- HubPages»
- Food and Cooking»
- Food Safety
Reasons To Buy Organic Food For Your Family
Why Buy Organic?
Are you considering moving your family to an organic diet? Eating organic foods will positively affect their health for years to come. Firmly establishing these new habits will also impact the environment.
It is easier than ever to buy organic food. Currently, more than 3/4 of supermarkets have a health food section, or will include the organic versions of your favorite products side by side in the grocery aisles.
If you are not convinced yet, here are some great reasons to make the change and buy organic food.
Mommy Minute - Why Buy Organic Baby Food?
Best Reasons to Buy Organic
- Children are not little adults. Their little growing bodies are not able to handle and process excessive chemicals. Government regulations limit the amount of pesticides allowed in farming practice based on adult consumption. These levels are not safe for children, and unhealthy for adults.
- Pesticides used in farming have been clearly links to birth defects, nerve damage, cancer and genetic mutations.
- Fruits and vegetables contain the most vitamins and nutrients when the are picked close to full ripeness. Organic produced is transported shorter distances, which allows for picking at optimal ripeness. You reap the full nutritional benefits.
- The full natural flavor of organic food simply tastes better. This has been proven scientifically by tests conducted at Washington State University.
- Conventional farms practice mono-cropping, which entails planting the same crops on large area of land year after year. This practice results in a loss of minerals and nutrients in the soil. Chemical fertilizers are then used instead, killing wild life, necessary soil organisms and contaminating water. Fertilizers drift down stream and create dead zones in ocean environments.
- Organic farming promotes biodiversity. Buying organic and supporting organic farming promotes a less toxic planet.
- A study by the Cancer Institute found that farmers exposed to herbicides have an increased cancer risk (up to 6 times greater) than those who are not exposed.
- Non-Organic cow's milk contains 5 times more toxic pesticides than the organic equivalent.
Buy Organic : Resources
- Organic Kitchen: Recipes
We are the organic foods resource for the web. Links to: recipes, foods, markets, farms, vineyards, restaurants, gardening, and health. - Guide To Organic Cooking
Comments
Thanks for this useful Hub.
- Author
Glad you found this useful! Buying organic is easier than ever before. There is no good reason not to!
Thank you for the tips :)
- Author
You're welcome! I hope you will try organic foods - even changing some of the food you consume will make a difference in your health over the long term!
I was considering to start to buy organic food for my family. Thanks for the information.
- Author
Wow, Tricia, that's wonderful! I try to eat organic as much as possible for the same reason. I have been dealing with headaches fora while now. I'm so glad to hear that it works for you. I have suspected that certain dyes used in foods cause my daughter to feel pretty awful too...I try to keep them out of her diet as well. Thanks for reading and commenting. :)
Eating oraganic food has got rid of my headaches. I'm intolerant to certain e numbers/colourings & can feel terrible - headaches, being sick - if I slip up & eat the wrong thing. Quite difficult when eating out. Now most of my food is organic & I cook ahead for the freezer so have my own ready meals. Result. Headaches 95% gone. Tricia.
- Author
Hi Steve, thanks for reading, I am glad you enjoyed it! :)
Very interesting to learn about the differences between organic farming practices and conventional farming practices. Great Job!
- Author
Hi esocial, thanks for making that point. Regular pet food has the most horrible ingredients! Organic diets would be ideal for the animal in our lives too :)
Excellent information. This also applies to pets! I try to buy organic treats for my dogs whenever possible.
- Author
Thank you so much, Sylvia. I am glad the article brought back good memories! Toxic cocktails is a great way to describe what you get with non-organic food. Then add in the additional chemicals left on clothes from detergents, the fumes we inhale from unsafe cleaning products in the home...ugh! Thanks for reading and commenting :)
Oh how I miss my farm I managed on organic practices. This article brings back those fond memories. Organic produce is much more concentrated on flavours and they are not oversized, overfertilized, crops laced with toxic cocktails you can do without, not to mention the heavy metal residues. It is easy to identify an organic product by the colour concentrate, size, not too perfect shape, and some may have been taste tested for you! Lovely article Amy, It is a service in bringing up articles of this nature. Hats off!
Love,
Sylvia
- Author
Hi Robie, I can't wait for summer and all the great local produce! No one believes that it tastes better until they try it themselves :) Buying organic dairy products is one of the most important changes you can make, especially with young children in the home. Thanks for reading and commenting!
You are welcome, Forex Trader! Thanks for reading.
Thanks for the tips
Great info AmyJane. I'm totally into organic and also local produce where possible. I also spend the extra$$$ to buy organic milk and butter with no hormones. I don't eat a lot of beef, but buy almost exclusively from a local farm that raises and slaughters their own grain fed cattle. The amazing thing is not that it's better for you but that it tastesso much better:-)
- Author
Neil, you always make me laugh! Thank you for the kind words. my Grandmother always talked about how when she grew up, she ate veggies from the garden and meat/fish that really was organic before there even was any talk of Organic and non. She claimed that this was why she lived so long - even though her eating habits changed drastically as she grew older. She ate all the donuts and candy she wanted. "TV dinners" were an amazing thing to her :) And she was very happy about it!
- Author
Hi Twocansmom, thanks for commenting! I haven't read that book, but it sounds like I should. I will add it to my list :)
Thanks, Zsuzsy! I agree. Many people are put off by the price, and I certainly understand that. Even buying half organic will be an improvement for both a famiy's health and our environment!
I admire and am inspired by your wide range of knowledge but even more that you take the time to share it.
The best sound on earth is a babies giggle. Your second video was wonderful.
Finnally, You have exposed my deep dark secret, being raised on all that non-organic food has caused this Grandpa to create Hubs just to brag about his wonderful granddaughter. HI, my name is Neil and I ate non-organic food.
Thanks, NEIL
I hate to think that all the food that's available at the groceries stores has been messed with at one level or another. So as far as I'm concerned organic is the only way to go especially with a young growing family.
Great HUB Amy Jane regards Zsuzsy
So, so true. I buy mostly organic. It may cost a little more, but I like the idea of voting with my dollars. And the long-term health benefits are certainly worth the extra price. Have you read "How Dog Food Saved the Earth"? It tells the story of the Pet Promise company. I haven't eaten conventional strawberries since I read that. Scary stuff. Thanks for writing this hub!
21