What is exactly Organic Foods ?
Organic foods refer to items that are produced in traditional ways.
What does traditional organic foods mean?
Organic production defines as an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances diversity, biological cycles and biological soil activity.
Without using:
Pesticides
Synthetic fertilisers
Bioengineering
Ionyzing radiation
Genetically modified crops
Farming organic uses various methods to maintain soil fertility, such as crop rotation, tillage, cultivation practices, cover crops and natural products.
Organic farmers use animal wastes, botanical , biological or non synthetic pests control. These Farmers also use specific methods to minimise air, soil and water pollution.
Meat and Milk:
Organic livestock are feed with requirements for organic livestock, that means raising on grass and alfalfa, pasturing without antibiotics or synthetic hormones, which result in higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Also animals must consume only organic feed and receive vitamin and mineral supplements .
Biological or organic milk has less saturated fat than non organic and 50% more omega-3 fatty acids.
Vegetables and Fruits:
The good way to find organic products is to visit your local farmers market. This way can minimise any anxiety you may have about where your food comes from. Weeds are controlled naturally (crop rotation, hand weeding, mulching, and tilling).
Organic vegetables and fruits have more beneficial nutrients such as antioxidants, that have a health benefits. All this because the plants without fertilisers and pesticides, have a great stress and may require plants to devote greater resources toward the synthesis of they own chemical defence mechanisms, which increase the polyphenolic action for their defence.
For exemple:
Biological or organic Tomatoes shown higher levels of vitamin C, polyphenols and lycopene.
Organic Strawberries shown higher anti proliferative activity against colon cancer and breast cancer which may be considered a possible mechanism, by which organic foods could reduce human cancer risks compared with conventional foods.
Organic Fruits are fuller of vitamins and minerals especially when it comes to the season!
Do “Organic and Natural” mean the same think ?
No !
Natural, on a food label, means that it has no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. It does not refer to the methods or materials using to produce the food ingredients. Therefore is not organic.
“Free Range or Hormone Free” are organic foods?
No !
Cage Free, Free Range or Hormone Free do not indicate that the farmer follows all guidelines for organic certification. But if you know the producer and will visit him, you will see his methods of production and how he does it, and make sure what you buy.
Free Range Poultry-—– the system allows birds to range freely during the day and be safely on secure houses over night. Birds are free to practice normal bird behaviour than in any other pasture-based system. It is a very sustainable production system that improves the farmers soil and produces poultry with strong bones and very happy.
Pastured or Free -range eggs—– have more of an orange colour to their yolks owing to the abundance of greens and insects in the birds diet. However an orange yolk is no guarantee that an egg comes from a free-range hen. Feed additives such as marigold petal meal, dried algae and alfalfa meal can be used to colour the yolks. Eggs from hens that have exposure to sunlight, have 4 times more vitamin D, and are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
And what about Organic or Locally Grown?
Organic farming bases on holistic principles. It may sound like an elusive concept, but the basis for organic farming is actually very simple: Allows nature to do what nature does best!
Everyday many products can be producing on organic farms: Vegetables, Grains, Fruits, Meat, Dairy, Poultry, Eggs.
Organic products or animals are grown on farms committed to environmentally friendly agricultural methods. In order to label produce as organic, these farms must meet government standards. However, when organic food travels long distances to markets, travel know as ” Food miles”——-it creates more pollution that sometimes outweighs the positive environmental effects of organic farming.
Food grown locally is fresh and seasonal. If you’ve ever had a vegetable garden, you know that the best foods are the ones that don’t sit on a shelf waiting for you to eat them. Buying local food also allows you to help your community’s economy and help reduce costs associated with food miles. However, local food is not necessarily grown with organic methods.
But with so many options, how do we choose the best product?
DECIDING WHETHER TO BY ORGANIC OR LOCALLY GROWN FOOD IS A PERSONAL CHOICE BASED IN HEALTH CONCERNS!
When you know the local producer, you can check their production methods and buy safer. Maybe you can find locally and organic together. Besides, it’s cheaper when you go to the producer then buying from organic stores or supermarkets.
What factors explain consumers purchasing behaviour ?
People who buy organic products have a well-defined health awareness. They care about the quality, the benefits they contain, the pure taste and the nutritional value. A lot more people care with the security that they are buying real products.——– One common concern with organic foods is cost. Typically cost more than conventional, due in part, to more expensive farming practices.
The Conventional Agriculture:
Chemicals have been declared safe in the quantities used for conventional farming, but health experts still warm about the potential harms of repeating exposure. The most commonly using herbicide Roundup has been classified as a “probable human and animal carcinogen”.
Conventional livestock are feed with antibiotics to protect against illness and unsanitary conditions. These animals are also injecting with synthetic growth hormones to gain weight faster or to produce more milk. Poor animals live in constant stress. Babies are separated from their mothers without having the right to feed on breast milk. These mothers are forced to become pregnant while lactating and life expectancy decreases in 60%.
Can you imagine what does mean to eat these products ?
Chickens live in constant light to produce more eggs at the expense of hormones. They have no space to move around and hygienic conditions are poor. Consequently forces the producer to inject antibiotics to control disease. These chickens are very stressed and suffer a lot from these conditions, which apply to all animals.
Additionally, trace of these substances are found in the products deriving from these animals and these residues we believe to contribute to widespread antibiotic resistance and increase risk of all types of cancer.
Pregnant woman, young children, elderly and people suffering from allergies, may benefit the most from choosing organically produced foods.
In Conclusion:
Organic foods are found only in health stores. Nowadays, we can find also in most supermarkets. This is a more convenient way to buy food rather than going to the producer. But if you want to go a little deeper, you can choose local producers that besides offering fresh products are cheaper than in stores. Today we are more aware of the problems that involve good nutrition. Opting for organic products is not only for health, but also respect for the animals that live only to serve us!
by Helena
Naturalize Yourself !
Ref:
M.Massey, A. O’Cass, P.Otaha. Meta-Analytic study of the factors driving the purchase of organic food.
Olson and others 2006 Antioxidant levels and inhibition of cancer cell proliferation in vitro by extracts from organic and conventionally cultivated strawberries.
Asami and others 2003. Comparison of the total phenolic and ascorbic acid content from conventional, organic and sustainable agricultural practices.
Mayo Clinic Staff.
Hen welfare- Free Range Farmers Association Inc Retrieved august 2017.