Choosing between conventional or organic food can be difficult decision . Unless you know the benefits, you can’t make a decision.
That’s why you need to know some important facts about organic foods.
Does organic food taste better, or is it a marketing gimmick? Are the dangers of pesticides overblown, or is organic sustainable?
All these questions baffle your mind. You sit on the fence about choosing either organic foods or returning to the old food choices.
So, we have collected some organic food facts you must know. These nuggets of gold may help you see the clearer picture.
If you think you should fill your refrigerator with organic stuff, read this article.
How Would You Describe Organic Food?
The food grown through organic farming techniques is called organic food. These techniques involve no use of fertilizers and pesticides and also avoid GMOs.
So, organic food doesn’t use artificial additives in food and livestock production. The food grown in organic processes gives space to a sustainable environment.
By definition, it’s clear that eating organic is beneficial for you. You become an important part of the organic cycle of nature.
Let’s find some myth busters about these foods to show you a clear picture of what you should eat and why.
Interesting Facts About Organic Food You Must Know:
It’s a no-brainer that eating organic foods is a popular slogan nowadays. Conventional farming has damaged the planet’s balanced ecosystem and food chain.
As a result, we see millions of people dying of hunger and global temperature on a hike. The Green Revolution’s impacts have forced people to mend their ways.
So, they eat what’s not only important for themselves but also for the environment. But, the picture of organic foods is still blurred.
Many credible sources don’t endorse eating organic fruits and vegetables. Let’s find some amazing organic food facts here.
The Scientific Community has Diverging Views about the Health Benefits of Organic Food:
It’s evident that organic food has some health and nutrition benefits. Yet, the scientific community doesn’t agree among themselves about these benefits.
Yes, you heard it right. An MDPI journal shows that organic foods can have better health benefits. It states that there is relevant evidence that it is healthier.
For example. it shows a higher antioxidant concentration in crops and more omega-3s in milk. Also, organic food lower traces of poisonous metals and pesticide residue.
Organic food seems better to eat than conventional alternatives. But. that’s not the whole story.
A peer-reviewed article of 223 nutrient studies is a perfect case in point. It shows that there isn’t much evidence that organic foods are better than conventional.
Why is it so? The reason is that we don’t have a meta-analysis spanning some 100 years of studies on organic food. So we can’t say that all scientific studies agree on better health benefits.
There is More Than One Form of the Organic Food Labels:
Beware of the organic labeling. The word “Organic” on food doesn’t mean the food is produced from proper organic processes.
Most people boast about eating organic fruits and vegetables. They go to the grocery stores and pick up the food from “organic” racks. That doesn’t mean they are eating organic fruits and vegetables.
That means those who don’t know the types of organic labels in the USA would have been wasting their money.
The USDA provides four categories of organic foods for the customers to know. These products are certified, and the agent’s name gets written on the label.
You can choose these products without thinking twice. Likewise, when the label says “Organic.” it means the food is organic but can contain less than 5% of non-organic allowed content. Also, it should include USDA organic seal on it.
The rest two categories aren’t organic. They only contain specific organic ingredients in the food. They don’t certify that the food is produced with organic practices.
Denmark Celebrates National Organic Cow Day:
Every spring brings the sweetness of fresh air. Even a busy person will spare some minutes to smell the aroma and breathe fresh air.
Knowing this, Denmark celebrates cow dancing day. The countryside enjoys watching organic cows coming out of their barns.
The event occurs the third week of April every year. It’s a sight worth watching. Even the young children gather around the parents to see herds. These herds of cows run out of the farms in open meadows.
The Dirty Dozen Report 2022 Contains the 12 Most Consumed Fruits and Vegetables:
You must have heard “Dirty Dozen” but don’t know what it means. The dirty name depicts that it isn’t something good.
According to EWG, twelve fruits and vegetables get contaminated with pesticides. The environment working group issues the dirty dozen list yearly.
Due to the growing concerns about human health, it makes people wary of pesticide traces in food. They collect the data from public sources. It points out possible amounts of pesticides in food.
In 2022, they listed the following foods as dirty dozen:
Strawberries, Spinach, Kale, Collard, Mustard, Nectarines, Apples, and much more.
So, how to get rid of those pesticides? You can buy organic produce instead if you want those foods that come in dirty dozen. Alternatively, you can use organic foods as they are completely safe.
Organic Foods have the Potential to Save the Environment:
It seems ridiculous to believe that eating some food can save the environment.
How can it be? The answer: applying the right food-growing processes that align with nature’s principles.
Conventional agriculture is the third-largest sector to emit Greenhouse gases into the environment. Plus, it relieves most of the earth’s trapped carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Not to mention, the Green revolution wreaked havoc on the environment. Its main focus was to create as much food as we could.
Even so, we are on the brink of an environmental catastrophe. If we don’t turn toward organic and sustainable farming, we can’t undo the harm caused to our nature.
Most People Choose Organic Fruits and Vegetables Due to their Better Taste:
Have you seen any instrument or tool to measure how good or bad a fruit tastes? No one has that magic wand. Taste isn’t something that any one can measure.
Then, why do people choose organic foods because of its taste? The answer is some people eat to find its taste. The rest follow the norm. It is all due to the halo effect.
Let’s decipher the logic of why most people find good taste in organic food:
Picture this: You pluck a juicy red apple from a local organic farm tree. How would it taste? It will taste awesome. You can tell this even before taking the first bite.
In contrast, you buy apples from grocery stores. You can say that they would smell like nothing as compared to fresh apples. The reason is that you haven’t seen them growing in a garden.
That’s the reason organic food tastes better. Most of the organic produce goes to local grocery stores and doesn’t stay there for long. That’s why they remain fresh.
On the flip side, people use conventional farming on a large scale. They send the product to the big markets.
As a result, the food goes through several stages and travels distances to reach the end consumer. As a result, it loses taste.
Remember that organic soil also contributes to taste and nutrition. The microbial-rich soil has a lot to add to the taste of your food.
Converting to Organic Foods is a Long Journey:
As a farmer, you might be inspired by organic farming and want to transition to it.
Before putting things into practice, know that it may take 3 to 5 years to shift to complete organic farming.
Thus, you may find it hard if you aren’t motivated much. The USDA has provided a complete roadmap for developing your organic farming land.
Thus, you can reap organic foods after preparing your farm. So, stay motivated to get the best produce in the world.
Final Words:
“Eating organic food” is the oft-repeated mantra you hear daily. Still, you don’t know some important facts about organic foods.
What comes to your mind when you think of organic? Good taste, better nutrition, and a clean environment flash on the mind’s screen.
Do organic fruits and vegetables contain all these attributes? In this article, we have jotted down these important facts and misconceptions.
Give your valuable feedback!