Why Go Organic?
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With so many opinions on what and how to feed your family, getting the facts about organic food is essential.
There’s much talk about organic foods today. It’s hard to sort out the fact from fiction.
If your children are preschoolers or older, it’s not too late to begin serving whole food, organic food and food grown on sustainable farms. You’re family, your community and the environment will all benefit.
Health Benefits
There are many health benefits to organic foods. Eating organic foods while you’re breastfeeding and feeding your child organic foods provides many health benefits. Here are some things you should know about organic food.
Fruits and vegetables grown organically show significantly higher levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants than conventionally grown foods. Research suggests that pesticides and herbicides actually thwart the production of certain chemicals that act as a plant’s natural defense and also happen to be good for our health. Fertilizers, however, seem to boost the levels of anti-cancer compounds.
Organic fruits and vegetables have more vitamins. The use of herbicides and pesticides appears to reduce the vitamin and mineral content in the fruits and vegetables we eat. Part of the reason for this is that the fertilizers we use cause plants to grow much larger and contain more water. Because of this, the vitamins and minerals are in lower concentration in fruits and vegetables that are grown using these fertilizers.
Certified organic products meet stringent standards. When you see that a product has been Certified Organic by QAI (Quality Assurance International), you can rest assured that the product, its ingredients and the manufacturer have gone through a thorough investigation.
Organic production reduces health risks. The EPA considers 60% of all herbicides (weed killers), 90% of all fungicides (mold killers), and 30% of all insecticides (insect killers) used today as potentially cancer-causing. Organic farming keeps harmful chemicals and pesticides out of the food we eat and the beverages we drink. It also prohibits the use of antibiotics in animal food.
Choosing organic foods when you’re breastfeeding helps ensure that you’re passing on natural and healthy things to your baby through your breastmilk. A startling study in the United Kingdom reported that human breastmilk has been found to contain over 350 manmade chemicals which are being passed onto breastfed babies in toxic concentrations.
Organic Resources
There are many online and offline resources for families with a desire to go organic.
Informative Websites Include:
- www.kidsorganics.com – Provides organic lunch box ideas for your schoolagers.
- www.organicagcentre.ca/kids_info.html – Provides practical information and links for organic strategic planning in Canada.
- www.localharvest.org/organic-farms/ – Let’s you find local and sustainable farms in your area!
Books for Families Include:
- Green Living by The Editors of E/ The Environmental Magazine, E. Magazine E. Magazine
- The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life: Simple Measures That Benefit You and the Place You Live by Nell Newman and Joseph D’Agnese
Feeding organic foods to your children is a great way to help ensure that they’re healthy. We all want to give our children the best possible start, and fresh, natural organic foods are a great way to help!