Healthy Foods: Benefits Eating Organic
7 Reasons to Go Organic
Research shows that you can improve your health and the environment by supporting organic practices
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Organic Eating 101
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1
Organic fruits and veggies are nutritionally rich
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Organic agriculture reduces our exposure to harmful pesticides
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Organic meat and dairy may contain more healthy fats
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Organic farming protects the environment
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Organic products are processed without hormones or antibiotics
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Organic foods don’t contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
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Organic practices support animal welfare
Organic Eating 101
Image: Thinkstock
The O-word has become a familiar term, but it’s also one that raises a lot of questions. For one, what exactly does it mean for a food to be organic? And are these foods better for us than traditionally produced products?
Organic foods are some of the most regulated and monitored in the United States. There are strict requirements put on these products to ensure that they are produced without the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, genetic engineering (what does this mean?), antibiotics, growth hormones, or artificial colors flavors and preservatives. The price of meeting these rigorous standards sometimes means a steeper price tag for consumers. Organic farming is more labor and management intensive, and the farms are smaller, so farmers don’t benefit from the economies of scale that larger conventional operations have. Likewise, they don’t receive federal subsidies.
Go Organic Without Breaking the Bank
On the plus side, organic food tends to be cleaner, in the sense that it’s made without a lot of the chemicals that are allowed in less-regulated products. And research does increasingly point to some benefits of eating organic when it comes to nutrition and the environment. “Whenever you choose organic, you’re supporting a system of agriculture that provides for the health of the soil, water, air, farm workers and farm families, communities where farms are, and the health of the planet,” says Barbara Haumann, a spokesperson for the Organic Trade Association. “It’s our personal health, but it’s also a wider issue.” Read on to learn more about the benefits of incorporating organic foods into your diet.
Use food to conquer the blues, lose weight and fight disease with the Happiness Diet
Organic foods are some of the most regulated and monitored in the United States. There are strict requirements put on these products to ensure that they are produced without the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, genetic engineering (what does this mean?), antibiotics, growth hormones, or artificial colors flavors and preservatives. The price of meeting these rigorous standards sometimes means a steeper price tag for consumers. Organic farming is more labor and management intensive, and the farms are smaller, so farmers don’t benefit from the economies of scale that larger conventional operations have. Likewise, they don’t receive federal subsidies.
Go Organic Without Breaking the Bank
On the plus side, organic food tends to be cleaner, in the sense that it’s made without a lot of the chemicals that are allowed in less-regulated products. And research does increasingly point to some benefits of eating organic when it comes to nutrition and the environment. “Whenever you choose organic, you’re supporting a system of agriculture that provides for the health of the soil, water, air, farm workers and farm families, communities where farms are, and the health of the planet,” says Barbara Haumann, a spokesperson for the Organic Trade Association. “It’s our personal health, but it’s also a wider issue.” Read on to learn more about the benefits of incorporating organic foods into your diet.
Use food to conquer the blues, lose weight and fight disease with the Happiness Diet
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