Organic Food

It Tastes better, has lots more goodness, fewer pesticides and herbicides and other toxic chemicals but is it really any better than the one on a shelf in the supermarket costing almost half the price???

Yes definitely - We knew it all along time despite what the food industry was telling us -- Read on

Organic Food is more Nutritious. The food lobby strongly denies that there are more vitamis, minerals and nutrients in organic food. This is patently nonsense. Not only are the common minerals such as magnesium and calcium more plentiful but so are the less common trace elements. No credible research has been done to prove the food industry's assertions, but healthier, more attentive adults and children are the obvious result of going organic.

People Who Eat Organic Food are Healthier Government sponsored research carried out in the European Union in 2007 has shown a reduction of almost 40% in the incidence of eczema in children fed with organically grown food. The Danes banned hydrogenated fats several years ago and since then have had a reduction of deaths due to heart disease by a similar amount. The 40% reduction in deaths is due to several factors but other countries who have imroved living conditions in a similar manner have not experienced such dramatic improvements. Eating wholefoods has been proven to stabilize body weight. It makes sense that the body, if fed nutritionally deficient food will demand more of it to compensate for the lack of nutrients.

Additives Cause Problems. I and many others suffer from migraine attacks and I became aware in my teens that certain foods brought it on. Examining the food packets after an episode taught me to avoid monosodium glutamate. Now I read advice on the internet from trusted sources saying the same thing. Monosodium Glutamate is also considered by some to be a neurotoxin.

A UK Government standards organization conducted research that proved what many parents already know; that some additives cause hyperactivity in children.

Healthy Livestock means Healthy People. Animals that are not pumped full of antibiotics, steroids and toxin-containing feedstocks produce better quality meat, with up to ten times as much Omega 3 fatty acids which are essential to mental and general health. The meat of organic, free range chickens is considerably lower in fat which is a very good thing with those living the western lifestyle.

Antibiotics from low grade meat is creating a problem in that both the bacteria affecting livestock and humans are developing antibiotic resistances.

The kind of farmers who produce organic food are generally those who attempt to keep their livestock happier as well as healthier. The majority of the Martin household are not yet vegetarian but we do prefer to eat animals that have had a reasonably pain and anxiety-free existence.

Herbicides and Pesticides are Poisons. It is pretty obvious that the insects and plants that we are killing respond to the toxicity of certain chemicals. Are those substances harmless to humans? Definitely harmless say the producers, but not everyone agrees, even when relatively modest amounts of independent research is done on the harmful effects of agrochemicals then we see that the picture presented by the manufacturers is flawed or sometimes downright dishonest. Such research recently forced the chemical giant Monsanto to remove the description 'Biodegradeable' from their 'Roundup' herbicide, the chemical that justifies the production of their genetically modified maize. Organic farmers very rarely spray their crops and only four types are approved compared with the hundreds of types in use.

So far there is no conclusive scientific evidence that there is a correlation between the dramatic drop in human fertility over the past two decades and pesticide use, but the cause of this must be something in our environment and the main suspect has to be an agrochemical. The food industry must not be allowed to monopolize scientific research into the safety of our food.

Other advantages of Organic Farming. Better performance in drought years, a reduced dependence on imported nitrogenous fertilizers,

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LONDON, Oct. 28 2007 (Xinhua) -- A study into organic food has found that it is more nutritious than ordinary produce and may help to lengthen people's lives.

An EU-funded project that cost 12 million pounds (some 24 million U.S. dollars) showed that organic fruit and vegetables contain as much as 40 percent more antioxidants, which are believed to help fend off cancer and heart disease. They also contain more beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc, the Sunday Times reported.

Researchers grew fruit and vegetables and raised cattle on adjacent organic and non-organic sites on a 725-acre (about 290 hectare) farm attached to Newcastle University, and at other sites in Europe. They found that levels of antioxidants in milk from organic herds were up to 90 percent higher than those from conventional herds.

Organic tomatoes from Greece were also found to have significantly higher levels of antioxidants, including flavonoids, thought to reduce coronary heart disease, said the report.

Prof. Carlo Leifert, coordinator of the four-year project, said the differences were so marked that organic produce would help to increase the nutrient intake of those people not eating the recommended five portions a day of fruit and vegetables.

The Food Standards Agency confirmed over the weekend that it was reviewing the evidence before deciding whether to change its advice. British ministers and the agency said earlier that there were no significant differences between organic and ordinary produce. - - China View

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We in the developed word (Japanese partially excepted) are simultaneously overfed and undernourished. An answer is to this is not use additives but to go organic. Food produced in rich soils contains considerably more antioxidants, bioflavonoids and other useful nutrients. According to the Soil Association it takes as many as ten supermarket tomatoes to deliver the goodness of just one 1930s tomato. - Davina Martin

Update Nov 2009 - Junk Food Fuels Depression; according to a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, there is a 58 percent higher risk of depression if you eat processed foods, refined sugars and grains, processed meats and dairy products with a high-fat content.