‘Many people put more time into the maintenance of their cars than into their own body! Buy yourself organic vegetables and eat them. Invest in yourself.’
Annie Padden
14 Key Reasons Why You Should Go Organic
Numerous studies have shown that organic food is substantially healthier than conventional food because it has higher nutritional values and negligible chemical residues when compared to conventionally farmed food.
1) No chemicals
Organic fresh produce and food products are free of chemicals such as pesticide residues, artificial colourings, preservatives, flavourings, hydrogenated fats (trans-fats), enhancers, stabilisers, fillers, sweeteners and all other additives that could have cumulative health effects.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that between 3.5 and 5 million people globally suffer from acute pesticide poisoning every year.
In Australia, more than 7200 registered pesticides such as insecticides, fungicides and herbicides are used for agricultural purposes.1 These pesticides are used in the food production industry to kill insects, diseases and weeds.
Most agricultural and veterinary chemicals leave residues in food. This is why residue tolerance level called the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) is set for these chemicals. Governments also place legal limits on the level of pesticide residues known as the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) that can be present in food.
When animal testing shows that a certain dose level of poison has no observable ill effects, this dose forms the basis for determining the ADI. Authorities then claim that any residue levels below the ADI are too low to cause health problems. The MRL is usually estimated by testing individual pesticides on rats. However, many studies have shown that most conventionally grown foods have a cocktail of pesticides and other chemical residues instead of just individual chemicals.2, 3, 4, 5
The 20th Australian Total Diet Survey conducted by the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) in 2003 detected about 36 different pesticide residues in foods. The majority of agricultural pesticides were not included in residue testing. Some of the most widely used herbicides such as Atrazine, Glyphosate and Paraquat were not included in the testing.6
Most agricultural poisons also leave residues of breakdown chemicals when they degrade.4.10 There is virtually no testing to detect the residues of these breakdown chemicals in our food.
Most agricultural poisons are mixtures of one or more active ingredients and other so-called ‘inert’ mostly toxic chemicals such as solvents and surfactants. Only the active ingredient is individually tested to determine a safety level for the ADI. The actual registered product, which is the mixture of chemicals used by farmers, is not tested to determine the safety levels in our food.
Farmers also tend to use a combination of the biocides together with synthetic fertilisers in food production.
Most of the 7200 registered pesticides in Australia are not tested for long term effects such as reproductive problems, birth defects, hormone disruption, nerve damage, immune system disorder and cancers. Pesticides are normally tested individually for a relatively short period. Virtually nothing is known about the cumulative effects of consuming combinations of potentially hundreds of different chemicals over the course of a life time.
A good body of scientific research is showing that repeated exposures to cocktails of small amounts of synthetic chemicals have a range of adverse health effects including disruptions to the immune, hormonal and nervous systems. Studies have linked agricultural and other synthetic chemicals to increases in autoimmune diseases and cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, breast, uterine and prostate cancers.4,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14
The majority of people get most of their exposure to pesticides through food, especially fresh fruit and vegetables. The 2010
report by the US President’s Cancer Panel recommended that people consume food grown without pesticides, chemical fertilisers and growth hormones.15
A detailed scientific analysis of organic fruits and vegetables in USA showed that organic foods have significantly less residues and are less likely to contain multiple pesticide residues than conventionally grown foods.2
A similar study in Australia by Ruth McGowan for the Victorian Department of Primary Industries conducted thousands of tests on three hundred samples of certified organic produce. The study concluded that Victorian organic produce is virtually ‘chemical free’.16
Both of these studies showed that organic produce have a lower incidence and level of pesticide residues than non-organic produce. Where residues were found, these were due to environmental pollution from pesticides used in conventional farming.
Washing or peeling conventional produce only removes a percentage of the pesticides as they tend to be absorbed through the whole of the produce. The most effective way to avoid these toxins is to eat certified organic produce grown without the use of any synthetic and toxic chemicals.
2) Healthier Kids
Feeding our children with organic food will significantly reduce their exposure to pesticide residues. Studies have found that children with predominantly conventional diets had greater levels of pesticide metabolites in their urine than did children with predominantly organic diets.5,18
The 20th Australian Total Diet Survey had found pesticide residues even in infant food. They also found the dietary exposure to these chemicals was highest for the toddler age group.6 However because this dietary exposure is below the ADI, many regulatory authorities continue to state that these low levels of pesticide residues do not cause any problems.
