How to answer the question - "is organic food better?"

Is organic food better? In this article you will learn how to answer this question to your own satisfaction.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Internet access, an open mind and the willingness to seek answers.

1. Step 1 in answering the question – is organic food better?
   
   The world seems to be split down the middle on this question. I am convinced it is though, along with millions of others.
   
   To those of you who are against organic food, I challenge you to dispute the reasons I cite below for believing that organic food is better than non organic food. For this you need to read on with an open mind. To those who are on the fence – you also need to read the following with an open mind. Both of you should also follow the link for more research.
2. Healthy, fertile, organic soil. Step 2 - Understand what makes food organic.
   
   In terms of arable farming or production, it begins with the soil in which the seeds or seedlings are sown. This soil has a rich and balanced ecosystem. In other words it is teeming with the living organisms that provide the minerals and nutrients necessary to sustain and produce new, healthy life, e.g. crops.
   
   This soil is in such good condition because the farmer has rotated his crops, usually each season, rather than growing the same crop all the time. The variation in plant-life results in biodiversity – a wide range of organisms. This leads to the rich and balanced ecosystem mentioned above.
   
   Further, using this system of organic farming means the soil is sustainable. It will go on producing life, unlike intensively farmed soil that eventually turns barren.
   
   The soil (as well as the crops) has also been spared contamination by toxic, synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. These chemicals damage the health of living organisms; plants, animals and humans included. This is why governments have put limits on the residues permitted in conventionally produced foods. Soil farmed organically is free of these poisons.
   
   Finally, in terms of what makes food organic, no genetically modified materials are used. The use of GM materials in food production is another controversial issue. No research has been carried out to guarantee it is safe, the test for safety, ‘substantial equivalence’ is ridiculously inconclusive, and it has been shown that genetic manipulation can disrupt metabolic systems.
   
   Organic certifiers like Soil Association and Organic Growers and Farmers in the UK, and USDA designated certifiers in the US, ensure that what makes food organic has actually taken place.
   
   Is organic food better? On the strength of the environmentally friendly method of organic production alone, I would say so.
   
   Those against organic food are fond of declaring that research fails to support the claim that organic food is better than non organic food. I beg to differ with that assertion. In the next step I provide a few samples of organic food research that has been carried out and found organic foods to be better in many ways.
3. Organic fruit is more nutritious. Step 3 – Study organic food research
   
   In 2001, the Journal of alternative and Complementary Medicine, internationally acknowledged as the leading publisher in biotechnology, published a study by Virginia Worthington, MS, ScD, CNS - Nutrikinetics, Washington, DC.
   
   This study found that …Organic crops contained significantly more vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus and significantly less nitrates than conventional crops. There were non-significant trends showing less protein but of a better quality and a higher content of nutritionally significant minerals with lower amounts of some heavy metals in organic crops compared to conventional ones.
   
   In 2004-5, the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences conducted a report that found that … Organic milk in 7 out of 10 samples contained significantly higher levels of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) than non-organic milk..The beta-carotene content was two to three times higher in organic milk than in non-organic milk
   
   …and in 2006, the University of Liverpool found that … Organic milk had higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids throughout the year, compared to non-organic milk. In particular, average levels of omega-3 fatty acids were 68% higher in organic milk…Organic milk also contains a much lower omega-6:omega-3 fatty acid ratio, which is considered beneficial, than non-organic milk: According to Simopoulos (2002), “a lower ratio of omega3/omega6 is more desirable in reducing the risk of many chronic diseases of high prevalence in Western societies.
   
   In 2007, a 4-year, £12 million project financed by the EU, revealed that …organic tomatoes, peaches and processed apples all have higher nutritional quality than non-organic…scientists conclude "organic cherry and standard tomatoes can be recommended as part of a healthy diet including plant products which have shown to be of value in cancer prevention…organic peaches "have a higher polyphenol content at harvest" and concludes that organic production has "positive effects ... on nutritional quality and taste.
   
   Is organic food better? I’m not going to argue with the experts. The above is a tiny sample of the research that has found positively for organic food. Please copy the following web address and paste it into your browser's address bar. That will take you to more examples of research into the benefits of organic food.
   
   http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/Living/nutrition_research.html
4. Try organic food yourself! Carry out your own hands-on organic food research
   
   The absolute proof for me is my improved health and increased energy since I changed to an organic food diet. From childhood I had been plagued with stomach upsets, which today would be labelled as irritable bowel syndrome. Those problems have all vanished. I also sleep far better than I did before going organic.
   
   As for the taste, I can say hand on heart that the vast majority of the organic food that I eat tastes much better than non organic food. It is like having the taste buds I had as a child.
   
   Is organic food better? Do the research, try it for yourself for a few weeks, and you will have the answer to that question.