An Organic Future

Posted: March 2, 2015 at 1:52 pm


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The words organic and sustainability are bandied around quite a bit. While some wont eat anything but organic, others deny that theres any future in organic farming. After all, with a population thats seven billion-strong and growing, how can we possibly expect organics to feed the world? Or so the critics ask. In their view, feeding the masses simply cant be done without strong chemicals and genetic modification.

However, organic farming has far more capacity than many people imagine. It goes way, way beyond growing a few tomato plants on your back verandah. Besides, if we want to live on a clean, healthy planet, going organic is the only way forward not only for gardeners and farmers, but also for all businesses related to agriculture, from your local caf to your nearest supermarket, from your preferred beautician to your favorite clothing boutique. In fact, when you think about just how many industries depend on agriculture, its clear that a shift towards sustainable, chemical-free practices is essential.

Worker and consumer health

The first and most pressing argument for organics is human health. Current intensive agricultural practices expose people especially farmworkers to toxic pesticides. In 2002, a Californianstudyrevealed that, between 1997 and 2000, an average of 475 farmworkers suffered pesticide poisoning annually. As the study suggests, the total figure was probably much higher, given that many cases go unreported each year. Whats more? Increasingly,studiesare demonstrating links between pesticides and cancer, as well as disruption of the endocrine system.

Meanwhile, those at the other end of organic farming consumers also face health risks. Food grown using intensive techniques cancontain pesticide residues, which consumers ingest when they eat. Plus, some studies show that organic products are more nutritious than their conventionally farmed counterparts. For example, astudy(PDF) conducted by the (admittedly biased) Organic Center showed that organic food performs much better when it comes to antioxidant power, polyphenol levels and flavonoid levels. And the same goes for animal products. Dairy products from animals raised on organic farms, which havent been fed antibiotics, tend to be higher in antioxidants and omega-3.

Continue reading at ENN affiliate, Triple Pundit.

Harvest image via Shutterstock.

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An Organic Future

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Written by simmons |

March 2nd, 2015 at 1:52 pm

Posted in Organic Food




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