The Minimum Residue Levels for pesticides do not take into account the combination effect of eating a variety of these residues or the differences between children and adult.
Infants and children are more susceptible to the effects of chemicals due to their larger intake of food per kilo of body weight, narrower range of food consumed, increased intake of more high risk food such as fruit and vegetable and the reduced ability of their developing vital organs in eliminating toxins.
Until the age of six, a child’s body has more water and less fat than an adult’s. In an adult, fat tissues trap and store pesticide residues, but in a child with lesser amount of fat tissue, more toxins will be circulating in the blood. A child’s immature liver and kidneys have a reduced ability to break down these toxins.
Many scientists believe these exposures of minute quantities of biocides are very significant for children. Independent studies have shown that exposure to amounts more than 1000 times lower than previously regarded as safe caused serious health and developmental problems. 4,7,17
3) No Antibiotics, Hormones or Pathogens
Food-borne illnesses are becoming increasingly common as food-producing animals are reared in close confines and given broad spectrum antibiotics to promote growth. The overuse of antibiotics reduces the immunity of the animals making them more susceptible to diseases which can potentially be passed on to the consumers. This practice also favours the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria in both animal and human populations.
Resistant bacteria carried by food-producing animals can spread to humans through consumption of contaminated food, from direct contact with animals or by environmental spread such as contaminated water. The genes coding for antimicrobial resistance can potentially be transferred from micro-organisms carried by animals to micro-organisms that cause disease in humans.
Even though cattle in Australia are not fed growth hormones, many cattle have slow release implants containing Hormone Growth Promoters (HGPs) placed under the skin on to the back of their ear to improve their growth rate and help them convert feed to meat more efficiently.
HGPs have been used in Australia since 1979. In the period from 2006 to 2007, around 40 per cent of cattle were raised using HGPs, with a total of 6.56 million HGP doses used on farms and in the feedlot industry. (Meat & Livestock Australia, 2008) Resistant bacteria such as Vancomycin
Resistant Enterococci (VRE) can potentially spread via the food chain from the use of HGPs. A ban on the use of HGPs by the European Union since 1988 had resulted in a reduction of VRE in animals and its presence in the general population. (World Health Organization, 2011).19
Organic farmers are not allowed to routinely give their livestock antibiotics as growth promoters or preventative medical measures. If you are eating organic meat, you are much less likely to be eating food that contains antibiotic residues or pathogens.
A United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report in July 2000 concluded that organic practices can actually reduce E-coli infection that causes food poisoning and also reduce the levels of contaminants in foods. 20
A study of organic and conventional chicken operations in North Carolina found conventional barns have a higher prevalence of Salmonella in the faecal samples, higher likelihood of contamination of feeds with Salmonella and higher incidence of multi-resistant Salmonella.21
Organic livestock have lower levels of pathogens due to high animal welfare standards and the prohibition of routine antibiotic use. The organic farmer is also prohibited from using feeds that contain animal by-products which could have been contaminated with pathogens.
4) Better Nutrition
Organic farming produces healthier plants as they are grown on soil that has not been impoverished by intensive farming methods. They in turn produce healthier foods that give our bodies the nourishment to function at an optimum level. In contrast, the use of synthetic fertilisation of soil, early picking, over-processing and extended storage of food in conventional farming depletes their nutritional value.
A scientific study published in the Journal of Applied Nutrition in 1993 clearly showed that organic food is more nutritious than conventional food. On a per-weight basis, average levels of essential minerals were much higher in the organically grown than in the conventionally grown food.22
Two independent studies that compared the differences between organic and conventional foods concluded that there is overwhelming evidence that organic food is more nutritious than conventional food. 23,24
5) No Genetic Modification
The only way to be sure your food has not been genetically modified (GM) is to buy certified organic foods. Genetically modified foods may present serious hazards to human health.
In an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, Nestle (1996) commented that the transfer of genes from microbes, plants, or animals into foods raises issues about the unintended consequences of such manipulations. Genes encode proteins and proteins can cause allergic reactions. Biotechnology companies may be introducing allergenic proteins from donor organisms into the food supply. 25
There is a large body of scientific evidence that shows that GM crop and food products are highly prone to unpredictable effects when they were fed to animals.26,27,28 When GM foods are fed to humans, they can potentially produce unpredictable and serious health consequences. GM foods have not been independently tested for their long term effects on our health.
