04/29/13 - Frankenapple: Bad News No Matter How You Slice It
- 04/25/13 - Investing in Organics Ain't Natural
- 04/24/13 - Pressure Mounts to Remove Genetically Engineered Ingredients from Infant Formula
- 04/23/13 - Earth Balance Betrays Consumers With False Non-GMO and Organic Claims
- 04/22/13 - Small Farms Fight Back: Food and Community Self-Governance
- 04/22/13 - Ripe for Change: The California Farming Method
- 04/18/13 - Is Organic Better? Ask a Fruit Fly
- 04/17/13 - OCA and Consumer Activists to Picket, Protest GMO Apple at Biotechnology Industry Organization Convention in Chicago
- 04/17/13 - Sustainable Packaging Makes Outside of Products as 'Green' As What's Inside
- 04/16/13 - Gardening Tomatoes Organically - A Brief Guide
- 04/14/13 - Whole Foods Pushes Forward on Product Labeling Initiatives
- 04/14/13 - Think Those Chemicals Have Been Tested?
- 04/11/13 - Look out Monsanto: The Global Food Movement is Rising
- 04/10/13 - Ten Retailers Urged To Pull Potentially Toxic Products
- 04/10/13 - Want to Get Americans Off Junk Food? Pay Them a Living Wage
- 04/08/13 - Leafy Greens Essential for Immune Regulation and Tumor Resolution
- 04/08/13 - 'Pasture-Raised': Can This Under-the-Radar Food Label Go Legit?
- 04/03/13 - Tips for Climate-Friendly Eating
- 04/03/13 - Is Your Workout Gear Ruining Farm Fields?
- 03/29/13 - Behind The Label: Organix's Misleading Labeling
- 03/25/13 - Turmeric | Curcumin and Turmeric Benefits
- 03/25/13 - 27 Ways to Make Your Groceries Last
- 03/25/13 - The Whole Truth about Whole Foods Labeling Policy
- 03/25/13 - Sustainable Food Loses its Biggest Champion in Washington, D.C.
- 03/25/13 - Why Organic Tomatoes are More Nutritious Than Other Fruits
- 03/22/13 - Stop The Threat To Local GMO Regulation in Oregon!
- 03/19/13 - Antibiotic Use On Organic Apples and Pears Proves Unnecessary -- Here's How to End the Madness and Protect Yourself
- 03/18/13 - FDA Puts Industry Profit Over Public Health – Defends Safety of Controversial Food Additive
- 03/15/13 - Whole Foods to Require Labeling of GMO Foods
- 03/15/13 - Seafood Watch, Seafood Recommendations from the Monterey Bay Aquarium
- 03/14/13 - Can you trust Whole Foods?
- 03/14/13 - Will You Still Allow the FDA to Control What You Eat?
- 03/09/13 - Your Clothes Are Making Indian Cotton Farmers Commit Suicide
- 03/09/13 - Whole Foods Market to Label Genetically Engineered Foods: New York Times
- 03/07/13 - ORCA to Attack ‘Natural’ Products Intentional Mislabeling
- 03/07/13 - Action Alert: Don't Frack our Food and Farms!
- 03/07/13 - Get Antibiotics Out of Organic Apples and Pears!
- 03/07/13 - ORCA to Attack ‘Natural’ Products Labeling Fraud
More News Headlines
PDF About Organic Food
Educate yourself, family, and friends, with this new pamphlet about organic food created by the University of Minnesota.
Download the PDF here: What is Organic Food and Why Should I Care?
Resources
- Organic Directories
- Find Organic Food Stores
- Which Organic Milk Brands Are Best for the Environment and Animal Welfare?
- Confused About Organic Wine?
- Why You Need to Buy Organic Seeds
- Where to Buy Organic and Non-GE Seeds
- The Organic Center: Communicating the verifiable benefits of organic farming and products to society. Visit them here!
- Co-op Grocer Magazine's Online Guide to Starting a Food Co-op
- Good Growing: Why Organic Farming Works - University of Nebraska Press