6) No Irradiation
Most of the food in the American diet is already approved by the US. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for irradiation. These foods include beef, pork, lamb, poultry, wheat, wheat flour, seeds for sprouting, vegetables, fruits, shell eggs, herbal teas, herbs and spices.
In Australia and New Zealand, only herbs and spices, herbal infusions and some tropical fruits have been approved to be irradiated. Organic produce and food products cannot be subjected to irradiation.
Irradiation damages food by breaking up molecules and creating free radicals. Apart from killing some bacteria in food, these free radicals can combine with existing chemicals (like pesticide residues) in the food to form new chemicals called unique radiolytic products (URPs).
We cannot assume URPs are safe as scientists have not studied the long-term effect of these new chemicals in our diet. There is also limited scientific evidence on the long term effects of irradiated foods on babies and children.
Irradiation can cause changes to both macro and micronutrients in foods, depending on the irradiation dose. It causes the loss of vitamins including Vitamin A, B complex, C, E and K. The amount of loss depends on the dose of irradiation and the length of storage time. The amino acid and essential polyunsaturated fatty acid content in food can also be affected. Irradiation also destroys the natural digestive enzymes found in raw foods.
7) Better Taste
Higher soil nutrients, healthier plants grown in season, fewer early pickings, reduced time in storage, lack of over-processing, higher natural sugar content and happier animals raised in a natural environment, all contribute to a better quality and flavour in organic produce.
8) Safer Home
By choosing organic, you will live in a safer, chemical-free home where indoor pollution and toxic chemicals play little part in your daily life. The garden will be a safe, chemical-free place for your children and pets to play in. Your home will become a sanctuary from the dangers of our modern world, creating certainty and a more positive outlook for you and your family’s future.
9) Better Future
With governments seemingly unwilling to act, it is our responsibility to ensure that we do all that we can to promote a cleaner world for future generations.
Buying organic increases the demand for organic products, this in turn, encourages farmers, food manufacturers and retailers to produce more organic products. This will make organic food more readily available, less expensive and therefore more affordable to all.
Increasing the demand for organic produce ultimately will lead to the reversal of conventional farming practices and the damaging effects they are having on our health and environment.
10) Healthier Ecosystems
Organic farming practices reduce the amount of toxins and chemicals in our food and the environment. They help to eliminate chemical leaching, thus protecting and conserving our environment and water resources.
Organic farmers are required to set aside at least 5% (with most contributing more) of their farming land to biodi versity areas where there is no intensive agricultural production. These areas are vital in the conservation of our fast disappearing natural wildlife and their habitats.
Organic farmers also create healthier habitats for native animals by revegetating with native species, creating ponds and nurturing wildflowers and native pastures. This helps to promote the re-establishment and balance of the native ecosystems that have been lost through decades of conventional farming practices.
The heavy use of chemical fertilisers has resulted in high nitrate concentrations in many conventionally farmed foods, especially in fruits and vegetables. These agricultural chemicals also affect our environment as they easily leach away from the land, accumulating in the sediments of our rivers and estuaries where they enter the food chain. The leaching of nitrates has also resulted in high nitrate levels in some drinking water supplies around the world.
High nitrate levels within our food and drinking water, when consumed, can be converted into nitrite, which can react readily with amines and amides to form nitrosamines which are known carcinogens. Nitrates may also pose a risk of methaemoglobinaemia, a condition resulting in symptoms such as tiredness and a general feeling of being unwell, and a form of ‘Blue Baby Syndrome’.
Methaemoglobinaemia can occur in infants and in adults with a reduced ability to secrete acid in the stomach. A rise in the pH in their digestive system allows bacteria to proliferate, increasing the conversion of nitrate to nitrite. These nitrites react with the haemoglobin in the blood, forming high amounts of methaemoglobin which lacks the ability to carry oxygen in the blood.
11) Sustainability
Organic farming practices are considered to be highly sustainable and are based on the principal of building and nurturing the natural biodiversity and structure within the soils and the surrounding environment.
Structure and essential nutrients are created through the application of natural mulches, composts, animal and green manures. This process naturally stimulates microbial action within the soil structure resulting in healthy fertile and productive soils, full of nutrients.
Organic farming practices create a beneficial long term solution to the agricultural problems facing the world today.
Decades of conventional farming techniques with their associated synthetic chemical inputs and mono cultural approach have all but destroyed much of the world’s most fertile farming soils leaving them almost devoid of life and highly susceptible to erosion and in some cases unable to support life.
12) Biodiversity
Conventional farming is about killing everything that poses a threat to the maximum yield of the crop being produced. This is commonly achieved through the use of synthetic chemicals. The implications of this are considered secondary to the yield of the crop. The effects of these chemicals on our environment are cumulative and long lasting.
Over 29,500 tonnes of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and plant growth regulators are used each year in Australia (Australian Govern ment Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, 2006).
Organic farming is about preserving and nurturing life and promoting diversity within the environment.
Organic farming encourages natural biodiversity and preservation of the natural genetic variety of plants, insects and animal species. Organic farmers often grow traditional heirloom and unusual varieties of fruits and vegetables that are becoming increasingly difficult to source. They are also more likely to rear traditional breeds of livestock that will be more suited to the local conditions and will generally produce a more superior outcome.
Conventional farming tends to rely on fewer seed types and animals, chosen for their size and yield of body mass to increase profitability. This has resulted in a loss of variety in the types of fruits, vegetables and meat products available to consumers.
The use of genetically modified seed stock, which is usually controlled by few large corporations, is of concern to the organic industry.
These genetically modified plant crops may pose a threat to the organic farmer’s ability to grow and cultivate traditional varieties as cross pollination will almost certainly occur, resulting in the contamination of the traditional varieties.
13) Animal Welfare
Organic standards ensure strict animal welfare conditions are met. Organic livestock practices are more humane and allow livestock to grow in a natural environment with free access to fields or outdoor areas, natural bedding and plenty of indoor areas. They are not mutilated, confined or caged. They graze on organic pasture and are fed natural organic feedstuff that has not been contaminated with chemicals, animal by-products or genetically modified products.
14) Farmer Wellbeing
Conventional farmers and their families are exposed to numerous chemicals, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides. A US National Cancer Institute study found that these farm workers have a higher risk of developing cancer compared to organic farmers who do not use any of these chemicals.15
A case-controlled study published in 1999 showed that non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) is linked to exposure to a range of pesticides and herbicides including glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. 11NHL has gone from being one of the world’s rarest cancers to one of the most common cancers amongst those exposed to agricultural chemicals.
The latest report in 2010 by the US President’s Cancer Panel clearly stated that environmental toxins, including chemicals used in farming, are the main causes of cancers and raised particular concern over the exposure levels for children. It was written by eminent scientists and medical specialists in this field and published by the US Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.
This report also stated that the current methods of testing and regulating chemicals such as pesticides are inadequate. Several critical issues were also raised including higher levels of chemicals in women, exposure of children to chemicals in utero, the increasing rate of childhood cancers, children having special risk for cancer due to environmental contaminants and a higher rate of leukaemia in children exposed to pesticides.15
The Agricultural Health Study (AHS) is the largest-ever assessment of the health of workers involved in US agriculture and has been underway for almost two decades. It looks at the relationship between pesticide use and exposure and elevated cancer risk in farm workers. Lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and brain cancer were among the cancers elevated in children of farmers who use pesticides.29
A study conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison showed that developing foetus and children are at risk from common agricultural chemical mixtures found at levels below those that authorities regard as safe. These low dose mixtures can influence the developing neurological, endocrine and immune systems and potentially can cause diminished learning ability and behavioural problem.30
A study of farm worker families in California has shown that by age three and a half, children born to mothers exposed to organophosphate (OP) insecticides have lessened attention spans and are more vulnerable to attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Male children were more likely to be impacted.31
Biotechnology research such as genetic modification is done predominantly by private corporations. There are concerns that a few powerful companies will end up dominating and controlling the market in the agricultural sector. This could have detrimental effects on small scale farmers all over the world.
Small scale farmers may end up having to pay for crop varieties bred from genetic material that originally came from their own farms. Some biotechnology companies may be developing technology that could prevent a crop from being grown the following year from its own seed. This means farmers will no longer have the ability to save their own seeds for planting in the next season, which has been common practice for thousands of years.
In this world of chemical-driven mass agricultural production, organic farming is a survival means for small, independently owned family farms.
Every time you purchase certified organic products you are investing in the future of our country, and its hard working and caring farmers and their families. This is a future we can ill afford not to invest in and we have the power in our own hands every single day of our lives to make this difference. If it is one thing we actively and positively do every day of our lives it can be this simple act of asking for and purchasing certified organic products.
‘A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.’
Albert Schweitzer
References: